Folk Music Lesson Plans

Students research the origins of Samba in Brazil using the internet. After defining new vocabulary, they locate the cities in Brazil using latitude and longitude which practice the Samba. In groups, they compare and contrast the different types of Latin American dances and music and write an essay to end the lesson.

This units gives students opportunities to * Research the history and patterns of French settlement in Louisiana * Discover three types of music (New Orleans jazz, Cajun, Zydeco) which are representative of the Francophone presence in Louisiana. * Make connections between the rhythms of the music and those of the French language.

Students hone their listening skills. They develop tools for approaching research into their own musical traditions and those of community and state and examine different ways of recording data. They design different types of research tools.

Students investigate and discuss primary documents to explain the life of lumberjacks in the 1880s.

Have you special education class examine multiculturalism. By exploring the cultures of Israel and Greece, they discover the holidays, cuisine, arts, andgeography of the countries. During this twelve-week unit, students develop a cultural awareness center in the classroom.

Learners examine female artists who perform in the genres of rhythm & blues, jazz, soul, and hip-hop/rap. They compose lyrics and melody in one of these genres.

Learners discover the significance of similarities and contrasts of three separate cultures of the United States through music. They take out maps and trace the expedition of the Spanish along the coasts of Mexico and North and South America and the Caribbean Islands.

Students discover different countries. In this World History lesson, students work in groups and visit different stations all related to a particular country. Some of these include: explore the language, food tasting, computer center, and more. 

Young scholars explore the connections between Langson Hughes and blues music. For this African American culture lesson, students compare and contrast blues music with poetry and short stories by Langston Hughes.

Students sing traditional songs from the Balkans. In this chorus lesson, students analyze the history of the Croatian people and study the connection between their history and their style of music. Students practice singing the song "OJ Savice" and put on a concert.