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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music from Across America

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners complete a unit of lessons on a variety of types of American music. They record their impressions of music samples on a worksheet, identify types of instruments, and choose a musical selection for their family to respond to.
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Worksheet
Smithsonian Institution

American Sabor Crossword

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
How much do you know about Latin American music? A crossword puzzle challenges learners to answer 24 questions about the history, genres, performers, and instruments of Latin American music.
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Activity
PBS

Broadway and The American Dream

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Considering a unit study of American Musical Theatre? What better way to start than at the very beginning. Eight pairs of cards provide class members with background information about the genre from 1893 through 2004. The cards are...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Music Styles - Lesson 1

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students describe some of the distinguishing characteristics of rock, folk, blues, and country music. They identify two main musical roots of today's American popular music.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Music Styles: European Roots and African Influences - Lesson 3

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students describe some of the characteristics of country and blues music. They see how country music rose to a nationally known music style. They write a two-paragraph essay on what they think country music be like in the next 100 years.
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Handout
Midwest Clinic

Latin Rhythms: Mystery Unraveled

For Students 6th - 12th
There is an indescrible energy to Latin American music—but if you know your music theory, it's not so indescrible after all. A thorough packet provides definitions for terms like bolero, charanga, shekere, and tumbao before listing...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Music Styles: Blues - Lesson 2

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Pupils describe some of the distinguishing characteristics of blues music. They compare and analyze two versions of the same 12-bar blues song. They read and identify notation symbols for rhythm and tempo.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aaron Copland

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students recognize how different characteristics effected American music. In these Aaron Copland lessons, students analyze the themes in American music and more specifically the style of Aaron Copland. Students investigate through...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hispanic Arts: Visual Arts, Dance and Music

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students observe global cultures by listening to music and watching videos. In this Latin American dance lesson, students define merengue, salsa and other dances from the Hispanic culture while listening to Latin rhythm music. Students...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music in West Africa

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers explore power and the symbols of power in West African music. They discuss the music of West Africa and compare it to African American music of today. In addition, they investigate musical instruments of Africa, identify...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Colonists Protest Song

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the role of protest songs. In this early American history lesson, students research the acts passed by the British that angered colonists. Students then listen to protest songs from contemporary American history prior to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Latin American Film

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students identify characteristics in a Latin American film. In this filmography instructional activity, students describe their favorite movies and the reasons why they like them. Students are shown a short clip of a Latin American movie...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning the Blues

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students take a virtual field trip to Memphis, Tennessee in their study of the blues, its characterisitics, founding fathers, and histororical influence on modern music. They compose blues lyrics that reflect present-day attitudes and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

James Brown: Life and Times

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students trace James Brown's rise from "Little Junior" in Depression-era Augusta, Georgia, to the "Minister of the New Super Heavy Funk" and create a collage that captures his impact on American music.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Oklahoma! The Cultural Myth of America

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners explore cultural myths in America by collecting images and characteristics of stereotypical Americans. They read a primary source document, discussing the views of the author in class. Next, they compare the terms used to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students investigate the African American culture in the 1920's and the Harlem Renaissance. They read and analyze poems written by poets of the Harlem Renaissance, listen to jazz music and identify the characteristics of the music, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music In America - Gospel Beginnings

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students identify musical characteristics of gospel and sing a gospel selection. They practice the call and response technique. After going through individual parts, they sing the entire song with piano accompaniment.
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Slavery and Freedom

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
How do nineteenth-century texts by African American and Native American writers contribute to the country's ideals of freedom and individuality? Learners explore the topic by watching and discussing a video, reading biographies, writing...
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Masculine Heroes

For Teachers 6th - 12th
What were the driving forces behind American expansion in the nineteenth century, and what were its effects? Scholars watch a video, read biographies, engage in discussion, write journals and poetry, draw, and create a multimedia...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cinderella Stories - Native American Cinderella Stories

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students examine a Native American Cinderella story. In this Cinderella lesson, students listen to and compare Rafe Martin's, The Rough Face Girl, to other Cinderella stories. They complete the associated worksheets, role play scenes...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Introduction to Caribbean Music

For Students 8th
In this Caribbean music activity, 8th graders read about the cultural background of the Caribbean nations and about the characteristics of the music. They examine call and response, ostinato, and syncopated rhythms. They answer 8...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music in Other Cultures

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the musical concepts of timbre, melody, and rhythm. They listen to and identify characteristics of music from other cultures.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Native Americans During the 19th and 20th Centuries

For Teachers 7th - 11th
Young scholars explore major events in Native American history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In this American history lesson, students listen to lectures, examine photographs, and analyze music regarding Native American...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Post-Modernism and Mass Culture

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students examine the suggestion that the subjective experience of everyday life and sense of identity has changed in America in recent years. In this post-modernism and mass culture lesson, students engage in 4 multi-step exercises that...