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Jazz in America
Students participate in a class discussion about jazz music, compare improvisation with regular conversion, listen to various jazz musicians and compare and contrast their individual sounds.
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Woodwind Instruments and Pitch
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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Ice -T's Rap School
Students research the history of rap and gain an understanding of the components of rap music. They experience the correlation between Shakespeare's poetry and rap music of today.
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Langston Hughes and the Blues
Students explore the connections between Langson Hughes and blues music. In this African American culture lesson, students compare and contrast blues music with poetry and short stories by Langston Hughes.
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Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum
Students explore the American dream. In this contemporary music lesson, students analyze the lyrics of songs by Neil Diamond, Bruce Springsteen, and David Massengill. Students create 3-D representations of the American dream and write...
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Gargoyles, Black Death, and Scary Music
Students research the Dark Ages using books, the Internet, and other media. In this Dark Ages lesson plan, students study poetry, music, art, and the architecture of the Dark Ages.
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Electronically Composing Music
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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Conveying Message Through Musical Composition
Students listen to and discuss various protest songs from the 1960's, and write original lyrics for a song addressing global or societal issues. They write a paragraph evaluating the efficacy of the song to convey a message.
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African Music and Instruments
Students listen to African music and determine its origin. They discuss basic elements of African music and sing an African song. Students examine the rhythm, instruments and culture of Africa. Using various websites, they observe...
National First Ladies' Library
We're off to see the Wizard!
Students explore the process of play and movie making from books. They study the basic elements of drama and write and produce a play based on a chosen theme. Students explain the basic elements of a play by looking at "The Wonderful...
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Storytellers: Pearl Jam, Lesson 1
Students examine the meaning of genre, and specifically investigate the musical genre of grunge. They view and discuss photos, watch the video, "VH1 Storytellers: Pearl Jam," answer discussion questions, and paraphrase the lyrics to a...
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Ella Fitzgerald: Something to Live For
Students examine the basic characteristics of jazz, and its relationship to African-American culture and history. They listen to examples of jazz, conduct research, and create a 20th century timeline of music and historical events.
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Periodic Table of Fun
Are you looking to put the fun back in the fundamentals of chemistry? Why not have groups create their own periodic tables of something (animals, food, music groups, etc.) practicing the organizational strategies used in the periodic...
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VH1 Driven: Kanye West, Lesson 3
Students compose a beat in the style of Kanye West. They listen to and analyze the song, "Through the Wire" by Kanye West, compose a beat, and complete a worksheet.
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VH1 Driven: Shakira, Lesson 3
Students watch a video about the life of Latin singer/pop star, Shakira and identify the elements that make her music unique. They explore Latin music and dance and research the music and dance of a specific Latin American country.
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Louisiana's Tragic Hero - "Evangeline"
"Ye who believe...List to a Tale of Love in Acadie." Longfellow's epic poem, "Evangeline," launches a study of tragic heroines, epic poetry, the expulsion of the Acadians from Canada, and their subsequent migration to Louisiana. The...
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Character in a Bag
Develop a mystery character using clues from a bag. This engaging activity will help learners understand character traits. They develop a list of the items from the bag, discuss and develop the character with a partner, and create a...
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Meet Antonin Dvorak
Young scholars engage in a lesson plan that is related to the history of Antonin Dvorak. They conduct research using a variety of resources. Students listen and identify some of the basic elements of music. The lesson plan includes...
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The Classical Period
Sixth graders are introduced to the classical period in music history. After listening to examples, they identify and describe the characteristics of music during this time period and research the main composers. Using the internet,...
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Lessons of the Indian Epics: The Ramayana
Students read a version of Ramayana and explore the elements of the epic hero cycle. In this Ramayana analysis lesson, students retell the basic narrative of the Ramayana and identify the main characters. Students identify elements of...
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You Too Can Haiku: How to Write a Haiku
Students explore language arts by writing their own poems. In this haiku instructional activity, students investigate the Japanese culture and their beautiful music, poetry and art. Students count the syllables in every line of a haiku...
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Enjoying Puerto Rican Artistts
Students examine artwork done by artists from Puerto Rico. As a class, they discuss each piece of work based on the elements used. They use the internet to research the lives of the artists and develop their own opinions on the art...
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All Access Spotlight: U2
Students explain the growth and development of a musical group and their work through discussion and analysis of two representative songs by U2 from their first and last albums.
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Story Writing
High schoolers master their compare and contrast writing skills by choosing an American cultural element (fashion, food, religion, etc.) and comparing it to the same element of another culture.