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Unit Plan
Classics for Kids

Introduction to Music: Symphony

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
Expose young elementary students to the works of one of the greatest musical composers, Ludwig van Beethoven. Using three progressive lesson plans to complete the unit, class members are able to distinguish low and high sounds, count the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Focus on Harmony

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Harmony is the focus of this band lesson. Upper graders play the Star Spangled Banner, while focusing on harmony, chords, and musical voice. This lesson includes several suggested cross-curricular activities.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Independent Harmonies

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Independent harmonies, homophonic music, intervals, and melody are all part of music theory and practice. Prepare your budding musicians for the big time with these activities focused on playing with accompaniment. This instructional...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Parallel Harmonies

For Teachers 4th - 8th
What is a parallel harmony? You and your class can explore musical terminology through song. You define what a parallel harmony is, the class identifies parallel harmony in music they hear, and then you all sing some examples together....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Simple Chordal Harmony

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Practice makes perfect, especially when playing a musical instrument. This lesson examines simple chordal harmony, melody, and playing with accompaniment. Learners listen to a series of songs that exemplify the concept then play a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hello Girls

For Teachers 9th
Ninth grade girls get together to sing the song Hello Girls. They warm up with common voice exercises then work to maintain melody, harmony, pitch and tone. 
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Activity
Can Teach

Pass the Melody

For Teachers K - 4th
Get a jam session started in your elementary music class! Learners engage in melody transitions by singing a familiar song and passing on the tune to the next person.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Down By the Riverside

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars discuss the musical genre of spirituals and its influence on our musical history. They perform various songs, and read the student score for, Down By the Riverside.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music: Zim, Zim, and La Tarara

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students establish the correct way to sing and play melodies in Spanish. In this music lesson plan, students review the correct pronunciation of the song "Zim, Zim" and participate in singing it correctly.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fifth Grade Music: Lesson 3 - Unison and Harmony

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders sing the syllables and pitches of the C major scale, and sing Do - Re - Mi in two-part harmony. They discuss the definition for round and canon, and contrast gamelan music of the Spice Islands with reggae from Jamaica.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fifth Grade Music: An Ancient Round, Vocal Music in the Renaissance

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders sing the melody for Sumer Is Icumen In, in unison and as a two-part round. They listen to a madrigal from Renaissance Italy and a lute song from Elizabethan England.
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Lesson Plan
SoundTree

When The Saints Go Marching In: A Lesson for Middle School Keyboard Lab Students

For Teachers 6th - 8th
After listening to a variety of interpretations of "When the Saints Go Marching In," partners compose and then perform their own renditions of this classic before joining a full-class jam session.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music - O Brother, Where Art Thou?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students practice singing with correct posture. They sight read music and sing in choral harmony. Students identify the characteristics of a melody and examine the style of Southern Baptist hymns.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Viennese Music Clock

For Teachers K - 2nd
Pupils explore the music concepts of ryhthm, melody, form, and harmony in a three-lesson unit. They listen to the Viennese Music Clock and demonstrate moving to the beat, create improvised melodies, and play percussion accompaniment.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Round and A Round

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students practice singing rounds in daily warm-ups for 2 weeks prior to beginning this composition lesson. Students incorporate movement to the rhythm of each syllable, discuss syllables of words and their relationship to note values and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

VH1 Classic Presents: Paul McCartney: Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, Lesson 3

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students in a guitar class perform the Beatles song, Eleonor Rigby and study it's melodic and harmonic structures. They discover the process of arranging the song for a 4-part guitar ensemble.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

On with the Show!

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students perform in musical ensembles using the district adjudication sheet to assess their performance. They practice for the district music festival.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Amazing Fibonacci

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students integrate the patterns of Fibonacci into music. For this geometry lesson, students apply the concepts of recursion, pattern and Phi or Golden Ratio to composing and playing music on various instruments. They lesson is co-taught...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tinker, Tailor

For Teachers 1st
First graders practice the song "Tinker, Tailor" using percussion instruments, Orff instruments, and their voices in this Music lesson for the 1st grade. The lesson is intended for use within an Orff unit of study and includes...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Spanish Instruments, Zim, Zim and La Tarara

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore Spanish instruments. In this Spanish music lesson, students observe how to play castanets, guitars, tambourines, drums, and bells. Students then listen to and create music featuring the instruments.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

William Tell Overture: Finale

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students analyze the William Tell Overture for meter and conducting, among other musical concepts in a three-lesson unit. They practice conducting patterns and identify eighth and quarter notes and chord roots.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Younger Generation

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Students discuss the composer Aaron Copland and the lyricist Ira Gershwin and their significance in/contributions to American music of their time while singing the song "Younger Generation" in the choir setting. Emphasis is placed on...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Haydn 's Surprise

For Teachers K - 2nd
Young scholars explore the background of Haydn's Surprise and the texture of the music. The teacher uses mouse and lion puppets to demonstrate soft and loud music. They tiptoe and stomp to display the concept. and play a soft/loud...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

B is for Banana

For Teachers K - 6th
Learners practice and perform the song "B is for Banana" using their knowledge of basic rhythms in 4/4 and student-created rhythm accompaniment based on speech. This excellent lesson is provided by the MENC (National Association for...