Curated OER
Open Sesame: A Magical World of Reading
Third graders, through six lessons, study tales of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and Aladdin and the Lamp from The Arabian Nights.
San Francisco Symphony
Washington Portrait
Fifth and second graders pair up to create mini dance scenes based on the image Washington Crossing the Delaware. Second graders create the movements while their fifth grade partners play the musical accompaniment. Leadership...
Curated OER
Graphs of the Heart
Students study Greek literature. In this Greek tragedies instructional activity, students explore the dance-dramas of Martha Graham. Students study the choreography that brings ancient Greek literature to life.
Curated OER
Swing Your Partner!
This was written for ESOL learners, but could work for any elementary class. Learners read about the American dance style known as Square Dancing. They explore its use in literature, write a friendly letter about it, and then use their...
Curated OER
Illustration # 5: Phone Number Melodies
Fourth graders create their own melodies by making up a phone number with the numbers of the C major scale (the number 9 will be played by double the C at an octave. Students are encouraged to end their piece with V, I progression in...
Curated OER
Graham's Appalachian Spring: A Study
Students explore choreographic narrative. In this choreography lesson, students explore the elements of Appalachian Spring as they develop a series of written responses to assignments that challenge them to investigate the structure of...
Curated OER
Solar System Planet Research
In this space science instructional activity, students collect data that includes information in a chart or graph to display in a group. They identify and describe various planet features of a specific planet of choice. Students write...
Curated OER
DIGITAL WATERWORKS
Students add digitally-produced, water sound effects to a song, using electronic keyboards.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Open Course Ware: Music Composition
A complete, undergraduate level online course on music composition. Includes all course material, projects, assignments, and exams with solutions.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Open Course Ware: Symphony and Concerto
A complete, undergraduate level online class on the topic of modern music in the 1900s. Includes exams.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Open Course Ware: Composing With Computers
A complete, undergraduate level online course on music composition with computers. Includes all course material, projects, assignments, and exams with solutions.
John F. Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center: Arts Edge: Composing With Solfege
Through solfege, learners will create their own musical compositions as Maria did in the musical The Sound of Music.
ArtsNow
Arts Now Learning: Exploring Habitats Through Music Composition [Pdf]
For this lesson, students will learn about rondo form and practice a chant. After learning about the structure of the chant, they will work in small groups to create a chant about a habitat. The chants will then be combined with the...
ArtsNow
Arts Now Learning: Module K: Shapes
In this series of STEAM activities, students will discover the concepts of geometry through shape exploration and the creation of choreographic sequences. Another activity in this module will allow students to identify shapes by applying...
PBS
Pbs: Black and Blue: Jazz in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
Ralph Ellison was a musician who later became a writer. His book Invisible Man is written like a jazz composition. In this lesson, students will interpret key themes and concepts in Invisible Man that are also found in jazz music.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 44: Compositional Techniques
Young music students rarely see or, better still, hear a connection between the different types of scales, modes, intervals and other compositional techniques such as meter, tonality, and form used in both traditional 'Art' music and...
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature and Composition: The Harlem Renaissance
This lesson is an introduction to a unit on The Harlem Renaissance, the period between the end of WW I through mid 1930s when African Americans were recognized for their literature, music, and art. It discusses their themes and lists...
National Arts Centre (Canada)
Arts Alive: Ludwig Van Beethoven
This site from the National Arts Centre of Canada explores the life of Beethoven (1770-1827 CE). Read about his education, musical contemporaries, loss of hearing, and his death. There are also discussions of many of his famous works,...
ArtsNow
Arts Now Learning: Operations and Algebraic Thinking With Music [Pdf]
Counting the number of beats in a common folk song, the students will use composition and classroom instruments to discover different combinations for accompaniment.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Open Course Ware: Dance Theory and Composition
This resource provides information and sources that discuss the elements of dance.
ArtsNow
Arts Now Learning: Music and Acoustics [Pdf]
In this lesson, young scholars will create a rhythmic composition using cups to demonstrate understanding and identification of various sounds. Musical skills addressed include improvising, composing, listening, and playing.