Classics for Kids
"Mars" from The Planets
Gustav Holst's The Planets provide young musicians an opportunity to examine how composers can create a suite: a collection of smaller pieces grouped to explore a single topic. After listening to "Jupiter," they examine "Mars" in detail,...
Concordia College Archives
Our School Song
Show your school spirit! Class members use instruments or sing along and employ what they have learned in the two previous lessons to perform their school's songs.
Curated OER
Mr. Mascot's Magical Musical Tour
Students explore particular places in the world. Students decipher clues that a class mascot leaves behind as it travels the world. Through researching the clues, students discover geographical locations, elements of world culture,...
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Jazz in America
Learners participate in a class discussion about jazz music, compare improvisation with regular conversion, listen to various jazz musicians and compare and contrast their individual sounds.
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Band On Line
In 1996, using the Internet to enhance learning was a new innovation. While the activity here is a bit outdated, it could still provide a basic understanding of how technology can enhance music appreciation. Members of the school band...
Curated OER
"Golliwog's Cakewalk" by Claude Debussy
In this music appreciation learning exercise, students listen to "Golliwog's Cakewalk" from Children's Corner Suite by Claude Debussy. Students read about the composer and the piece and answer 5 questions.
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Learning Musical Terms
Students investigate musical instruments and sounds by defining musical terms. In this music appreciation lesson plan, students define many vocabulary words and utilize a study sheet for memorization. Students are quizzed on the terms...
Skoog Music
St. Patrick’s Day
Traditional Irish music can bring even the most stoic audience to tears. This St. Patrick's Day, explore the lilting flutes and mournful ballads of the Emerald Isle with a interactive and inspiring music lesson plan.
Curated OER
What is Timbre?
Learners analyze the differences in similar songs. For this music appreciation lesson, students discover the meaning of timbre and how it can drastically change similar pieces of music. Learners sing two pieces of music with the rest...
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The Virtuoso Phenomenon
After reading the New York Times article "Virtuosos Becoming a Dime a Dozen," learners answer eight who, what, when, where, and why questions. They post their answers on the New York Times Education Blog. A fun way to get learners...
Curated OER
Musical Moods
To celebrate diversity and the purpose of Harmony Day, the class examines culturally diverse music and expression through line drawing. They discuss that all cultures produce music and that music can convey mood just like art can. As the...
California Department of Education
Hitting the Write Note: Writing a Proposal
To whom it may concern ... Scholars undergo the process of writing a letter to an authority figure. The lesson asks writers to compose a formal letter requesting a music therapy space. Pupils learn how to submit a project proposal to any...
New Museum of Contemporary Art
Lesson: Emory Douglas: What We Want, What We Believe!
One of the many appeals of this resource lies in its diverse application. Appropriate for US history, English, or art classes, scholars will appreciate the exploration of the civil rights movement through art, music, and film. They'll...
Curated OER
Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey
Twelfth graders read lyrics for "My Hometown" and complete a worksheet to identify setting and tone in the song. In this Romanticism lesson plan, 12th graders read Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey by Wordsworth and discuss...
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Carnival of the Animals
Learners listen to music to study the various sounds instruments make and feelings they incur. In this music analysis instructional activity, students listen to musical extracts from 'The Carnival of Animals' describe the music. Learners...
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The Influence of Jazz Music in Twentieth Century Art
Students examine the effect of music on society. While listening to music, they identify the beat, rhythm and write down their reaction to it. Listening to longer selections, they assign a color to the music and share it with the...
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The Princess and the Frog
Students study the sounds of New Orleans jazz, its origins, and its influences. For this jazz music lesson, students listen to various jazz songs and discuss the songs. Students use the worksheet 'Jazz: the Universal Language' to study...
Curated OER
Read Aloud/ Narrative Analysis
Fourth graders read passages of Koya's Cousin Del before answering questions in a discussion setting. They listen to a variety of musical pieces before detailing how the music makes them feel in a short piece of writing. They share their...
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Exploring African Music
Students appreciate African Music and the rich culture it represents. They identify two characteristics of African Music in their journals.
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Studying The American Musical Theatre
Students discover the group dynamics necessary to produce an American musical in this six day lesson. Themes and characterization techniques are explored during collaborative small group research projects.
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The Musical Mind
Learners go on a tour of how and why music styles have changed over the years, and discover where they can gather some insight about their favorite musical styles and artists. There are excellent websites imbedded in this lesson plan.
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A Modest Proposal: Irony Made Understandable with Rock and Roll
Who doesn't love music? Poems and songs will engage your high school class in a discussion about irony. Use songs like "Rockin' in the Free World" or "Born in the U.S.A." to illustrate the ironic point of view. Print the lyrics so...
Curated OER
Jazz in America Lesson Plan 6
Young scholars survey bebop, cool jazz, and hard bop. They explore how bebop, cool jazz, and hard bop reflected American culture and society in the 1940s and 1950s.
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Jazz in America Lesson Plan 7
Students survey free jazz and fusion. They explore how free jazz and fusion reflected American culture and society in the 1960s and 1970s.