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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Electronically Composing Music

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students complete a worksheet and discuss components of musical composition. Students familiarize themselves with the program, Finale. Students then work cooperatively to compose a musical suite.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning the Blues

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Singing the Blues with Garageband

For Teachers 5th - 8th
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,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

True Music

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders research a given decade in US History.  For this American History lesson, 11th graders interview a person who lived during the decade to gain a personal perspective on it.  Students rehearse and present their composition. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Sorcerer's Apprentice: 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Upper graders view the animated short, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and analyze how the music score was chosen to express the scene. They create an animation as they listen to a classical recording to experience the connection between...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Original Rhythm Compositions for Poetry

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students create and perform original musical compositions using poetry as a basis for the creative process. This cross-curricular two-day lesson can be done in two 45 minute class periods. Students evaluate performances as part of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Form and Theme in the Traditional Mexican Corrido

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students examine the traditional Mexican musical form of corridos. In this cross curricular history and music lesson, students analyze the lyrics of popular corridos and the corridos' importance in Mexican culture. Students will compose...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Math, Music and Architecture: Kindergarten Geometry and Aesthetics in Music and Architecture

For Teachers K - 8th
Students identify and name different geometrical shapes. In this math instructional activity, students distinguish odd from even numbers. They describe the properties of 2 and 3 dimensional objects.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Global Music Patterns- Islamic Art

For Teachers 7th - 11th
Learners compose music using Islamic patterns. In this cultural arts lesson, students examine Islamic art and analyze the patterns. Learners incorporate various Islamic patterns into a musical composition.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Character Traits in Fables

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Combining art, music, dance, and reading comprehension, this lesson is geared to reach all ability levels. After reading a variety of fables and discussing story elements and character traits, class members select a moral to use as the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Musical Form and Sibelius Groovy Music Shapes

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students create a song using the form ABACADAEA. Students listen to a musical piece created by Vivaldi that is an example of this musical form. Then students use software to create their own musical forms representing this pattern.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Compose Your Memory

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners notate a short musical composition using the notation software Sibelius. This composition is based on a the student's favorite childhood memory. Based on their emotions felt at this time, they incorporate tempo, range, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

VH1 AIDS: A Pop Culture History Lesson 3

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers investigate the relationship between music and culture, and how music conveys thoughts and emotions. They write their own song.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Set a Poem to Music

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students consider the role of rhythm and meter in poetry. In this integrated arts lesson, students discuss the attributes of poetry and use their music skills to set picture book poetry to music by creating "singable" poems.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson Plan for Adagio for Strings, Op. 11 (1938)

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Learners study the life and music of composer, Samuel Barber. In groups, representing trees, water, and stars they use interpretive dance to tell the story of the musical composition, 'Adagio for Strings, Op. 11' by Barber.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Symphonic Poetry

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students interpret the themes in Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, create a 6-line poem based on the themes in the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, and define musical terms related to the study of programmatic music in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Trees-Whiz

For Teachers 7th - 9th
A unique series of lessons on trees is here for you. The series has learners utilize visual art, musical compositions, and literature in order to examine how trees have a place in a culture. The classic tale, The Giving Tree is one...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Round and A Round

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students practice singing rounds in daily warm-ups for 2 weeks prior to beginning this composition lesson. Students incorporate movement to the rhythm of each syllable, discuss syllables of words and their relationship to note values and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The History of Rock and Roll: Part 6 - My Generation - Lesson 2

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars identify musical characteristics of baroque, jazz, and psychedelic music. They arrange traditional music into the style of baroque, jazz, and psychedelic music.
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Lesson Plan
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A Song for Today - Lesson 3

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Pupils analyze musical and topical elements in popular songs and compose song as a classroom effort. They write a short paragraph evaluating the effectiveness of the song in conveying the message of the lyrics.
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Unit Plan
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Africa: Small Sounds From a Big Country

For Teachers 8th
Students explore the music from Burundi, Zimbabwe, and Pygmy cultures. They listen to and discuss music from the African cultures, analyze the musical elements, write a song, and perform music.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Behind the Movie Chicago - Lesson 1

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students are introduced to the genre of the musical film. They become aware of the music and dance trends of the 1920s. They identify musical motive as a basis for unity in composition.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

General Music Methods

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students work as a class to compose an original four-measure rhythm. After a brief review of a sight reading Gordon rhythm patterns, students compose their own rhythm with each student selecting a part for the composition. All...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music in America - Lesson 4

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students choose a theme for a song. They compose a poem, and write music to go along with their poem. The instructor plays the musical accompaniment, and the class votes on the most appropriate rhythmic pattern.