Students take a virtual field trip to Memphis, Tennessee in their study of the blues, its characterisitics, founding fathers, and histororical influence on modern music. They compose blues lyrics that reflect present-day attitudes and...

Contemplate what music learners listen to and why they listen. Can they find poetry within music lyrics? Specifically hone in on blues lyrics and ruminate upon the social issues prevalent in the themes. Particular song lyrics coincide...

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,...

The story behind the Star Spangled Banner sets off this singing and music lesson. Emergent singers study facts about Francis Scott Key and his famous song, they then discuss and practice singing the first verse paying close attention to...

Students explore Folk Music in Iowa. For this folk music lesson, students discuss different types of folk music and how it relates to life in Iowa. They take the tune of a song and write their own lyrics to describe their life. 

Pupils discover how storytelling can shape a person's tradition.Students examine different methods of storytelling such as music, biographies, and African folktales. They then demonstrate their knowledge of storytelling by writing their...

Students examine female artists who perform in the genres of rhythm & blues, jazz, soul, and hip-hop/rap. They compose lyrics and melody in one of these genres.

Students demonstrate writing lyrics for a twelve-bar blues pattern by writing two verses of a blues song and then recording themselves singing over a stock blues pattern using Apple's Garage Band. Requires a networked keyboard lab.

Students explore poetry through jazz, rap, and hip hop music. They discover the common threads that run through the poetry and music. Students design their own lyrics to a jazz, rap, or hip hop selection and share their songs with the...

High schoolers use recordings of Wyclef Jean's music to study and explore different styles and techniques.

Students analyze song lyrics and discuss Faust theme in musical history. In this thematic lesson, students view a film clip and create a song lyric, poem or short story developed around the Faust theme. Students perform or present their...

Students evaluate comments submitted by young people regarding teenage criminals. They plan a new approach to young offenders and explain their ideas as a poem or rap lyrics.

Students compose song as a classroom effort. They write a one-paragraph essay about "message" songs in 100 years and include three ideas for topics along with the style of music (such as folk, rock, blues, rap, etc.) that would match.

Learners explore early 19th century labor conditions through the use of period songs. In this tolerance activity, students listen to period songs and respond. Learners write their own song that protests unfair and dangerous working...

Students choose a city with famous musical highlights and create a tourist brochure.

Fourth graders identify the cardinal directions by listening to a song entitled, "Stand," and by reviewing the lyrics to that song. They notice the cardinal directions that are posted around the classroom. They perform the motions as...

Young scholars write a song about transportation in 100 years after comparing and discussing "Proud Mary" and "The Midnight Special".

Students analyze and discuss various sculptures by the artist Andrea Arroyo. They discuss ways artists use symbols to express abstract ideas, design and create a plasticine plaque, and write a journal response.