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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reviewing Good Playing Habits

For Teachers 5th - 8th
The string section of your school orchestra can get a proper form make-over by incorporating this lesson. They reestablish proper playing form, posture, and sound as they compose an essay on how to maintain good playing habits during...
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Worksheet
Classics for Kids

Instrumental Sounds

For Students 4th - 5th
What sound does a piccolo make? What's the difference between a violin and viola? What family does a timpani belong to? Take a tour through the different sections of an orchestra with an interactive reference tool.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Instruments of the Orchestra- Flute and Oboe

For Teachers K - 5th
Students name the different families in an orchestra, name many of the instruments in each family, listen to an orchestral recording to identify the flute and oboe and listen to the melody of a piece.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Musical Role Models

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Young scholars 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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Orchestra: Exploring the Instruments

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore the instruments of the orchestra. In this music appreciation activity, students discover the four families of instruments and research each of them using selected Internet sources.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music: Instruments of the Orchestra

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students identify various musical instruments and explain their roles in an orchestra. Following a Powerpoint presentation, students discuss what they have discovered in small groups. Then, each groups devises four questions based on...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Meet the Instruments of the Orchestra

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students examine the characteristics of the four families of instruments. They read an eBook, unscramble instruments and categorize them in the correct families, take a quiz, and explore the San Francisco Symphony website.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Instrument Research

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders work in pairs and choose one instrument from the orchestra to research. They are introduced to the software and use it to search for their instrument. They then may go onto the website, "DSOkids.com" to find out more about...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Conducting the "Orchestra": How to Implement the Maestro

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
Students work as a team member to produce a newspaper.  In this newspaper production lesson plan, students understand the role that each staff member plays in the production of a publication as they demonstrate commitment to the team’s...
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Activity
Canada's National Arts Center

Vivaldi and The Four Seasons

For Students 4th - 6th
Did you know that Vivaldi’s orchestra was largely made up of girls from an orphanage? Fun facts like this fill a 34-page teacher's kit designed to accompany a cross-curricular study of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Compare and Contrast Composers

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars identify various pieces of music that are familiar to them and define how the music made them feel. Then they select their favorite piece of music heard and the activities in which they like to do. Students also attend a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music As Survival: Alma Rose and the Auschwitz Women's Orchestra

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore a period of European history in which musicians have used theri musical talents and abilities to survive and rise above extremely difficult situations. The psychological uses of music by the Nazis is examined in this...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, Dance of the Floreadores, Waltz of the Flowers in the Meter of Duke

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students contrast the meter and style of two different versions of the musical piece, "Waltz of the Flowers." Duke Ellington's meter in the "Dance of the Floreadores" is compared to Tchaikovsky's version in the "Nutcracker."
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Duking It Out

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students read and discuss 'Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra: Mixing Treasures by Duke Ellington and Edvard Grieg,' exploring how jazz transformed European music and the influence jazz has had on modern music. They write musical reviews.
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Worksheet
Classics for Kids

Hurry Up – Slow Down

For Students 4th - 5th Standards
Is your music appreciation class feeling a bit adagio this afternoon? Pick up the pace and get them feeling andante with a straightforward music theory activity. After defining several terms for musical dynamics and musical tempos,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Duke Ellington: Great American Musician and Composer

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students delve into the life and music of Duke Ellington as a major American musician and composer. The elements that made the sound of his orchestra unique and the talents of his band members are explored in this lesson.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

George Gershwin

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students explore the life and accomplishments of George Gershwin. They listen to Latin rhythms and practice the rhythmic parts. Students identify Latin instruments George Gershwin added to the orchestra. After practice, they perform a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students research the history, art, music, and architecture of Vienna and make an oral presentation based on their findings. They listen to segments of the Vienna Philharmonic New Year's celebration and design a musical extravaganza in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Beethoven Manuscript Sold at Auction

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students react to a series of statements about Beethoven, then read a news article about the sale of a 179-year-old manuscript by the musical genius. In this current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a discussion and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigating Brass Instruments and Pitch

For Teachers 1st - 4th
Students observe the sounds of different brass instruments in order to understand how to create different pitches. In this musical lesson, students create a "brass" instrument from everyday household objects. The students discuss the...
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Unit Plan
San Francisco Symphony

Instrument and Visual Appreciation of Art

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

Feelin' Swing, Part 2

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Upper elementary schoolers listen to and reproduce the rythm of Mary Lou William's musical piece, "Scratchin' in the Gravel." The swing song was written at a time that women did not play jazz. She broke the rules by playing and writing...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Island of the Skog

For Teachers K - 2nd
"Students read "The Island of the Skog." Prior to reading, students observe the book cover, predict the events of the story, and discuss what a skog may look like. Students make footprints in play dough and observe the differences...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Woodwind Instruments and Pitch

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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...

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