Lesson Plan
Education Closet

Equal Rhythms

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Engage young mathematicians in learning about fractions with this cross-curricular math and music lesson. After listening to and repeating different beat patterns, children realize that musical notes are just another way of representing...
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

The Birth of an Icon: Learning and Performing the Origins of the Drum Set and Early Jazz Drumming in New Orleans, Louisiana

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Bass drum, snare drum, tom-toms, cymbals. Perched behind their drum sets, wielding their drum sticks and wire brushes, drummers lay the grove and are the heartbeat of a band's performance. A dynamic lesson introduces young musicians to...
Handout
Fun Music Company

Note Values

For Students 2nd - 12th
Note values are the focus of a short worksheet that asks young musicians to respond to short-answer questions and to complete a measure with notes of the appropriate value.
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Spirits Across the Ocean: Yoruban and Dahomean Cultures in the Caribbean Brought by the Slave Trade

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Much of Latin American music owes its origins to the slave trade. Peoples from the Yoruban and Dahomean cultures brought with them the distinctive rhythms, time signatures, and eighth note patterns that now characterize Caribbean music....
Worksheet
Fun Music Company

Bat Trails: Music Symbols

For Students 2nd - 8th
Whether written for Therese, Elisabeth, or for Juliane, young music theory students will enjoy pursuing the clues hidden in music symbols that indicate who wrote "Fur Elise."
Activity
1
1
Fun Music Company

Lifesavers for the Music Teacher

For Teachers K - 8th
A symphony of ideas are contained in this eBook designed by music teachers for music teachers. The 40 activities have all proven to be lifesavers. A must-have for your curriculum library.
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

The Sounds of an Island: Jamaican Music for the Classroom

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Introduce young explorers to the music and history of Jamaican culture through game songs and dances. As a bonus, class members get to play simple songs transcribed for the recorder.
Worksheet
Fun Music Company

Code Breaking with Music Symbols Representing Letters

For Students 2nd - 12th
Navajo code talkers beware! These kids use music symbols to break the codes and find both the question and the answer to a music trivia question.
Activity
Wordpress

Behind the Music Project

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Authors write about what they know, and that does not exclude songwriters. Invite partners to explore the story behind a song. They analyze and discuss the lyrics, conduct research online, create a poster, and put together a two-minute...
Activity
Illinois Music Education Conference

Taking the “General” Out of Middle School General Music!

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Middle schoolers will sing the praises of this music program. The resource, designed as an overview for music instructors, is loaded with ideas, activities, and links. Not a sour note in the packet. 
Unit Plan
Charanga

Sing!

For Teachers K - 12th
Whether new to the Kodály Method of music instruction or an experienced veteran, you'll find much to make your heart sing in a teacher guide that was designed for a music appreciation project. 
Worksheet
Fun Music Company

Note Drawing

For Students 2nd - 8th
Name that note. Every good boy (and girl) will find it easy to draw notes on these worksheets. The packet includes templates for note drawing, naming, etc.
Unit Plan
National Center for Families Learning

The Summer Fun Summer Learning Music Unit

For Teachers 1st - 8th Standards
Take note. Soul music. Gospel music. Country music. Summer comes alive with the sounds of music as program participants learn about various genres of music, create instruments, and write and perform songs about the facts and traditions...
Worksheet
Fun Music Company

Treasure Island Clues

For Students 2nd - 12th
In order to answer a music trivia question, young musicians must count the number of ties in a melody, name the final note, and use these clues to spell out Charlie Parker's nickname. This activity is not for the birds.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Food Rhythms

For Students 4th - 8th
Kids note the rhythm of 12 words and then list each word in the appropriate box on a worksheet.
Organizer
Fun Music Company

Writing Major Scales

For Students 2nd - 12th
Designed as an assessment of understanding, this one-page worksheet asks musicians to demonstrate their understanding of scales by drawing C, G, and F Major scales on the provided staffs. 
Worksheet
Fun Music Company

Treasure Island Clues: Rhythm

For Students 2nd - 12th
Designed for rhythm level 1, the two games in this packet ask young musicians to identify the number of beats represented by a series of notes and notations, and then to use those numbers to answer a music trivia question.
Lesson Plan
Classics for Kids

"Mars" from The Planets

For Teachers 5th - 6th Standards
Gustav Holst's The Planets provide young musicians an opportunity to examine how composers can create a suite: a collection of smaller pieces grouped to explore a single topic. After listening to "Jupiter," they examine "Mars" in...
Activity
Quaver

Large Coffee Can Bongo

For Teachers K - 8th
Want to make some music but you don't have the instruments? Get a start on your percussion section with a creative bongo drum project! Young musicians use a coffee can, packing tape, and colorful paper to create the perfect percussive...
Handout
Fun Music Company

Compound Time

For Students 2nd - 12th
To demonstrate their understanding of simple and compound time signatures, young musicians complete a chart by drawing quarter or dotted quarter notes equal in value to the note groups shown.
Organizer
Fun Music Company

The C Major Scale

For Students 2nd - 12th
Your young musicians will take note of this worksheet that asks them to mark the half steps in a C major scale and then write the scale in both treble and bass clef. 
Worksheet
Fun Music Company

The Bass Clef

For Students 2nd - 12th
Every Good Boy, and girl for that matter, will do just fine with this activity as they are asked to correctly trace and then draw bass clefs on the provided worksheet.
Lesson Plan
SoundTree

Notating Friedrich von Schiller’s Theme to “Ode to Joy.”

For Teachers 6th - 12th
To demonstrate their skills with traditional and computer-assisted notation, young musicians notate and perform the first eight measures of Friedrich von Schiller's theme to "Ode to Joy."
Unit Plan
Johnny Mercer Foundation

Project-Based Songwriting

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Project-based learning in a music theory class? Take note. Young songwriters compose, record, copyright, and promote their original songs. They even design their own CD cover.