National Park Service
The Power of Remembrance
On every July 4th, we watch fireworks and celebrate our independence, but how is the history of the American Revolution preserved? Four social studies lesson guide learners through different memorials, commemorative objects, and restored...
Curated OER
High School Lesson Plan
Students compose and arrange music within specific guidelines. They # identify and explain compositional devices and techniques used in a musical work. They compare and contrast the use of those techniques between different compositions.
Curated OER
Music Composition
Students compose a simple melody using the notes of the D Major Scale.  Criteria/Rubric for evaluation is provided with variations depending on skill level of students.  A minimum of one forty-five minute class period is needed for this...
Curated OER
Realism in Music, The Underground Railroad
Students complete a unit of 9 lessons to learn about realism in music during the time of the  Underground Railroad. In this music realism lesson, students learn about coded lyrics in the slave songs. Students complete 9 lessons using...
Poetry Out Loud
The Tabloid Ballad
What do the theme song from Gilligan's Island, the nursery rhyme "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat," and the poem "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" all have in common? Why, they're ballads of course! Challenge your young balladeers to compose their...
The New York Times
Super Brand
Children can recognize popular brands from an early age, but these images symbolize much more than what they advertise. Take a journey through the design of a logo with a lesson that focuses on the history and ubiquity of the Super Bowl...
Rowland High School
The Catcher in the Rye Projects
What really knocks me out about this project list is that when you're done reading about the projects, you wish you could do them all. I'm not kidding. There are 16 terrific ideas and that doesn't happen very often.
Curated OER
Using the Patterns and Symbols of Mali Mud Cloth to Convey Identity
Students participate in relating the role of the arts in defining identity. They examine the community in West African society and how members of that community define their role. They view how artifacts, music and performance can...
Curated OER
Social and Cultural Issues in the Civil Rights Movement
Students watch videos, listen to speeches and analyze the information that is presented about the civil rights movement. They examine visual art of the period.
Curated OER
Freedom, Power and the People
Students analyze how social change has affected artistic expression and popular culture. the explain the influence of media on contemporary American culture.
Curated OER
Historical Comparison of Anti-War Music
Students explain that, how in this world of increasing awareness and interdependence, music can act as a magnet to draw people together. They research and compare anti-war songs from many different generations.
Curated OER
Diego Rivera: Art as the Universal Language
Students analyze the work of Diego Rivera.  They participate in a class discussion, critique various paintings, write a short story based on a Rivera mural, and create a class mural.
Curated OER
Harlem Renaissance and Toni Morrison's Jazz
Students study the historical time of the Harlem Renaissance, including key events and figures. They read literature that weaves fiction and history and survey some of the references to the Harlem Renaissance in the novel, Jazz, by Toni...
Curated OER
The Ancient Times
Students create a newspaper sharing stories of Cleopatra before her death.  They use the internet to research information about her and the time in which she lived.  They share their newspaper articles with others.
Curated OER
Harlem Renaissance: Pivotal Period in the Development of Afro-American Culture
Students examine the time period of the Harlem Renaissance.  In groups, they compare and contrast the type of art before and after the movement along with the state of society at the time.  After reading a book on the topic of their...
Curated OER
Looking at French Decorative Arts: The Quest for True Porcelain
Students study the effects of production and consumption of goods on French society during the porcelain period.  For this history lesson students research the trade history of porcelain from Asia. 
Curated OER
Music, Culture and War
Students see that music serves as a major conduit for the transport of knowledge. As they watch video, students tabulate the variety of music artists listed by different soldiers.
Curated OER
Music of Puerto Rico
Seventh graders study about the musical rhythms and instruments of Puerto Rico.  Then they construct their own instruments using recycled products.  Students listen to different genres of music and define them.  Students focus on the...
Curated OER
Music Assessment: 8 measure piece
Eighth graders compose an eight measure piece in a major key that utilized some form of wind instrument, body percussion and voice.  They notate their composition on staff paper prior to the assessment and perform their composition.
Curated OER
200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons
Students discuss style and characteristics of musical time periods as well as the definition of "pop culture." They compare and contrast modern-day popular icons to music icons throughout history.  This lesson requires a video,...
Curated OER
Arts in a Spin Qualities of the Baroque Style
Students examine the qualities of Baroque style by viewing a video about Bach. They listen to music of the era and explore the characteristics of excessive ornamentation, contrast and tension. They complete the included worksheets.
Curated OER
Analyzing Two Dances and Making a Dance Map: The Nutcracker
Young scholars discuss dance elements and create a dance map. They choose a dance theme and incorporate movement into their dance maps and choreography. They also experiment with different types of music.
Curated OER
Celebration and Satire- Beginning Level
Students examine art elements in a late-19th-century self-portrait painting. In this visual arts instructional activity, students analyze the painting "A Centennial of Independence" and identify the color, shape, and symbols in the art...
Curated OER
Going Up and Down
Second graders listen to and compare music to gain understanding of melodic direction in song, discuss types of movement in song, sing song while moving to it, and create movements that show pitches of melody moving upward, downward, or...