Sergei Prokofiev Lesson Plans

Students are introduced to classical music. They listen to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. They interview each other in regards to their feelings about the music and the paintings they produced while listening to the piece.

Students discuss style and characteristics of musical time periods as well as the definition of "pop culture." They compare and contrast modern-day popular icons to music icons throughout history.  This lesson requires a video, which is not included.

Fifth graders study the life and music of Ludwig von Beethoven by reading informational texts. In this music history lesson, 5th graders use music notation, geographic maps, listening maps, organizational diagrams, and time lines as informational texts to learn about Ludwig von Beethoven.

Second graders analyze the profession of a ballet dancer and complete related activities. In this ballet lesson, 2nd graders view images of ballet danders and discuss the performance of a Chinese version of Cinderella. Students listen to various ballet tracks and complete a ballet synopsis activity. Students then go to a ballet performance. Students demonstrate ballet movements and draw images from the performance.

Students research Dan Wagoner and apply his choreographic ideas in "Plod" to dance study. In this art lesson, students discuss Dan Wagoner. Students select four shapes from "Plod" and connect in a dance.

Tenth graders explore the origins of the Cold War.  In this Cold War lesson, 10th graders analyze selected songs and identify what historical events they reference.  Students create a musical collage or timeline for the period since the collapse of the Soviety Union (1990) to today.

Students compare two media sources of the same story. In this literature/visual arts lesson, students discuss the similarities and differences between the book and video version of Abiyoyo. Students dissect the features contained within both sources, and use these findings to create a storyboard.   

Fourth graders research the life and music of Beethoven through reading informational texts and answering questions about what they have read. The musical study of Beethoven includes reading music notation, reading geographic maps and music listening maps, reading organizational diagrams and time lines in addition to the informational texts.

Students assemble and examine typical European orchestral woodwind instruments, determine how the instruments change pitch, identify common orchestral woodwind instruments by sound, and research a non-Euro-centric woodwind instrument in this two-week upper-elementary lesson.

Learners explore various string instruments in this multi-week music lesson for the upper-elementary grades. Emphasis is placed on group violin lessons, listening to and identifying string instruments, and researching non-European instruments.