Students share their perspective about music. In this music perspective instructional activity, students complete a music notes handout and watch a segment of a band playing the "St. Louis Blues." Students write a critique of the music...

Students interpret the themes in Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, create a 6-line poem based on the themes in the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, and define musical terms related to the study of programmatic music in...

Have your middle schoolers participate in numerous activities designed to spark their awareness of literature. They express ideas and concerns clearly and respectfully in conversations and group discussions. Next, they view a music...

Explore the paradox of the universe - or, at least, of popular music - with this lesson. Using the songs "Inaudible Melodies" by Jack Johnson and "She" by Green Day, your class will complete a graphic organizer to help them understand...

Middle schoolers love listening to music, and they also love to listen to music. So what's the difference? Spell out the nuanced ways to use gerunds and infinitives with a 50-question grammar exercise. Given short sentences and verbs,...

West Side Story is widely known as a modern-day Romeo & Juliet. Learners read a list of characters from the play and list their counterparts from Romeo & Juliet before completing a vocabulary enrichment activity and word...

"What a beautiful noise comin' up from the street; got a beautiful sound, it's got a beautiful beat..." Use Neil Diamond's "Beautiful Noise" to guide your class through a Six Trait writing activity, in which they write an original poem...

Song lyrics can help people better understand literary texts. Scholars continue listening to "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around" and discuss the connections between the song's lyrics and Carlotta Walls LaNier's memoir, A Mighty Long...

Students describe the sounds, moods and styles of two different types of music. After reading an article, they discover how a journalist uses language to describe and give feelings to the music. They review a type of music of interest...

Students research the history of rap and gain an understanding of the components of rap music. They experience the correlation between Shakespeare's poetry and rap music of today.

Students explore distinct styles that have characterized famous musicians and conductors. By studying one musician or conductor in-depth, students become experts on this person's musical style and are given the opportunity to share.

Students watch and discuss a scene from 'Cool Hand Luke,' then read the actor Kevin Costner's commentary on it. Then, each identifies one work of art that he or she loves and prepares a similar commentary on the details of that work's...

Experiment with multimedia storytelling. After watching a segment of American Family, first, middle and high schoolers tell a story about their families, clarifying the setting, characters, and script. They work on setting...

Did you know that the Harlem Renaissance was also known as the New Negro Movement? This presentation is fully of interesting facts and pictures to help your class understand the literary movement and how these changes also affected music...

If you'd like your class to write in varied sentence patterns, use a instructional activity focused on adverb clauses to enhance their writing. After reading a short explanation and example of adverb clauses, young grammarians underline...

Young scholars 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.

Students explore the popular culture phenomenon of the musical 'Cats' and the T.S. Eliot poems that were its inspiration. They write original poems about animals, and read them aloud to their peers.

Students explore artistic design by viewing video clips on the Internet. In this blanket making instructional activity, students view tutorial videos in which they discover the creative process in button blanket designing. Students...

Once the class learns about the hero's journey, they'll find it in every story and movie they see! Take characters from their humble beginnings to their atonement and apotheosis with a set of lessons about the hero's journey...

Paul Simon's "Father and Daughter" offers language learners and native English speakers an opportunity to study adverb, adjective, and noun clauses.

Students view a piece of impressionist art, listen to a piece of jazz music and then write a piece about the picture in the style of beat poets. They compare their writing and look for differences in their perceptions.

Music composition can be easy with a little software assistance. The class uses Garageband to listen to, write, sing, and record a blues song. They listen to the song provided through the software, write their own lyrics to the song,...

Develop readers’ awareness of the visual power of language with a guided imagery exercise. Set the stage and create the mood with dim lights, soft music and potpourri. Then read the provided section of Bud, Not Buddy. Next, invite...

Combine your pupils' love of music with their growing knowledge of poetry! First, have them bring in their favorite songs for a discussion on word choice and literary devices. Then, use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the...