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1960's Protest Songs
By learning about 1960's protest songs, and the politics of the era, students can broaden their understanding of music and history.
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GET UP, STAND UP: Fighting for Rights Around the World
Students explore basic human rights as they explore music by black artists. In this human rights lesson, students examine music as a cultural reflection of the justice issues. Students analyze Jamaican roots reggae of the 70s, American...
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Louisiana's Legendary Musicians
Learners identify and interpret what legendary traditional musicians of Louisiana that allows them to hear new genres of traditional music. They also identify what it means to be a legendary artist and read, write, and create a project...
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Jazz Lessons That Tell The Story
Jazz lessons can provide a look into history, and a way to talk about present day jazz musicians.
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B is for Banana
Students practice and perform the song "B is for Banana" using their knowledge of basic rhythms in 4/4 and student-created rhythm accompaniment based on speech. This excellent lesson is provided by the MENC (National Association for...
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A Guide Through the Culture of the Blues
High schoolers examine the history of blues music and discover how it relates to the music of today. As a class, they listen to the drum songs of Africa and compare it to the use of drums in pop music today. Using the internet, they...
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All That is Irish and More - Activity 1
Young scholars listen to examples of fiddle music and violin music to determine the similarities and differences between the two musical forms. A video link is included in this introductory instructional activity to fiddle music (Part...
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Trouble for the United States in the Middle East: The Reagan-Bush Years
Learners examine U.S. foreign affairs with the Middle East during the Reagan and Bush presidencies. In this Middle East lesson, students watch video segments, examine maps, and listen to music regarding the relationship between the U.S....
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Feminism Does Not Have to be an F-Word
Students analyze social activism messages in music. In this feminism lesson, students explore selected music that expresses sentiments voiced in the women liberation movement in the United States. Students compare the lyrics of the songs...
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Being Me in the Face of Adversity - Americans Who Stood Up for Their Beliefs
Students identify important Americans from the colonial, revolutionary and slavery periods who are noted for standing up for their beliefs in the face of peer disapproval. They identify the importance of music in motivating and...
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Exploring the Self
Students use different pieces of music and writings to explore the theme of self-reliance and individuality. After viewing a video clip, they discuss how the images made them feel. They keep a writing journal to evaluate their own...
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Repetitive Song Form
Eighth graders discover different concepts for identifying musical structure and song form. In this Music History instructional activity, 8th graders compare and contrast a Red Hot Chili Peppers song to an Andrea Bocelli's song.
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Compositional Techniques: Are There Similarities Between
High schoolers recognize how chromatic scales create tension and pentatonic scales create relaxation as compositional techniques used to create tonality. Also, students aurally recognize the use of mixed or alternating meter as a means...
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A Personal Narrative on the Immigration Experience
The students create a personal narrative on their experiences with immigration. In this lesson plan, students are asked to read and understand examples of narrative writing as well as evaluate lyrics from Ben Folds Five to determine...
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John Lennon
In this famous people worksheet, students read a selection about the life of John Lennon, then complete a variety of comprehension activities including synonym matches, fill-in-the-blank sentence completions, unscrambling words and...