Jazz, Blue Grass, Hip Hop, Swing. Gospel, R&B, Ragtime, Disco. So many music genres born in the USA. After reading an article about the fate of New Orlean's Jazz after Hurricane Katrina, class members investigate the life cycles of...

Fun awaits both you and your class as you embark on a musical activity. After discussing different rhythmic meters they choose a poem to set to music. The poem must rhyme and be set to a melody in the key of C Major. Because the activity...

Connect the ideas of jazz improvisation and art to writing poetry. Learners collaborate and write different lines of poetry, imitating the jazz styles of improvisation and freewriting. Take a close look at the poems "Tenebrae" by Yusef...

Students investigate music appreciation by completing worksheets. In this musical arts lesson, students complete worksheets in which they identify different musical instruments, the sounds they make and the family of instruments they...

Students work in pairs to compose a duet (with percussion instruments) that contains syncopated rhythm sequences. Each student will research a piece of music that they feel uses syncopation and will give a persuasive speech to the class.

Rhyme, rhythm, free verse, imagery: Do these words describe poetry, or jazz music? The answer is both! A resource explores these similarities as scholars watch a video, engage in discussion, read author biographies, write poetry and...

Integrating technology and music can be a snap with lessons like this one! Kids in a junior high band class took to the Internet to download and practice playing their instrument with a computer generated back up band. They practice...

This units gives students opportunities to * Research the history and patterns of French settlement in Louisiana * Discover three types of music (New Orleans jazz, Cajun, Zydeco) which are representative of the Francophone presence in...

Creative projects are great ways to increase interest in topical research. Middle schoolers learning about primitive life styles in the Americas explore the importance of music to hunter gatherers. They research and create musical...

Students analyze the elements of poetry and jazz. In this critical thinking skills instructional activity, students take a closer look at the rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, form, free verse, lyricism, and imagery that exist is jazz as well...

Students combine elements of music with poetry.  In this creative writing lesson, students examine poems from a variety of authors with varying writing styles.  Students explore the different elements of poetry, including tone,...

What's the most popular music style in Brazil? What about Cuba? Or the Dominican Republic? An immersive project teaches young learners about the salsa, the samba, and the merengue with research assignments and dance performances.

Students gain an appreciation for various types of music. Using the music of the past, they compare it with the music of today. In groups, they research periods in which blues and jazz were most popular and write their own piece of music...

Students discover how storytelling can shape a person's tradition.Students examine different methods of storytelling such as music, biographies, and African folktales. They then demonstrate their knowledge of storytelling by writing...

Third graders complete a unit of lessons on the singing, instruments, and dancing of Native Americans. They identify and play various instruments, complete worksheets, define key vocabulary, sing songs, and perform dances.

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.

Students read a New York Times article to help them develop an understanding of the history, development, and social influence of various types of world music through the creation of music museum exhibits.

Explore the components of rhythm and form through a reading of Jean Marzollo's I Spy books. After discussing Marzollo’s format, the class agrees upon a theme for a class book and topics that fit with that theme. Pupils write a poem,...

Young scholars 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...

Students discover film making by participating in a music performance.  In this performance arts lesson, students perform music and physical acting to convey an already written script for their peers.  Students collaborate with...

Students watch a videotape on the musical career of Aretha Franklin and explore the different careers in the music industry.

Students consider the role of rhythm, form, diction, and sound in poetry. In this integrated arts lesson, students discuss the attributes of poetry as they analyze Shakespearean sonnets, hip hop music lyrics, and poems by Nikki...

Students investigate the concepts that focuses upon the musical rhythms. They conduct class discussion and use questions in order to clear up any misconceptions. Students create art compositions that illustrate rhythm and then each one...

Young scholars are introduced to the concept of minimal music. In groups, they identify its characteristics and its relationship to minimal art. Using the internet, they research the various historical time periods in which it was...