Curated OER
From Mark Twain to David Bowie: The Artistic Persona vs. The Individual
Students explore the concept of public image. In this public persona instructional activity, students discover what public image is and discuss the role of an author's life when interpreting pieces of their work.
Curated OER
My Little Island
Students engage in a lesson plan which features a video trip to the Caribbean Island of Montserrat to teach about the human and physical characteristics of place and human/environmental interactions between the two. Students create their...
Curated OER
I Heard It on the Radio
Students develop a portfolio of information of contemporary musicians or individuals from the music industry.
Curated OER
Mending Walls: Barriers in Communications
Students explore a literal and figurative wall. In this communication lesson, students examine and discuss barriers in communication as they analyze Pink Floyd's "The Wall" and Robert Frost's "Mending Wall".
Curated OER
Experiencing "Romeo and Juliet"
Ninth graders read and analyze the William Shakespeare play "Romeo and Juliet" and compare it to the 1996 modern version of the play and the movie "West Side Story." They write an essay comparing and contrasting the three versions.
Curated OER
iRock
Students explore, listen to and analyze songs that helped define rock and roll music. They read and discuss the article, "They're All Oldies, Dad Included." Research on contemporary artists is conducted and then the students choose who...
Curated OER
Folk Traditions in the Blues
Click here to download a PDF of this lesson. (2.8 MB) Overview This lesson will enable teachers to use the blues to explore selected topics in African American folklore. Students will learn about some of the African American cultural...
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
American Colonists Protest Song
Students explore the role of protest songs. In this early American history lesson, students research the acts passed by the British that angered colonists. Students then listen to protest songs from contemporary American history prior to...
Curated OER
And Then One Night, The Making of Dead Man Walking: Classroom Content
Students examine how art and music help to define and unify a social movement and also how they can function as symbols of protest. They watch KQED program And Then One Night: The Making of Dead Man Walking and discuss what happens when...
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
The Art of Social Protest
Students investigate how art and music define and unify a social movement. They decide how art and music can act as symbols of protest. They view both contemporary and historical examples of art as a tool for protest and design an art...
Curated OER
Masks and Aesop's Fables
Students study and perform Aesop's fables. In this Aesop's fables lesson, students read and/or listen to a number of the famous fables. They make masks based on the characters and perform a fable using the masks. They write about the...
Curated OER
American Indians
Students research early Indian adaptations in this lesson. They research the different American Indian tribes. They also research and compare the tribes' rituals, daily lives, and their impact on the Europeans who came later to the...
Curated OER
The Warrior Role in Greek Society
Students are introduced to the various gods and goddesses in ancient Greek mythology. In groups, they use print and electronic resources to research the ways Greek culture has influenced the modern world. To end the lesson, they...
Curated OER
Modern Counterculture Movements
Students prepare a presentation examining anti-establishment activity by groups in society today. They prepare a presentation, on poster board or presentation software, about one contemporary protest group.
Curated OER
Historic Heroes
Students recognize traits of heroes as depicted in music, art and literature. In this cross curricular lesson, students evaluate and analyze various works fo art from different cultures that depict heroes.
Curated OER
Feminism Does Not Have to be an F-Word
Students analyze social activism messages in music. In this feminism activity, students explore selected music that expresses sentiments voiced in the women liberation movement in the United States. Students compare the lyrics of the...
Curated OER
Cyberspace
Students examine how the Internet has made music and art more available to the public. In this cyberspace lesson students create their own works of art.
Curated OER
Who Rocks Your World?
Young scholars develop their writing skills. In this business letter lesson plan, students write a letter of nomination to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame regarding a music artist of their choice. Young scholars read their finished...
Curated OER
You Don’t Know What You’ve Got Until It’s Gone: The Changing American Landscape
Students examine the changing American landscape. In this cause and effect activity, students listen to rock music that exemplifies urban growth in America and the interconnectedness of America today. Students write cause and effect...
Curated OER
Energy TV
Middle schoolers rewrite the lyrics of existing songs using the different energy terms as the focus of their work. They break into four groups and form the name of a musical group. Using a tune from a popular group, students make up a...
Curated OER
Master Pieces: Collaborative Mural
Eighth graders create a master work mural from matrix grid. Prior to this lesson, 8th graders have had color theory and know all of the color plans and what colors work best to match value scale. They become familiar with the artist,...
Media Education Lab
Sponsored Content as Propaganda
What is sponsored content? Who produces sponsored content? Why? Is it fair or unfair? What are the privacy implications for consumers? To answer these questions, class members view a model screencast before crafting their own that...