What do Johann Sebastian Bach and Miles Davis have in common? Much more than class members might imagine. The comparison of these two famous composers is just one lesson in a unit that investigates many facets of the music industry...

Elementary schoolers are given an overview of the baroque, classical, romantic, and modern periods of music. They focus on the lives of Beethoven and Mozart; two of the greatest composers of all time. After listening to samples their...

Historical accounts of various events have proven to differ depending on the point of view of the person documenting the event. Learners read and analyze two first person accounts of acts of slave resistance seen at a southern...

Over the course of six lessons, scholars try their hand at composing and dancing after a thorough examination of the famous ballet, The Nutcracker, by Tchaikovsky. Participants watch and discuss the performance of two dances, create...

A three-minute exercise warms-up scholars' writing abilities in order to follow a writing process that ends in an essay. The essay's topic is a barrier and the values used to break it. Four steps include choosing a topic,...

Carl Sandburg composed poetry that conveyed a time and place in American Literature and history. Learners identify the literary techniques he uses to describe the historical and cultural context of living in Chicago. They define the...

Portraiture, artistic expression, romanticism, and androgyny are discussed in a thought-provoking instructional activity. Upper graders first discuss and examine the history of portraiture and the elements common to the Romantic style....

What was the relationship like between George and Martha Washington? To protect their privacy, Martha Washington destroyed all her husband’s letters after his death so historians have little evidence of their lives together. Two letters...

Why didn't Rapunzel's hair stop growing?  Why did it take the fairy godmother so long to intervene in Cinderella's affairs? Young writers consider unanswered questions like these and compose news articles investigating the true...

Introduce the art of Georgia O'Keefe to you class. Here, you'll find brief information about her life and art style, as well as eight of her famous flower paintings. Learners will be able to analyze the organic shapes and colors she used...

“. . .different men often see the same subject in different lights. . .” but the great orator Patrick Henry used all the skills at his command to craft a speech to convince listeners to see things as he did--that liberty was worth dying...

A cross-curricular lesson combines poetry and history for your middle and high schoolers. The class critically examines Kipling's poem, "White Man's Burden" as historical evidence of the Imperialist ideology popular during his time. The...

Students examine the development of racial stereotyping beginning with the antebellum years. They research how blackface minstrel songs reinforced the antebellum mindset of African-Americans. Secondly, students investigate "Uncle Tom's...

Students listen to a recording of Suite for Orchestra No. 3 by J. S. Bach, review and recognize basic musical instruments by sight, and begin to recognize sounds of some instruments.

Students study the affect of a theme song can have on a show or performer. They compare and contrast an original television theme song with classical music.

Young scholars watch a video on spiritual music, then engage in a discussion about the artists and styles mentioned in the video. They discuss vocal improvisation, and engage in a call and response to "This Little Light Of Mine.'

Students compare two versions of song done as an original and as a cover. They attempt to arrange a pop song to show a different musical style.

Students examine time and meter in the jazz idiom. They analyze Take the A Train and Take Five. They research websites featuring Ella Fitzgerald and her music.

Third graders explore about the Chinese rituals of poetry competition. They compare and contrast Chinese picnics with American picnics. Students create short poems, celebrating their own spring poetry picnic. They discuss words or...