Henry David Thoreau and Linda Ronstadt? Ann Tyler and Pete Townshend? Joyce Carol Oates and Pearl Jam? This richly detailed plan pairs classic literature with contemporary music and asks learners to analyze how the theme of conformity is...

Students celebrate music for a month with a creative project.

Students compare and contrast the rhythms of marches and jazz. They watch an excerpt about Buddy Bolden from the PBS Ken Burns Jazz documentary, compare/contrast march and jazz rhythms, complete a worksheet, and notate and perform jazz...

Students examine technological advancements in music and broadcast over the decades.

High schoolers explore the American dream. For this contemporary music lesson, students analyze the lyrics of songs by Neil Diamond, Bruce Springsteen, and David Massengill. High schoolers create 3-D representations of the American dream...

Students explore the history of music written during the classical era. They compare the melodic contours of specific thematic music, identifying the trills, slurs and articulations. As a class, students discus the characteristics of...

Here’s a must-have resource for anyone using The Grapes of Wrath. Everything from guiding questions to background information, from photographs to documentary films, from activities to assessments is included in a richly detailed packet...

Students choreograph dances. In this dance choreography lesson, students evaluate musical selections, then create a dance that capture the emotion of the music.

Students know the meaning of a given list of figures of speech and stylistic devices. They identify examples of these terms in the music and songs with which they are familiar. They examine how to apply the knowledge of these terms to...

Students discover about the form and function of traditional musical instruments, then use this knowledge to create non-traditional instruments that replicate the sounds of traditional instruments. They use vegetables to create their...

Learners explore the history of major American music genres. Then, through mock radio shows, students examine the distinguishing features of each genre and how each has changed throughout the years.

Students examine the panpipe and the cultures that use them in their music. They view photos of Peru and Bolivia and discuss their cultures, listen to recordings of music that includes the panpipe, and construct a panpipe using PVC...

High schoolers sing the song "My Love And I" by Sonja Poorman and Berta Poorman in this Music lesson for the High School SSA choir. The lesson is part of a unit that can be used to aid the performance and practice of the song in a choir...

Students practice singing the song "My Love And I" by Sonja Poorman and Berta Poorman in this High School music lesson for the SSA choir. Emphasis is placed on proper singing techniques. This is part of a unit of lessons on this song.

Students investigate the song of the "Oriental Festmarch" while listening to the march. They conduct research about the genre of the march in music. They answer some key questions in order to create the context for the lesson.

Learners examine the origins of ragtime music in American and analyze its musical form.

Students determine if Lincoln and Whitman ever met and write a dialogue between the two men. In this Whitman and Lincoln lesson, students read Whitman's poem "Beat! Beat! Drums!" and connect it to the events of Lincoln's presidency....

Learners 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.

Students study the music of Russian composer, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. They compare the sounds individual instruments make. They listen to and study the story of "Scheherazade" and compare it to other pieces that also portray a story or...

Students create a movie using pictures and words to illustrate the content of a sonnet. In this illumination of a text lesson, students choose six to twelve words in the sonnet that are vitally important. Students record their text on...

Encourage your learners to explore the differences between hard news and news analysis. They outline a complex news analysis about the upcoming presidential election, then endeavor to write an analysis of the same topic, using local...

Students explore various pieces of holiday music. They select a piece of music, record an introduction that describes the style, and record a section of the music.

Young scholars examine how to analyze musical performances and utilize practice techniques to improve their performances. They listen and evaluate another student's performance, then reverse roles with their partner.

Students read a New York Times article to help them develop an understanding of the history, development, and social influence of various types of world music through the creation of music museum exhibits.