Curated OER
Viennese Music Clock
Students 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.
Curated OER
Haydn's Surprise
Learners listen to Haydn's "Surprise" and use the score to create themes and variations with other rhythms. They create poems using Haydn's rhythm in the symphony and research his life. They also use "body percussion" to play parts of...
Curated OER
Tap Your Feet
Students access a website to examine how to follow a pattern. They find their own heartbeats and tap along with the beat. They access a second website to design a class composition before showing how they keep the beat. They use...
Curated OER
Valentine Heart Game
First graders clap a rhythm pattern notated on a board, and then make up their own patterns on percussion instruments. They answer addition and subtraction problems.
Curated OER
Sounds Like Science - Drums
Students see that understanding how sound is produced makes it possible for us to manipulate it so we can decrease the number of unpleasant sounds we encounter. They make a drum to explore the concepts of force, pitch and volume.
Curated OER
Spanish: La Fiesta!
Students sing a Spanish song to celebrate Latin American culture. In this fiesta lesson, students sing the words and do hand motions to the song "Que Linda Manito." They create paper bag maracas and enjoy a fiesta.
Curated OER
Bam, Chi, Chi, Bam
Students create a class poem based on the song, Bam, Chi, Chi, Bam. The class participates in a brief discussion of the music of Jamaica and the feelings conveyed by this music. After listening to the song, students create a poem to...
Curated OER
Ooooh, The Oud
Students listen to a performance of the instrument, oud. After watching a video, they discover how many parts of the world it is used in and locate the countries on a map. They compare and contrast the oud with other instruments from the...
Curated OER
Comet And Rain Timbres
Second graders engage in a lesson that uses folk instruments in an accompaniment while listening to a song about a comet. They make a cross-curricular connection to Halley's Comet. Students discuss the qualities of a singer-songwriter.
Curated OER
Melodic Rhythms of India
Students listen to and dance to the music of India. After listening to the music again, they identify the different types of instruments playing the melody. They explain the tabla tarang and view photographs of people performing the music.
Curated OER
Lesson Plans for 2nd grade Japan Unit
Second graders explore the music and dance of Japan in this five lessons unit. Aspects of Janpanese and American culture are compared. The food, holidays, clothing, and the school day of the two countries are discussed.
Curated OER
Native American Song and Dance
Students examine the importance of the drum and drumming in the cultural context of the Native American. Musical insturments and native dance is employed to support the focus of the lesson.
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Push and Pull
I love mixing arts lessons with core content! Here, the class will discuss energy, motion, and force (push/pull) as they review dance vocabulary and movements. They preview vocabulary for force and dance. Then they pair-up to dance a...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Imaginary Creatures
Drama and movement are wonderful ways to cover story elements such as setting, character, and descriptive writing. Little ones listen to a poem about imaginary creatures. As they listen, they shape their bodies into what they think the...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Exploring Environments
Different animals live in distinct and specialized environments. Learners will discuss organisms and environments, and then create some using their dramatic art skills. They all act like animals in a marine environment. When they are...
Sargent Art
Rainsticks
This rainstick lesson isn't just about making art; it's about understanding Native American symbols and culture. Kids read about the use of rainsticks and why specific symbols were used to decorate them. They then make their own...
Curated OER
Rhythm in Motion
Any age of elementary student can demonstrate their understanding of the connections of elements of art and music by creating their own slit song. You will investigate and study the Melanesian Slit Song with Kindergartners through Junior...
Curated OER
American Rhythms
Students combine elements of music with poetry. In this creative writing lesson plan, students examine poems from a variety of authors with varying writing styles. Students explore the different elements of poetry, including tone,...
Curated OER
Elementary Music Plan
Hey Macarena! Third graders keep time while they sing a Latin Folk Song. To practice keeping a steady rhythm and singing in pitch, the class sings the Folk Song together and in a round while keeping a beat. They then learn to do the...
Smithsonian Institution
The Sounds of an Island: Jamaican Music for the Classroom
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.
Curated OER
Creating an Original Opera
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,...
Curated OER
The Fibonacci Keyboard- Jazz and Math
Pupils demonstrate an understanding of the relationships of the Fibonacci Sequence. They apply the Fibonacci Sequence and find its relationship to a piano keyboard. They explore various relationships between music and the Fibonacci...
Curated OER
"Nutcracker"
Students recognize the timbre of a celesta by listening to music that contains the celesta. They listen to music from Tchaikovsky's "Danse de la Fee-Dragee" (Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairies), track #14 and describe how the music...