Curated OER
Romeo and Juliet
Students study Romeo and Juliet. In this language arts activity, students read the play and complete a series of activities. Students choose the activities to complete. Students write a summary, draw a poster or compare and contrast...
Curated OER
What is Timbre?
Students analyze the differences in similar songs. In this music appreciation instructional activity, students discover the meaning of timbre and how it can drastically change similar pieces of music. Students sing two pieces of music...
Curated OER
Dizzy Gillespie
Students compare and contrast two songs by Dizzy Gillespie and identify elements of bebop. They construct a Web page about Gillespie and his music.
Curated OER
Rhythm and Art: Gesture Drawing
Students explore connections between non-verbal language and art. In this visual and auditory art lesson, students investigate the science of sound and principles of drawing. They then use various genres of music to directly apply that...
Curated OER
Rhythm and Art: Gesture Drawing
Learners make connection between music and art. In this integrated arts lesson, students complete gesture drawing activities as they listen to Cuban, flamenco, classical, jazz, and contemporary music.
Curated OER
Metallic Sounds
Learners differentiate between metallic and non-metallic sounds. In this music activity, students listen to the audio clip of "March" and march in time with the music. Learners identify the metallic sounds in the music piece. Students...
Curated OER
Poets Got Them Blues
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...
Curated OER
Music Composition
Students compose a simple melody using the notes of the D Major Scale. Criteria/Rubric for evaluation is provided with variations depending on skill level of students. A minimum of one forty-five minute class period is needed for this...
Curated OER
The Ultimate Instrument!
Third graders identify the four instrument families of the symphony orchestra. They listen to the instruments and compare the similarities and differences of each of the four families. They design and create an instrument that belongs to...
Creative Competitions, Inc.
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Fantastic Fairy Tale
Learning about literature can be so much fun; it can also be made more accessible through projects and dramatic play. As they explore theme, character, and setting, the class gets creative and makes a dramatic recreation of a classic...
Curated OER
The World Around Me: Animal Songs
Students explore various animals and their habitats. For this animal and habitat lesson, students discuss and describe familiar animals and their habitats. The students listen to books about animals and their habitats, compare and...
Curated OER
Mourning in Art and Ancient Cultures
Learners compare and mine two prints by Canadian artist Robert Harris for clues about the story depicted. They brainstorm ancient cultures that tell similar stories and download images to portray them. They also research how the ancient...
Curated OER
Marc Brown's Author Study: Arthur's Nose
Student's read Arthur's Nose and view the changes in Arthur's nose. In this Arthur lesson, students define difficult vocabulary, discuss choices and sing to the tune of Old MacDonald had a Farm. Students create a new nose for Arthur.
Curated OER
The Sounds of Science
Students assess the relationship between music and science by learning how various musical instruments work. They create a poster, presenting the research conducted in class that focuses on a specific musical instrument.
Curated OER
Reading and Writing Decimals
Decimals are quite often confusing for young mathematicians. Pupils engage in three activities: writing decimal names, understanding place value, and comparing decimals to thousandths. At the end of the lesson, there is a motivating game...
San Francisco Symphony
By the Great Horn Spoon!
By The Great Horn Spoon is a fantastic novel for introducing learners to life during the California Gold Rush. First, kids research and analyze American folk songs, then they connect to the text as they listen to symphonic pieces written...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Color Moods
Can art be a mode of communication? You bet it can! Learners explore how colors are used to convey mood in art. First, the class listens to three very unique musical selections that convey three different moods. Then, they compare and...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Instruments from Various Cultures
After a review of orchestral instruments and instrument families, learners make their own. They listen to the song "Simple Gifts" and identify the instruments heard in the piece. Then they draw an instrument of their own invention,...
Curated OER
Lesson: Paul Chan: "Score for the 7th Light"
Music, art, and poetry coalesce in a single exhibition, and in a single lesson. Critical thinkers analyze the Fluxus art movement as it's seen in the work of Paul Chan's 7 Lights. They consider the use of poetry and music in his work,...
Curated OER
Individuality vs. Conformity
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...
Ziptales
The Pied Piper of Hamelin: The Mystery of the Children of Hamelin
Which is more likely: 130 children followed a magical piper out of Hamelin and disappeared forever, or that they died of the plague? Or could they have escaped from Hamelin via a secret tunnel to Transylvania? Learners investigate...
Curated OER
Critical Consumerism: Videos and Teen Culture
Students analyze music videos as a study on teen culture. In this teen culture instructional activity, students view music videos and track a different aspect of the videos for male representation, female representation, racial...
Curated OER
Where the Wild Things Shouldn't Be
Students compare and contrast wild and domestic animal needs. In this animal welfare lesson, students read the poem Where the Wild Things Shouldn't Be and create a list of wild and domestic animals. Students create a short play or song...
Curated OER
Music Appreciation:
Students list the four main families of musical instruments, name one instrument from each musical family, name three ways music is used in everyday life.