Orchestra Lesson Plans

Students become familiar with dance steps of colonial dances through pictures.  In this colonial dance step lesson, students view photographs in a multimedia presentation and describe the dance steps.

Students examine a variety of songs, poems, and books exploring and analyzing the theme of self reliance and being true to one's self. They write a poem, essay, or letter that captures their true spirit and individuality and then they present this to the class using music, video, collages, or any other media source of their choice that demonstrates their personality and individuality.

Students identify where China is in relation to the US. They investigate the history of dragons in Chinese culture. Students explore the nine different parts of a dragon and incorporate them into their own dragon. Student identify the importance of certain colors in Chinese culture. They complete a three foot long dragon that is displayed during the Chinese New Year.

Students understand that many organizations in the community have needs. In this philanthropy lesson, students research pros and cons of a philanthropic organization. Students create a multimedia presentation to show why their organization is most important. Students prioritize the needs of different organizations.

Fifth graders create their own chance music (aleatoric music) compositions using standard music notation.  For this integrated composition and probability lesson, 5th graders experiment with simple music composition on tuned instruments.  Additionally, students conduct simple probability experiments using a five-sided number generator or spinner to answer questions about probability. 

Explore Korean music by listening to the sounds of Korean instruments.  Students will listen to two Korean songs and identify the instruments they hear, as well as the type of instruments they are (woodwind, string, or brass). They then compare the different sounds of instruments.

Students discover the Harlem Renaissance. In this early 20th century lesson, students use various primary sources including handouts, worksheets, maps, music, and poetry to examine aspects of African American culture. Students will engage in a series of activities geared at answering the days 'Big Idea'. This lesson includes web resources, assessments,  a 5 station activity, and worksheets.

Students play string instruments to discover how the pitch changes on various string instruments.  In this pitch instructional activity, students listen to video clips and play an online music game.  Students become familiar with music vocabulary.

Learners explore musical pitch. In this cross curriculum musical instruments and "sound" physics lesson, students identify and describe common traits of woodwind instruments. Learners research "pitch" and what causes pitch fluctuation by viewing a number of web sites. Students perform a "pitch" experiment and make an original woodwind instrument.

Students explore Chinese instruments. In this Chinese instrument music lesson, students listen to a performance by Liu Fang and describe the sounds they hear. Students classify western and Chinese instruments according to their instrument family. Students research an assigned instrument, create an original instrument with recycled materials, and perform Chinese music for the class.