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Rhythm and Improv, Jazz and Poetry
Connect the ideas of jazz improvisation and art to writing poetry. Learners collaborate and write different lines of poetry, imitating the jazz styles of improvisation and freewriting. Take a close look at the poems "Tenebrae" by Yusef...
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Improvise a Short Story through Jazz
Students evaluate jazz music and a jazz music performance. They collaborate and create an improvised group short story. They improvise a musical piece on found objects.
Gobal Oneness Project
Passionate Pursuits
Not all technology is digital. Teach learners about the low-tech maker movement with a photo essay about six artisans from California and two articles about the local creator movement. After tackling the photo essay in small groups,...
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Wilderness Survival: A Field Practicum
Students are provided with hands-on-field testing of authentic applications from principles pertaining to: Psychology A. Develop a positive, can-do attitude with a high degree of self-reliance that is transferable to human interactions...
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Wilderness Survival: A Field Practicum
Students use hands-on field-testing of authentic application from principles pertaining to: Psychology- A. Develop a positive, can-do attitude with a high degree of self-reliance that is transferable to human interactions outside of the...
Curated OER
Phytochemicals
Students create movement, improvise rhythmic accompaniment, practice, and perform the song "Phytochemicals" in this excellent elementary-level General Music lesson. The lesson includes lesson challenges for more advanced students.
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ABBA - Lesson 3
Students develop a deeper understanding of the connection between improvisation and inspiration. They choose a partner and take out their original poems. With their partners, have them say the poem with a steady beat.
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Hard Rock - Lesson 1
Students perform any part of a four-part keyboard ensemble with musical sensibility in a "hard rock" style. They improvise a melody over student accompaniment.
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Phytochemicals
Students identify song style and form. They create movement which shows the song form and improvise rhythm accompaniment.
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"Movies That Rock": Moulin Rouge
Upper graders explore musical film and the Bohemian lifestyle common in Europe during the turn of the century through the musical Moulin Rouge. After listening to (or viewing) songs from the movie, they discuss the Bohemian era and how...
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This Land is Your Land - Travel Posters
Eleventh graders compile a list of places in the United States where they have either traveled or where their relatives or friends live. They collect travel posters, brochures, postcards, and maps from their region of the United States.
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Landscapes of the Mind
Learners 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.
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Graphs of the Heart
Students study Greek literature. In this Greek tragedies lesson, students explore the dance-dramas of Martha Graham. Students study the choreography that brings ancient Greek literature to life.
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VH1 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll Lesson 3
Students examine female artists who perform in the genres of rhythm & blues, jazz, soul, and hip-hop/rap. They compose lyrics and melody in one of these genres.
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VH1 AIDS: A Pop Culture History Lesson 3
High schoolers investigate the relationship between music and culture, and how music conveys thoughts and emotions. They write their own song.
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Sam Cooke - Lesson 1
Young scholars identify the impact of the social injustices and Civil Rights movement on Cooke's life and career. They create lyrics to a familiar song that express a personal struggle or concern.
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Que Llueva! It's Raining, It's Pouring!
Students learn to sing a song in another language. For this music lesson, students learn a song about rain in English and Spanish. Students listen to the song Que Llueva in Spanish and It's Raining, It's Pouring in English, sign it...
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VH1 Storytellers for Save the Music Starring Billy Joel
Students use a Billy Joel song to write a scenerio about it.
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Can You Hear a Story?
Students gain an understanding of relationships between music and language arts. They analyze a story and create a musical composition that reflects and enhances the story. The musical accompaniment will be produced in a book on tape.
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Storyline Drum Circle
Students perform story songs. In this rhythmic motives activity, students practice melodies, variations, and accompaniments as they read Peter Seeger's Abiyoyo and create compositions to present it as a story-song.
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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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Music Storytellers
Students identify the quality and effectiveness of musical performances through the use of music telling a story. They will compare and contrast philosophy and form of song segments.
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Write a Rap Song
Students compose lyrics for a rap song. In this music lesson, students choose a topic, such as "Our School," and use rhyming words to compose a rap song. Students perform the song for their classmates.
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Social Roles
Young scholars role play in order to better understand the social roles of the Colonial period. In this Colonial period lesson plan, students guess what role the student is playing based on social role cards.