Ready, set, write! Every great film begins with a script, and every presentation starts with a plan. Directors use their research and experience to compose an essay explaining the rationale behind their film's musical and visual choices...

Update your classroom decor with this series of colorful alphabet displays. Showing both upper- and lowercase letters with vibrant pictures representing each, these posters will fit nicely in any primary grade classroom.

How important are sound effects in films? In stage plays? In radio programs? To gain an understanding of the impact of these special effects, class members watch a short video spoof of the sound in a scene from Star...

Groups create a set for a play or story they select, build a model, and share their stage with the class. The team explains the rationale for their choices and the mood they feel their staging creates.

Students brainstorm what they know about the performing arts and research an artist or song and its related genre. Students work in groups to create an online banner to attract peers to their performing arts genre.

Students examine the role of the Advertising Standards Agency, the image of crime portrayed by some rap artists, the reality of crime, media influence, and society's influences on the media.

When we watch news broadcasts on television, we receive a much more visual perspective than when we read the newspaper. How do sets, clothing, and music contribute to our understanding of the story? Compare American and Canadian news...

Samba music is a musical mixture of both African and Brazilian sounds and rhythms. Explore this art form with your class using this easy-to-follow slide show. They'll learn about Samba's roots, beats, characteristics, instruments, and...

Learners use a recording of "The Star Spangled Banner," to identify the AABC form of the anthem and describe the repetitions and contrasts in the piece of music. They memorize the music in eight-measure phrases being aware of the form...

Take a quick tour through the last 350 years of music composition with an interactive timeline tool. As learners scroll through the years, they see which composers were born and working during the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern...

Do you like music? Have your youngsters read We Play Music, practicing select reading strategies, like using picture clues to determine new words. Then, after their first independent read, have them re-read the story to a...

After class members have read and discussed Act III of The Winter’s Tale, groups select one line from Act III, scene i that they feel captures the essence of the entire scene. They then create a tableaux that best depicts the scene’s...

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.

Explore the dancing prodigy and Depression-era African-American icon Bill Robinson as scholars learn new vocabulary words in context. As you read Leo Dillon's Rap a Tap Tap they listen for six new words: clatter, greet,...

Learners create poems and sound compositions using instruments, sounds, and pictograph notation. After listening Debussy's Children's corner suite, they brainstorm a list of snow vocabulary words. Students write poems and in groups...

Who doesn't love music? Poems and songs will engage your high school class in a discussion about irony. Use songs like "Rockin' in the Free World" or "Born in the U.S.A." to illustrate the ironic point of view. Print the lyrics so...

Celebrate your masterful musicians by presenting awards for their achievements. This certificate is editable, so you can customize it for each pupil. Type in a name, description, date, and teacher name and title to hit just the right...

High school orchestra is a great place to play music, like The Star Spangled Banner. Upper graders create new rhythms to the old song and perform them with the class. They rehearse their updated versions of the song using their...

Students analyze, discuss and compare sources of inspiration, use of words and imagery, and other differences in writing styles between two featured songwriters. This is an introductory instructional activity to a creative project unit.

The roots metro/meter and therm are the focus of a vocabulary building presentation that includes concise definitions, color-coded examples, and opportunities for guided and independent practice. Part of a series of roots and affixes...

Class members read example sentences using although, despite, or in spite of properly, use them to fill in the blanks to complete sentences, and create personal examples. Students answer 21 questions.

Combine your pupils' love of music with their growing knowledge of poetry! First, have them bring in their favorite songs for a discussion on word choice and literary devices. Then, use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the...