New York City Department of Education
Myself and Others
Self reflection is an important skill to reinforce in our children, and it's especially helpful to help them realize who they are in the context of their environment. A collection of lessons about self image and community encourage...
Media Education Lab
Understanding Viral Messages
Imagine advertising for a product but not being paid to do so. Welcome to the world of Viral Messaging. Class members first view a T-Mobile flash mob video that went viral and has been seen by over 14 million viewers. After analyzing the...
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Japanese Noh Masks
Students examine Japanese theatre and create their own face masks which display certain emotions, props, costumes and perform in improvisational theatrical games.
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Storytellers: Dave Matthews Band
Students listen to the music of the Dave Matthews Band in order to discuss and analyze the lyrics. They examine how the songs are presented and determine if the Dave Matthews Band does a good job of presenting the meaning of the lyrics...
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Introduction to Poetry Part I-- The Three Pillars of Poetry
In these poetry writing worksheets, students learn the power of words and the ability of the poet to say a great deal with a few well-chosen words. Students learn the 3 pillars of poetry: Emotion (makes you feel something), Image (makes...
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Rhythmic Expression
Students discover movement and expression to music/sound through a series of teacher-led exercises and role plays. This lesson is ideal for the middle school drama class with possibilities for adaptation to any level of drama or general...
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The Listening Walk
Students play instruments that reflect sounds in the story: hoots, toots, creaking, shrieks, clacking, crunching, whooshing, etc. They make vocal sounds from the story: whispered, sniffled, sigh, giggled, croaked, laughed. The...
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Storytellers: Bruce Springsteen
Students study rock and roll with the music of Bruce Springsteen.
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Spicy, Hot Colors
Students demonstrate an understanding of colors. In this visual arts lesson, students read the text Hot, Spicy Colors and name their favorite colors. Students complete a bar graph to show the data. Students discuss how each color can...
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Getting to Know You
Third graders explore different types of poetry and illustrate their own experiences through creating their own poem. For this getting to know you lesson, 3rd graders create and recite their poems with a self-portrait.
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See What I Hear
Students examine relationships between music and color, emotion and imagery, listen to different passages of music, and visually depict what they hear.
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Kandinsky Color Studies
Students study the artist Wassily Kandinsky as well as his art and and music. In this art appreciation lesson, students view a variety of Kandinsky's work and circular color studies. Students relate the use of color to emotion and listen...
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It's A Blue, Blue Monday
Students create images that convey how the weather makes them feel. As a class, students discuss the way weather can effect their mood. After reading several passages describing the weather, students use vivid descriptions and...
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Stress Hot Potato
Students listen to a brief description of stress including an emphasis given on distress and eustress as well as a description of the emotional and physiological understanding of stress. They then get into groups of 4 or 5 standing in a...
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War and Remembrance: St. Crispin's Day speech from Henry V
Students discuss their opinions about war. For this political science lesson, students use a video about war to analyze their own ideas about war. They discuss the terminology Shakespeare used in reference to war, and examine the...
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25 Greatest Protest Songs
Pupils analyze the lyrics of protest songs as a catalyst for social change. They discuss the influence of music on behavior and explain the use of music as historical record.
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Using Words to Work Things Out
Students listen as teacher reads Words Are Not For Hurting, and answer questions about the content. Students discuss how to prevent arguments and work disagreements out with words. Students watch a puppet show that promotes discussion as...
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Sing a Tale
This activity allows students to explore the elements of traditional folktales in folk music.
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Scarecrow: A Lesson Against Hate Crimes
Students analyze and discuss different types of hate crimes. They listen to and discuss the background behind the song, "Scarecrow" by Melissa Etheridge. They research a hate crime and imagine how the victims must have felt. Finally they...
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Valentine's Day
Student's research the history to Valentine's Day. They take an online quiz and then think about all the different meanings of love. Sharing of ideas is involved within this lesson plan. They ponder on how emotions can be expressed in...
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A Penny For Your Thoughts: Cross-Curricular Journal Writing
Pupils are introduced to the importance of journal writing. After creating their own journal, they write their thoughts and feelings about different subjects. If they choose to they can share their writings with the class to end the...
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Assertiveness/Self-Confidence
Students explore the concepts of assertiveness and self-confidence. They observe that is is all right to say no. Students discuss what it means to be assertive and how it takes inner strength and self-confidence to be assertive. They...
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Caring
Learners investigate the concept of developing the social skill of caring for others and self. The activity includes a silent time of reflection on how one can care. Then students read a story that illustrates the concept of caring and...
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Looking at the Man in the Mirror
Students reflect on their behavior by listening to an audio tape of Michael Jackson's song, "The Man in the Mirror."