Curated OER
Music in Words
Your class can build strong, well-represented opinions about the music they hear. They listen to, and share thoughts about, a piece of classical music. Then they write a piece of music or a poem, and analyze their peers' work and their...
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Thrilling Information: Music and Reading
Here’s a cross-curricular program music activity that uses Peer Gynt to engage class members. Groups take one section of “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” choreograph their section of the tune to represent the story as they imagine it,...
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The Function of Music
Explore concepts of audience, purpose and symbols in this lesson from Media Smarts that asks students to consider all the functions of music. Through a series of discussions and activities, your class will brainstorm possible functions...
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Teaching About Tolerance Through Music
Explore the importance of tolerance with a music-themed lesson. Learners listen to the music of Peter, Paul, and Mary, and discern the underlying messages before discussing the painful effects of ridicule, disrespect, and bullying.
Curated OER
Slices of American Pie: The 1960s Through Music
Eleventh graders examine political, cultural, and social movements through music. In this 1960s American history lesson, 11th graders explore the music of the decade in order to better understand the complexity of the time period....
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Adapting a Musical
Students transform literature into musical productions. In this integrated arts lesson, students discuss how musicals are written and produced. Students then select literature they are familiar with to adapt into musical productions.
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Applying Music to Literature
Kids explore music, history, culture, and literature in a multi-faceted lesson plan. They discuss how both historical and cultural contexts shape music, art, and literature, and then apply these concepts as they engage in a listening...
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Historical Comparison of Anti-War Music
Students explain that, how in this world of increasing awareness and interdependence, music can act as a magnet to draw people together. They research and compare anti-war songs from many different generations.
Curated OER
Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Chicago - Chicago Blues
Watching Great Performances’ Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Chicago launches an investigation into and discussion of how the electric guitar and guitarists have changed the sound of the blues over time. An engaging way to...
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Erase the Quiet
Students recognize how music, theater, dance, and the visual arts can be combined to contribute to their own active learning. They work in small groups to research and use critical thinking skills to identify ways in which the arts could...
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The Sound of Music and Passage to Freedom
Seventh graders examine music examples to investigate a conflict in history about Hitler's invasions during WWII. In this music analysis lesson, 7th graders discuss vocabulary and the history for the Holocaust and Hitler's invasions....
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Music, Culture and War
Learners see that music serves as a major conduit for the transport of knowledge. As they watch video, students tabulate the variety of music artists listed by different soldiers.
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Realism in Music, The Underground Railroad
Students complete a unit of 9 lessons to learn about realism in music during the time of the Underground Railroad. In this music realism lesson, students learn about coded lyrics in the slave songs. Students complete 9 lessons using...
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Words and Music - Lesson 2
Students analyze the relationships among cultural values, freedom of artistic expression, ethics, and artistic choices in various cultures and historical periods.
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The History of Rock and Roll: Part 10 - Up From the Underground - Lesson 2
Students discuss the societal roots of music from times of slavery and black spirituals, and compare it to the emergence of Rap and Hip Hop music.
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
Dinosaurs Before Dark
Young readers travel back to the time of the dinosaurs in this literature unit based on the story Dinosaurs Before Dark. Intended for use with upper-elementary special education students, this resource provides reading comprehension,...
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Rockin’ the World: Rock and Roll and Social Protest in 20th Century America
Students explore protest songs. In this interdisciplinary lesson, students examine issues-based music by summarizing lyrics and revealing inferences, generalizations, conclusions, and points of view found in the songs.
Curated OER
Reading Primary Source Documents: Historical Content
Why do we read primary source documents? What can they give us that other writings cannot? Provide your learners with any of the primary sources attached here (there are seven), and have them complete the graphic organizer (which opens...
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Eckstine, Stayhorn, and the Dorseys: Masters of Swing
Students explore the history of swing music. In this music history lesson, students research the Dorsey Brothers, Billy Eckstine, and William Strayhorn to learn about swing music. Students define swing, develop a timeline of events in...
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“Home on the Range”
Fourth graders analyze the song "Home on the Range" and identify its meaning and setting. In this timeline and retelling lesson, 4th graders use dictionaries to find definitions of unfamiliar words, create a timeline and retell the...
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Understanding Human Rights Through Music And Poetry
Tenth graders discuss human rights. They brainstorm and listen to and read examples of music and poetry that deal with human rights and oppression. They choose one poem or song to analyze, looking for theme, oppression, and historical...
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Historic Heroes
Students recognize traits of heroes as depicted in music, art and literature. In this cross curricular lesson, students evaluate and analyze various works fo art from different cultures that depict heroes.
Trinity University Digital Commons
Romanticism: Past and Present
With its focus on nature, individualism, imagination, and rejection of traditional authority, Romanticism has great appeal to young high schoolers. After examining classic paintings and poems as well as current works, class members...
Curated OER
What I Want to be When I Grow Up
Sixth graders discover different careers in music. In this career exploration lesson plan, 6th graders explore four different categories of music careers: music education, music performance, music business and music therapy. Students...