The backbone of Latin American music is the beat! Young musicians work on blending Afro-Latin rhythms and beat patterns before incorporating the major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, and blues scales in their own compositions.

An outstanding lesson on music awaits your young composers! They learn about patterns found in music, the different sections of an orchestra, and see the differences between musicians and a composer. Excellent streamed videos and good...

There are a lot of great ideas to be found here. To better understand the connection between art and history, learners research several music and art pieces, then relate them to major social events. They study the lives and works...

Students identify instruments and their sounds and use them to model their own orchestra. After choosing an instrument to investigate further, they research to become familiar with the sound of the instrument, how the sound is created,...

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...

Turn the class into a percussive orchestra and let the kids take over as conductor. You'll explain a few ins and outs of what a conductor does. Then you hand over the baton and let your budding Beethovens conduct each other as they...

Students construct simple musical instruments. In this music lesson plan, students read the text Max Found Two Sticks and construct their own instruments from classroom materials.

Students receive a musical instrument of the orchestra and the family it belongs to. They run when the teacher calls either the instrument or the family.

Learners explore different types of musical instruments. In this musical instrument instructional activity, students create a replica of a sheng. Learners utilize this instrument to understand different types of breathing used in...

Duke Ellington, jazz, and jive kick-off a fun and creative lesson on responding emotionally to music. The class will learn about jive talk used in the 1920s and the life and music of Duke Ellington. They'll listen to a selection of his...

Students discover music that was inspired by the spooky and bizarre. In this music of Hector Berlioz and Camille Saint-Saens lesson, students identify elements of music and listen to the Symphonie Fantastique and Danse Macabre....

Students practice identifying different genres of music by creating posters.  In this music appreciation lesson, students research Duke Ellington and complete worksheets based on his style of music, Jazz.  Students collaborate...

Students explore musical pitch. In this cross curriculum musical instruments and "sound" physics lesson, students identify and describe common traits of woodwind instruments. Students research "pitch" and what causes pitch fluctuation by...

Second graders study Folk Songs and instruments of the orchestra in these lessons. They recognize the difference between folk songs and classical music.

Students examine the important contributions made by Duke Ellington to the field of jazz, as well as some of the factors that led to his involvement in the field. As they explore the language of the 1920's, connections will be drawn...

Second graders uncover the form, timbre, and the significance of Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" in the five lessons of this unit. The use of instrumentation forms the basis of the lessons.

Pupils invent a musical instrument to be played by them. They invent a nonstandard notation for music and compose a short piece to preform for the class using their instrument.

Students study Duke Ellington's contributions to the field of jazz. They write poetry using language that was popular in the 1920's. They listen to a piece of Duke Ellington jazz and respond with at painting.

Students explore the sounds of the estuary. In this wetlands lesson, students discuss how to simulate the sounds of nature. Students write and record a musical score featuring the sounds of the wetlands.

Students explore Chinese instruments. In this Chinese instrument music instructional activity, students listen to a performance by Liu Fang and describe the sounds they hear. Students classify western and Chinese instruments according to...

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,...

Second graders study the four families of orchestral instruments and patriotic songs in this unit of lessons.

Students identify and demonstrate a positive learning attitude. They also demonstrate responsible emotional and cognitive behaviors and identify how to communicate clearly in oral, artistic, written, and nonverbal form. Finally, students...

Students incorporate elements of photo composition and demonstrate how to upload digital pictures to the computer. They create their own instrument utilizing resources from home as well as specialized music hardware. They participate in...