Students analyze and describe music while connecting it to history and culture. They gain experience in theatre arts skills and writing. They use the Internet to do research in order to find out the most about this subject.

Students read about the music and life of Glenn Miller. They listen to Miller's "Jeep Jockey Jump" and analyze the piece for instrumentation, formal structure and stylistic characteristics.

Students describe ways in which the principles of students or citizens working together are interrelated with those of musicians working together. They demonstrate their knowledge of the concept of "swing" in various jazz styles.

Young scholars watch a video on improvisation. They improvise original melodies over given chord progressions. They develop criteria to evaluate the merits of improvisational performances and apply the criteria in their personal...

Students study the history of jazz music. They listen to various examples of jazz music and complete a worksheet in which they must identify the individual instruments they hear and identify characteristics of the genre of jazz music.

Students study the life and music of the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. They practice listening for the downbeat of a musical selection. They participate in a physical exercise where they march around in a circle and clap to the...

Students play "Benny's Match Game" to learn about the life and career of Benny Carter. Students listen to samples of Benny Carter's music and create written responses that evaluate his music.

Students have an appreciation of Langston Hughe's poetry and his use of jazz rhythms, have the ability to read poetry closely, and freewrite to gain a fresh perspective on music and literature.

Students listen to two examples of bluegrass music and try to identify the instruments that they hear and the subtle differences between the two songs. They describe their impressions of the selections, then conclude by comparing and...

Middle schoolers examine the development of ragtime music and its relation to jazz. They participate in an online Interactive timeline and read about the history of ragtime music, listen to examples of music, and in small groups create...

Your pupils are beginning their research project and are having a hard time narrowing their topics down. If you’re not sure how to help them, then start here. Provided is a student dialogue that works though the issues of narrowing a...

Hoover flags? Hoover blankets? Hoovervilles? Drawing upon prior knowledge of the Great Depression class members respond to the prompts on an anticipation guide for Bud, Not Buddy, Christopher Paul Curtis’s tale of Bud Caldwell’s quest to...

Students identify some of Aretha Franklin's vocal qualities and techniques. They have a discussion of styles of music they heard on the video, including gospel, jazz, pop, rhythm and blues, and opera.

Students explore the universal themes they find in the complete set of One World Posters, including art, history, literature and music.

Middle schoolers explore the life of a jazz musician.

Students examine and discuss a collage by the artist Romare Bearden. They analyze the impact of jazz on art, listen to jazz, and create an original collage.

Students examine the important contributions made by Duke Ellington to the field of jazz, as well as some of the factors that led to his involvement in the field. As they explore the language of the 1920's, connections will be drawn...

Students 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...

In this reading comprehension worksheet students read a biography of jazz musician Louis Armstrong. Students answer 6 questions.

Analyze the role the Crawford Grill played in the history of Jazz music. Budding historians research interviews and video clips to learn about the Crawford Grill in Pennsylvania and black music history. The lesson culminates when...

Students investigate the history and development of jazz by studying the Louis Armstrong Hot Five. They listen to music and define how Armstrong strengthened the concept of the solo as a part of jazz. They complete guided listening lessons.

Students examine the beginnings of jazz in New Orleans. They relate the music to the history and culture of the region. They also perform the music for their classmates.

Middle schoolers convey the concept that music expresses different moods. Using paint, students draw various artistic elements that convey the mood of a piece of music they hear in class. They complete an analysis of classical paintings...

Students discover the music of Louis Armstrong. In this jazz instructional activity, students are introduced to Armstrong's trumpet and vocal art in a matching game, then listen to a sampling of his music and respond in writing.