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...

Authors write about what they know, and that does not exclude songwriters. Invite partners to explore the story behind a song. They analyze and discuss the lyrics, conduct research online, create a poster, and put together a two-minute...

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.

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...

Paul Chan's latest exhibit includes seven manifestations of light. Today, kids analyze the pieces 1st Light  and 5th Light. They consider the concept of opposed or dualistic realities found in literature, society, and Chan's work....

Connect the ideas of jazz improvisation and art to writing poetry. Learners collaborate and write different lines of poetry, imitating the jazz styles of improvisation and freewriting. Take a close look at the poems "Tenebrae" by Yusef...

Examine how art and music can be powerful tools for conveying a political or social message. After considering the issues surrounding rapper Paris, students design their own album covers that reflect their political and/or social...

Students develop an awareness of environmental print, such as signs, logos, brand names, and other print and non-print items that the children see and read in their neighborhood each day. They then engage in active problem solving as...

Students examine how pop art compliments music. For this arts lesson, students explore the elements of pop art and replicate those elements in their own piece of art.

Students explore sound, pitch, volume, frequency, and musical notes. In this homemade instrument instructional activity, students use materials such as jars, buckets, strings, rackets, rubber bands, and bottles to create their own unique...

Assess your class's understanding of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility with a fun and creative final project. Using what they have learned about the novel's characters, they create presentations featuring music and images that...

Exploring the baroque era can be exciting and fun when it's done thorugh the arts. Middle schoolers examine the music and art history of the baroque era through research. They use their findings and class notes to create an expository...

Using the Note Names and Values SMART notebook file, review the whole, half, quarter and eighth note with learners. Students sing "Apple Tree Song." They add body percussion, and then instruments. Learners use the SMART apple tree, they...

Students create abstract art using acrylic paints and canvas in this lesson provided by Oregon Public Broadcasting. The lesson includes information on abstract art and video links.

VH1 Music Studio has put out another great lesson that incorporates analysis, compare/contrast, and musical terminology. Kids will listen to the song "Habanera" considering the use of specific instruments in evoking a sense of location....

Upper graders having skills in music performance will extend their abilities through creative musical composition. They'll use Finale 2000 to explore facets of music composition, they'll then compose a piece for their instrument in C, F,...

Students make connections between music, the other arts, and other curricular areas. They compare characteristics of two or more arts within a particular historical period or style and cite examples from various cultures.

After reading Acts III and IV of Othello, give your class a fun, interactive, music-related activity. Begin by asking high schoolers about songs they have heard in movies or plays. Let them look up the lyrics online and ruminate about...

Students use iMovie to express the meaning and context of a protest song from the '60s or '70s. They explore different views of the protest movement and gain an understanding of the emotional and political overtones of the times.

Students study the rhythm value of a half note, quarter note, whole note, and eighth note. They stamp a rhythm pattern and create a clay animation which demonstrates note value.

Students investigate how art and music define and unify a social movement. They decide how art and music can act as symbols of protest. They view both contemporary and historical examples of art as a tool for protest and design an art...

Want to make some music but you don't have the instruments? Get a start on your percussion section with a creative bongo drum project! Young musicians use a coffee can, packing tape, and colorful paper to create the perfect percussive...

Students work in pairs to compose a duet (with percussion instruments) that contains syncopated rhythm sequences. Each student will research a piece of music that they feel uses syncopation and will give a persuasive speech to the class.

Integrating technology and music can be a snap with lessons like this one! Kids in a junior high band class took to the Internet to download and practice playing their instrument with a computer generated back up band. They practice...