After a teacher-led demonstration on the lives and music of Aaron Copland and Duke Ellington, learners write a letter to them which shows their understanding of how a person's life experiences can be reflected in a composer's music. They...

A critical discussion regarding the nature of Shinique Smith's second-hand clothing art is the foundation for the lesson. Critical thinkers fully analyze the meaning behind her work, taking close consideration of where the clothing came...

Students identify ways in which the principles and subject matter of other disciplines taught in school, specifically math, are interrelated with those of music.

Youngsters listen to poetry and music to understand that words are made of sounds.  In this rhythm and rhyme lesson, learners create songbooks of healthy eating songs. They will also act out pantomimes and dance to the music....

Are you teaching Modernism to your class? Connect different areas of artistic expression in the Modernist Era. Learners read T.S. Eliot, view art by Pablo Picasso, and listen to a Modernist musical composition. This final assignment is...

Instruct your young musicians on the terms verse and refrain. They listen to two songs, and point out the verse and refrain as they occur. Students then play drums when they hear the verse and the refrain. Note: Song lyrics, sheet music,...

Some emotions are indescribable, but sometimes you have to try! After brainstorming adjectives that describe emotions, pupils watch a quick film, at first with no sound. Partners share their adjectives and come up with descriptions for...

In a time of fake news, media manipulation, and Internet trolls, a resource equips learners with the tools they need to recognize and combat resources that are designed to appeal to our cognitive biases. Introduce learners to five...

Modern readers apply classic themes to Victor Hugo's masterpiece, Les Miserables. After they discuss tricky vocabulary and plot elements from the novel, class members compare Hugo's written work to a stage or film adaptation of the...

Looking for ideas for your Lunar New Year celebration? Check out an interdisciplinary unit of study that includes lessons in counting, calligraphy, culture, geography, literature, art, and music. Kung-hsi Fa-ts' ai! (May you...

Take a trip to the Grand Canyon! Lesson one explores how Ferde Grofe painted a musical landscape of America when he wrote the Grand Canyon Suite. Learners then examine art that shows the Grand Canyon in lesson two. Finally, lesson three...

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...

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...

With a vocabulary usage instructional activity, readers use context clues to determine the correct choices of vocabulary words to complete sentences. They complete 12 questions, most of which are based on gerunds and infinitives. 

This lesson is so beneficial it makes any teacher's heart skip a beat! After readers identify words from Words by Heart, they break down unknown vocabulary with a handout detailing various prefixes and suffixes. Once they finish...

Introduce young musicians to the history of and different styles of music with an inquiry-based learning activity that asks them to play detectives to determine the similarities and differences among the sheet music found at a series of...

Engage little learners in this moderately developed three-instructional activity unit on the composer Camille Saint-Saens and his piece "The Carnival of Animals." Each instructional activity includes a listening, discussion, and an art...

While this is not a lesson, it could potentially take as long as one. This is a 73-question test to administer to those studying music. They'll need to answer questions regarding general music terminology, theory, and composition.

Hand it out and let them read all about the music of the Renaissance. The class will discscover basic terminology that developed during the time period, musical style, and how music was linked to the church and everyday life. 

Gustav Holst's The Planets provide young musicians an opportunity to examine how composers can create a suite: a collection of smaller pieces grouped to explore a single topic. After listening to "Jupiter," they examine "Mars" in...

Paul Simon's "Father and Daughter" offers language learners and native English speakers an opportunity to study adverb, adjective, and noun clauses.

Teach English language learners about the week-long holiday of Kwanzaa that is celebrated around the world during December. It includes holiday-themed reading comprehension passages, phrase matching, fill-in-the-blanks, and journaling...

Prepare class members for formative assessments of student thinking in reading (FAST-R) with a resource that compares Paul Laurence Dunbar's "Sympathy" and Maya Angelou's "Caged Bird." Readers respond to 10 multiple choice questions and...

Students create a collage in response to musical rhythm. In this visual arts lesson plan, students will better understand the connection between visual arts and musical rhythm. Students will follow the teacher's model of letting the...