Unit Plan
Queen's Printer for Ontario

Composers in Music History

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
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...
Unit Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian In Your Classroom: The Music in Poetry

For Teachers K - 12th
Take poetry off the page and put it into terms of movement, physical space and, finally, music with this series of three lessons from the Smithsonian Institution. This resource introduces students to two poetic forms that originated as...
Unit Plan
Johnny Mercer Foundation

The American Musical

For Teachers 7th
General music students learn about the history of popular American music by creating and performing a one-act musical. After researching and creating an American Musical timeline, class members write a song with lyrics using Jam Studio,...
Unit Plan
San Francisco Symphony

Learning Adjectives through the Duke

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Duke Ellington, jazz, and jive kick-off a fun and creative lesson on responding emotionally to music. The class will learn about jive talk used in the 1920s and the life and music of Duke Ellington. They'll listen to a selection of his...
Unit Plan
San Francisco Symphony

Admirable Armonica Admirers

For Teachers 1st - 6th
What do Ben Franklin and Wolfgang Mozart have in common? Find out about the musical invention, the armonica or glassy-chord. Learners will read about how Ben Franklin invented this new instrument and how Wolfgang Mozart came to play it....
Unit Plan
San Francisco Symphony

Instrument and Visual Appreciation of Art

For Teachers 9th - 12th
There are a lot of great ideas to be found here. To better understand the connection between art and history, learners research several music and art pieces, then relate them to major social events. They study the lives and works...
Unit Plan
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Documents Gallery: Ellington and Strayhorn

For Students 9th - 10th
Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, two of the greatest jazz composers, collaborated on hundreds of works. As you explore this exhibition, you will have an opportunity to view original music scores, listen to audio clips, and view videos...
Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs: Math With Jake: Music Transposition

For Students 6th - 8th
Composer and ukulele artist Jake Shimabukuro describes the concept of transposing notes in music and how ratios are applied in this video from Center for Asian American Media. Shimabukuro explains why it is necessary to transpose music...
Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs: The Blues as Poetry

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Discover what the relationship is between poetry and the blues. This site features lesson plans and online resources.
Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs: Math With Jake: Transposition Using Ratios

For Students 6th - 8th
Composer and ukulele artist Jake Shimabukuro describes the concept of transposing notes in music and how ratios are applied in this video from Center for Asian American Media. Shimabukuro explains how to transpose music written in the...
Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs: Math With Jake: Ratios & Fractions

For Students 6th - 8th
Learn how composer and ukulele artist Jake Shimabukuro uses ratios and fractions as he creates and plays music in this video from Center for Asian American Media.