Young musicians explore the rhythms and sounds of Balinese gamelan music, then create their own. They listen to several examples of gamelan music, then use their instruments to mimic the rhythms they hear. After a warm up and practice,...

Project-based learning in a music theory class? Take note. Young songwriters compose, record, copyright, and promote their original songs. They even design their own CD cover.

Drag queens in thigh-high shiny red leather boots! Welcome to Kinky Boots, the Tony Award-winning musical about a young man trying to save his family-owned shoe-making business. With an engaging story line and songs by Cyndi Lauper, the...

Take note. Soul music. Gospel music. Country music. Summer comes alive with the sounds of music as program participants learn about various genres of music, create instruments, and write and perform songs about the facts and traditions...

Turn your classroom into a music studio as groups work together to determine why music sounds different when performed live versus a recording. After listening to some different music, each group picks a poem, creates a recording, and...

Upper graders explore the similarities, differences, and depth of pop music from the Romantic era and the 20th century. They listen to selections that exemplify the Baroque, Romantic, and 20th century periods, then create presentations...

Jazz, Blue Grass, Hip Hop, Swing. Gospel, R&B, Ragtime, Disco. So many music genres born in the USA. After reading an article about the fate of New Orlean's Jazz after Hurricane Katrina, class members investigate the life cycles of...

Ray Charles used the pain and adversity from his life to influence an entire genre of American music. Learn about the musician's daily life, struggles and success, and powerful musical style with a thorough resource.

Singing, clapping, moving up and down with the melody, it all sounds like a great music lesson. Kinder-musicians sing three different songs to practice memory, speaking, and movement skills. They'll move to the melody, build memory with...

Need a musical lesson for your drama or performing arts class? VH1 has put together a really neat lesson, in which learners use biographical information about Alicia Keys to write and perform a one-act musical related to her life. This...

Ancient people used musical pipes as early as the third millennium BCE. Young scientists explore the workings of musical pipes to better understand the relationship with frequency, length of pipe, and sound waves. They determine the...

Upper graders explore musical film and the Bohemian lifestyle common in Europe during the turn of the century through the musical Moulin Rouge. After listening to (or viewing) songs from the movie, they discuss the Bohemian era and how...

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...

Really? Rapping The Odyssey? Really. A discussion of the oral tradition of story telling and its links to Epic poetry sets the stage for a series of activities that encourage improvisation to integrate music into other classrooms....

It's wonderful to see a lesson plan that incorporates art, movement, and writing. These three forms of creative expression are explored as learners dance to music from the Gullah people of West Africa. They analyze several paintings,...

How do a person's musical preferences influence the way they compose music of their own? Learners analyze the sound and lyrics of Alicia Keys in relation to musicians that came before. Jazz, blues, and soul music from the past are shown...

The elements of music and journalistic integrity in one lesson; What could be better? The class discusses journalistic approaches to better understand responsible reporting versus sensationalism. They watch the Act One from the film...

Eighth graders consider cross-curricular connections between social studies, singing, and current events. They listen to the song, "I Can't Cry Hard Enough." view scenes from September 11, then create presentations using images, a...

In small groups and then as a class, young musicians compare and contrast two pieces from the musical film Chicago. They pair up to look at the elements that make each piece similar and define the elements or arrangements that make...

Engage little learners in this moderately developed three-instructional activity unit on the composer Camille Saint-Saens and his piece "The Carnival of Animals." Each instructional activity includes a listening, discussion, and an art...

Incorporating the arts into regular classroom practices isn't an easy task. Learners will research background information regarding Russian culture, history, and conflict then see how those things have applied to the rigors of Russian...

A series of lessons about dance would be a great addition to your physical education class. Straightforward as well as creative, it teaches the basic skills of dance movement. A rubric helps guide the dancers to let them know what steps...

What is the relationship among the heart, circulation, and exercise? Your class members will explore first-hand how different physical exercises affect an individual's heart rate. They will begin by learning how to measure their own...

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...