Lesson Plan
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Creating an Original Opera

For Teachers 9th - 12th
This may be a lot to ask of a high schooler, but then again, who knows? Pupils work in groups to explore, write, and then perform an original opera. They view versions of The Magic Flute and La Traviata, then compose a plot, characters,...
Lesson Plan
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Composing Music

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students explore music appreciation by creating their own music pieces in class. In this music composition lesson, students collaborate in small groups with their instruments and compose a short song which they will play for class....
Lesson Plan
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Composing Music

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
Students explore music appreciation by reading sheet music. In this musical score analysis lesson, students utilize their individual instruments to play the song "Peter and the Wolf." Students listen to an online version of the song and...
Lesson Plan
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Compose Your Memory

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students notate a short musical composition using the notation software Sibelius. This composition is based on a the student's favorite childhood memory. Based on their emotions felt at this time, they incorporate tempo, range, and...
Lesson Plan
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"Mambo" from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students encounter and study "Mambo" from "West Side Story," by Leonard Bernstein. They practice utilizing musical elements (instrumentation, tempo, and dynamics) to create a certain mood for a scene with music. Each student interprets...
Lesson Plan
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Rock and Roll with Music and Movement

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders improvise music and dance to express their analysis of types of rocks. They discuss the three classes of rocks, list describing words, and create a short musical piece and dance to symbolize the rock they are dancing.
Lesson Plan
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Word Art with King's Words

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students investigate equality and racism by creating a word art project.  In this civil rights activity, students discover the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and create a word art project using the Internet site Wordle Web. ...
Lesson Plan
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Lesson Plan for Adagio for Strings, Op. 11 (1938)

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students study the life and music of composer, Samuel Barber. In groups, representing trees, water, and stars they use interpretive dance to tell the story of the musical composition, 'Adagio for Strings, Op. 11' by Barber.
Lesson Plan
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Can You Hear a Story?

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students listen to, analyze, and describe music. They explain relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
Unit Plan
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Music Drama & Richard Wagner: The Lord Of The Ring

For Teachers 7th
Students study Richard Wagner and his idea of "Music Drama". Students listen to his music, pantomime, and lead "music dramas" to discover Wagner's idea of the world of composition and drama.
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Red, White, and Blue Notes

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars explore the history of major American music genres. Then, through mock radio shows, students examine the distinguishing features of each genre and how each has changed throughout the years.
Lesson Plan
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Melody Words

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders compose a melody by placing words on the music staff. They play their melody words for the class.
Lesson Plan
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Teams in the Field

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students conduct team interviews outside the classroom, either within the school or beyond, as part of a fieldwork project. They use reasoning skills as they formulate questions, plan, predict, hypothesize, and speculate about the...