Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Gullah People of the Sea Islands

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders examine the lives of the Gullah-Geechee people. In this unique cultures lesson, 8th graders explore music, language, and slavery of the Gullah-Geechee people from the southern low-country in the United States. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Identify the Element of Line

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Students explore the element of "line." In this beginning art lesson, students listen to the book Harold and the Purple Crayon, then describe the types of lines Harold drew. Students identify straight lines,  jagged lines, curvy...
Lesson Plan
Peace Corps

Weather and Water in Ghana

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners investigate the climate of their region. Students research statistics and conduct interviews. Learners take a virtual tour of Ghana and discuss its climate. Students consider water conservation and the role it plays in both...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Electronic Poetry Project

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore poetry.  In this cross curriculum poetry and technology lesson, students choose a favorite poem and analyze its meaning. Students select several images and music to represent the poem, then create a corresponding...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sondheim: Secret Metaphors

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners explore the work of Stephen Sondheim. In this musical theater lesson, students examine the musicals Merrily We Roll Along and Sunday in the Park with George. Learners identify and anaylze linear and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Once Upon a Time

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners examine how music and sound affect their creation of artwork. They view art images online, create three hybrid collage creatures, develop a list of hero characteristics, and write an adventure story for a character they have...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Rhythms

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students combine elements of music with poetry.  In this creative writing lesson, students examine poems from a variety of authors with varying writing styles.  Students explore the different elements of poetry, including tone,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry for the Common Good

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students identify examples of philanthropy in poetry or song. In this philanthropy lesson, students examine several poems such as Give by Carrie A. Thomas and identify concepts of philanthropy in the poem. Students construct their own...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Letter M

For Students Pre-K - K
In this printing instructional activity, students write 2 lines of lower and uppercase M's. Students also form the words march, mice, and music and color in a related illustration.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Symphonic Poetry

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students interpret the themes in Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, create a 6-line poem based on the themes in the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, and define musical terms related to the study of programmatic music in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Landscapes of the Mind

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers review Emily Dickinson's biography and examine themes and forms of some of her poems. They measure ways Graham integrates aspects of Dickinson's life and the themes and forms of her poetry into Letters to the World.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Requiem "The Song of the Murdered Jewish People"

For Students 9th - 12th
Music and poetry are vehicles that can tell many stories. Learners read the poem "The Song of the Murdered Jewish People" by Itzhak Katzenelson, then listen to the requiem it inspired; composed by Zlata Razdolina. Excellent...
Lesson Plan
San Francisco Symphony

By the Great Horn Spoon!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
By The Great Horn Spoon is a fantastic novel for introducing learners to life during the California Gold Rush. First, kids research and analyze American folk songs, then they connect to the text as they listen to symphonic pieces written...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reviewing Good Playing Habits

For Teachers 5th - 8th
The string section of your school orchestra can get a proper form make-over by incorporating this activity. They reestablish proper playing form, posture, and sound as they compose an essay on how to maintain good playing habits during...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Visual Aural Impressions

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students view a piece of impressionist art, listen to a piece of jazz music and then write a piece about the picture in the style of beat poets. They compare their writing and look for differences in their perceptions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reinforcing Alphabet Names/Sounds

For Teachers K - 1st
Getting comfortable with the sounds associated with each letter is crucial in a young learner's path to becoming literate. This lesson provides a terrific way to reinforce this skill in an engaging and fun manner. It's a game that the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Scripting The Great Train Robbery

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Take writing prompts to another level in this activity, which allows pupils to create scenes of dialogue based on the 1903 silent film, The Great Train Robbery. Useful for a language arts/history cross-curricular activity, the lesson...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Louisiana's Tragic Hero - "Evangeline"

For Teachers 8th
"Ye who believe...List to a Tale of Love in Acadie." Longfellow's epic poem, "Evangeline," launches a study of tragic heroines, epic poetry, the expulsion of the Acadians from Canada, and their subsequent migration to Louisiana. The...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I Spy Poetry

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Explore the components of rhythm and form through a reading of Jean Marzollo's I Spy books. After discussing Marzollo’s format, the class agrees upon a theme for a class book and topics that fit with that theme. Pupils write a poem,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Is Perception Reality? Writing Paradoxes in Poetry

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Explore the paradox of the universe - or, at least, of popular music - with this lesson. Using the songs "Inaudible Melodies" by Jack Johnson and "She" by Green Day, your class will complete a graphic organizer to help them understand...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson Plan for C.S Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Here is a lesson that incorporates music writing, and reading literature. The class reads chapter eight from the C.S. Lewis classic The Magician's Nephew. Then, just like in the story, they use music as inspiration to create (write)...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mozart vs. Beethoven - Real Classical Composers

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Elementary schoolers are given an overview of the baroque, classical, romantic, and modern periods of music. They focus on the lives of Beethoven and Mozart; two of the greatest composers of all time. After listening to samples their...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

A Season for Chapters

For Teachers 2nd Standards
Art, music, poetry, and the beauty of the seasons is what you'll find in this very nice unit idea. You can use any of the suggested books and activities to engage your second graders in an exploration of the changes that take place...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Importance of Storytelling

For Teachers K - 5th
Students examine how African Americans escaping slavery used storytelling to communicate. They listen to and read the lyrics for the song, Follow the Drinking Gourd, view the Reading Rainbow video, and write and illustrate their own story.