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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Magical Musical Tour: Using Music Lyrics to Teach Literary Elements

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
While music lyrics are often used to teach literary elements, the richness of this resource comes from the wealth of exercises, activities, and support materials provided in the packet.  Although designed for gifted learners, the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Listen Up: Antigone Rising

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Upper graders listen to and watch a documentary about an all female group Antigone Rising. They discuss how females are portrayed in the rock world, the type of music they play, their song lyrics, and what they note in the documentary....
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Lesson Plan
Mississippi Department of Archives and History

Protesting Violence without Violence

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
The ultimate legacy of Emmett Till's violent death is its role in the non-violent roots of the Civil Rights Movement. A lesson compares contemporaneous articles with the lyrics of Bob Dylan's "The Death of Emmett Till" and prompts...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Campaign Songs as Propaganda:Free Trade vs. Protectionism - In Whose Interest?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars analyze campaign messages about tariffs in a 19th-century campaign song. They read and discuss the lyrics, complete an analysis worksheet, and identify the intended audience of the song's message.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"I Hear America Singing": Controversy and Music in the Mexican War

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders examine the Mexican War and its outcome through music. In this primary source analysis lesson, 8th graders analyze the lyrics of selected songs to consider the 2 perspectives regarding U.S. involvement in the war. Students...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Simile Stories

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders view song lyrics and identify similes in the song text.  In this similes lesson, 4th graders define and identify similes on a worksheet.  Students write their own similes using various adjectives.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I Hear Poetry

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students practice analysis of poetry by analyzing song lyrics using a worksheet to guide the analysis process. They work in small groups to assess the stylistic and literary devices used in the song lyrics then they find a published...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Campaign Songs as Propaganda

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Student analyze campaign messages about tariffs in a nineteenth-century campaign song. They identify the intended audience of the message. They discuss strategies for courting the other political party's bloc.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Early Industrialization

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders analyze primary source documents emphasizing young people in factory labor (mill workers during 1840-1860). They study hours of labor, ages of laborers, reasons for working, and working conditions. They write a poem or song.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

You Bleed, You Learn?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Jump back into the 90s with Alannis Morissette's song "You Learn." After hearing the song, small groups analyze the lyrics and write an essay about a mistake they've learned from. Use the example sentences to identify the denotative and...
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Unit Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Water/Ways: The Poetry of Science

For Teachers 1st - 12th Standards
Water is the source of life. It appears in poetry in both peaceful and torrential descriptions; it appears in earth science in its liquid, gaseous, and solid states. Combine these interpretations of our planet's most precious and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Connecting to Colonial Music

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners listen to songs from the French and Indian War period. They answer questions about the song and identify any historical terms. They examine the role of music in their own lives.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The 50 States

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders use maps and music to learn the 50 states. In this US Geography lesson plan, 5th graders map out a region of the United States and practice singing the song, The 50 States that Rhyme.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
Students complete reading and vocabulary activities for Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Ozymandias." In this literary analysis lesson plan, students review vocabulary and related definitions for the text. Students read the poem and discuss the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Whose Land Is It Anyway?

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders comprehend the interaction and conflict beween Native Americans and white settlers in the years following the Civil War. They listen to T"his Land is Your Land." Students are asked what their interpretation of the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Quoting the Dalai Lama

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students read and reflect on statements made by the Dalai Lama and discuss with cooperative group members what they believe is meant by the statement and how to report this information the rest of the class. They take turns presenting...