Smithsonian Institution
African American Music: Let’s Sing and Play Clapping Games
Two lessons focus on making a beat. Using popular African American music of its time, scholars listen and analyze the rhythm then recreate it with hands drums, and cups.
Curated OER
Music Lesson Plan for Teaching Children with (Severe) Autism
Here's a packet of music activities designed specifically for children with autism. Kids learn greeting, echo, and repertory songs, as well as rhythmic patterns to play rhythm instruments.
Concordia College Archives
History and Musical Aesthetics
What are the musical elements that characterize a school's fight song or its alma mater? Class members listen to examples of fight songs and alma maters from various schools, play a listening game, and then create a list of the...
Curated OER
Quick Button Art
Here is another in this fabulous series of art lessons I've been reviewing! Artists of all ages design a wearable piece of artwork using special buttons that have a clear, removable top to them. All sorts of creative ideas are presented...
Curated OER
Paper Ring Art
A few bits of paper can really go a long way when it comes to art. Learners build motor skills and a creative voice as they shape and glue thin strips of paper, creating an original scene.
Curated OER
Transferring Rhythmic Patterns From Music to Movement
Students identify and demonstrate movement elements in relation to musical notation. They clap to rhythms, beat on drums, match musical notes to speech patterns and use the rhythms of the their names to create a dance.
Curated OER
Comparing Values: Comparisons Between Musical Notation and Money
Students identify ways in which the principles and subject matter of other disciplines taught in school, specifically math, are interrelated with those of music.
Curated OER
Band Beats
Students discuss find out about the four types of musical instruments. They identify several instruments of each type. Students listen to a simple rhythmic music. They follow along with its notation. Students identify treble and bass...
Curated OER
Fabric Art
Do kids use problem solving skills when they create scrap art? You bet they do! After examining the art of Mary Katherine Lamb, they create their own pieces using recycled products and vintage art techniques. They watch a video about the...
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
Making Music
Budding musicians engage in an exciting instructional activity which has them make musical instruments out of ordinary household items. By using paper plates, plastic cups, rubber bands, storage containers, and wooden spoons they make a...
Lauren Kitchin
Singing in the Classroom
Those new to the Kodály Method of music instruction, as well as experienced educations, will find everything they need in a resource designed to launch a five-week vocal music program. Packed with warm ups, games, activities, and...
Curated OER
The Magic Opera
Introduce your young learners to opera by dressing up as Mozart and recounting some of the fascinating details of his life and music. After exploring the Metropolitan Opera's site for kids, the class listens to a reading of Kyra...
Smithsonian Institution
Songs, Sounds and Stories from the Georgia Sea Islands
American music is the result of the influence of many cultures, including the traditions brought by the African slaves. Young scholars study the polyrhythms, the call-and-response format, and the vocal improvisations of the Gullah...
Curated OER
Consonance and Dissonance Activities
Hone those musical ears to identify consonance and dissonance in music being played live or on a recording. Learners will work through four activities where they will listen to consonant and dissonant notes being played first by the...
Curated OER
Art Savers
Need a cheap way to get all those fabulous paintings, collages, and drawings home? Learners use old paper towel tubes to create a handy art transportation device.
Curated OER
Singing Patriotic Music
Students sing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of patriotic music, including "America" and "The Star Spangled Banner," to sing expressively with appropriate dynamics, phrasing, and interpretation.
Curated OER
Responding Syllables: Reading and Music
Shell Silverstein’s “Sick” provides an opportunity for kids to demonstrate their understanding of syllables and phonemes. The class creates a list of descriptive words used in the poem that have more than one syllable, and brainstorm how...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Wynton's Tune
Students examine the serigraph, "Wynton's Tune," by artist Faith Ringgold. They discuss the painting, listen to jazz music, create a drawing that tells a story inspired by their favorite music, and write sentences describing their artwork.
Curated OER
Draw To The Music
One of the best ways to inspire your young artists to create art is to play some soothing music, give them some art supplies, and let their imaginations guide their hands. It's fun to see what happens if you play some energetic music as...
Dick Blick Art Materials
Percussive Pods
Combine the study of art, music, and history with an activity that asks kids to craft rattles out of slabs of clay.
Concordia College Archives
Introduction and Student Inquiry
Introduce young musicians to the history of and different styles of music with an inquiry-based learning activity that asks them to play detectives to determine the similarities and differences among the sheet music found at a series of...
Curated OER
Spray Bottle Paint Mural
Sometimes all you need is a quick and easy outdoor art project. Perfect for the end of the school year, this mural project allows kids to make a mess while creating art. They use spray bottles full of paint to "spray" paint a large sheet...