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
Nos Creemos Americanos: Braceros in History and Song
Mexican folk songs offer an authentic look at WWII immigrant workers. This study of the U.S. Bracero Program sets historians up with context information so they can write their own corrido. The class reviews themes and formulas of...
Curated OER
Alicia Keys, Songs in A Minor
How do a person's musical preferences influence the way they compose music of their own? Learners analyze the sound and lyrics of Alicia Keys in relation to musicians that came before. Jazz, blues, and soul music from the past are shown...
Curated OER
Breaking the Code: Actions and Songs of Protest
Students listen to and discuss the purpose of protest music. They analyze an editorial cartoon related to Jim Crow and read questions from the literacy tests given to African-Americans. They work together to write a song about the...
Curated OER
"Uncle Sam's Got Himself in a Terrible Jam": Protest Music and the Vietnam War
"And it's one, two, three...what are we fighting for?" Use music to assess the climate of protest during the Vietnam War, listening to and analyzing Country Joe MacDonald's "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag" (lyrics included)....
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Freedom Riders and the Popular Music of the Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s marched to its own beat—literally. Using songs from the era, as well as other primary sources such as King's "I Have a Dream" speech, class members analyze lyrics to discover how music and protest...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Immigrant Discrimination
For a class learning about Chinese and Irish immigration in America, here's a great starting lesson plan. It has your critical thinkers examining song lyrics, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and a political cartoon, and finally...
Curated OER
Teaching About Tolerance Through Music
Explore the importance of tolerance with a music-themed lesson. Learners listen to the music of Peter, Paul, and Mary, and discern the underlying messages before discussing the painful effects of ridicule, disrespect, and...
Curated OER
Character Development Through Song
Learners use songs to analyze their sense of identity and self-worth. In groups, they discuss and explore their own character development and discover how far they have come in recent years. They also identify the positive and negative...
Curated OER
And You Don't Stop - 30 Years of Hip-Hop, Episode 2, Lesson 1
Students discuss Public Enemy's lyrics and compare and contrast them with songs popular during the Civil Rights Movement. They write their own rap song that expresses feelings of oppression or freedom from oppression.
Curated OER
25 Greatest Protest Songs - Lesson 2
Students explain the potential consequences of protest. They discuss selected historical conflicts and examine the role of the individual in protest.
Curated OER
Musical Poetry
Students analyze lyrics of their favorite songs as examples of alliteration, metaphor, Onomatopoeia, personification, rhyme, and simile to determine the purpose of these devices in poetry. They use their analysis to create a presentation...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Immigration: Why Come to the United States?
Don't limit your curriculum to texts! Young historians listen to a song, read an interview, and examine a cartoon as they explore motivations for immigrating to the US in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Curated OER
Learning About the Civil Rights Movement Through Photographs
Pupils examine the racial inequality that existed in the United States before the Civil Rights Movement. After listening to song lyrics and viewing photographs, they discover the importance of the movement in helping society move toward...
Curated OER
Disco - Voices of a New Generation
Students analyze lyrics of selected Disco songs for content, theme and vocabulary. They write an extended response citing specific lyrics in response to three general themes.
Curated OER
One Song, Many Voices
Students discuss the purpose and meaning of the song "One Song, Many Voices" and how the music expresses the composer's message. Students sing, conduct, and analyze two different songs during the instructional activity in a choir...
Curated OER
Old Hickories
Learners analyze historical events to develop a historical perspective. In this critical analysis lesson plan, students read excerpts, primary sources and other materials in order to understand the Native American Removal that occurred...
Curated OER
Stand Up and Sing: Music and Our Reform History
Students examine events of historical significance in music. In groups, they are given pieces of sheet music and work together to try to determine the social and political conditions of the time based on the lyrics. They write their own...
Curated OER
Animal Habitats
Students explore animal lifestyles by researching their characteristics. In this animal habitat lesson, students read the story Over in the Jungle and analyze the animal illustrations in the book. Students create clay animal characters...
Curated OER
Storytellers: Coldplay
Students discover the importance of lyrics in the successful combination of music and words in the process of composing a song. They discuss how emotion-based lyrics influence the creative aspects in composing a song.
Curated OER
Connecting to Colonial Music
Young scholars listen to songs from the French and Indian War period. They answer questions about the song and identify any historical terms. They examine the role of music in their own lives.
Curated OER
Freedom
Students brainstorm a list of the freedoms they have living in the United States. In groups, they compare and contrast these freedoms with those of their home country. After completeing a worksheet, they examine lyrics to songs to...
Curated OER
Increase the Peace At Recess
Students discuss activities that could further keep the peace at recess. Using vocabulary, they analyze recess from a different point of view. They discover how working together can make their school a safer and fun place. They...
Curated OER
Poetry Continued
Students are introduced to the elements in poetry. After listening to music, they discuss how it made them feel and what the lyrics mean to them. Individually, they are given specific elements to write their poem and share it with the...