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Organizer
Curated OER

Brainstorming for a Song Essay

For Students 4th - 12th
Use this brainstorming organizer to help writers organize their song ideas. Starting with the name of the song, they will use bubbles to brainstorm various elements of a song from lyrics to meaning.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching Peace through Literature and Song

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Negative effects of bullying come to light through listening to the book Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco. Class members identify philanthropic acts portrayed in the story and make illustrations to connect them to their own...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Set a Poem to Music

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Fun awaits both you and your class as you embark on a musical activity. After discussing different rhythmic meters they choose a poem to set to music. The poem must rhyme and be set to a melody in the key of C Major. Because the activity...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creating an Original Opera

For Teachers 9th - 12th
This may be a lot to ask of a high schooler, but then again, who knows? Pupils work in groups to explore, write, and then perform an original opera. They view versions of The Magic Flute and La Traviata, then compose a plot, characters,...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

June 27th Writing Prompt

For Students 4th - 8th
In this daily writing prompt worksheet, students learn that the melody of the "Happy Birthday Song" was written on this day in 1859. Students write a new song lyrics set to the same tune.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Song Writing Grid

For Students 6th - 7th
In this music worksheet, students complete a song writing grid. The students fill out the chord, melody, and lyrics for each of the 12 bars.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Write a Song About American History

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars explore the historic background of the song, The Battle of New Orleans. Working in pairs, students research other historic events and write their own songs based on them.
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Breaking the Code: Actions and Songs of Protest

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Ezell Blair, Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil changed history. Their sit-in at the lunch counter of the Woolworths in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960 became a model for the nonviolent protests that...
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Activity
National Constitution Center

Born in the U.S.A: Music as Political Protest

For Students 10th - 12th Standards
Though often used in shows of patriotism, Bruce Springsteen's 1985 song "Born in the U.S.A." is critical of America's role in the Vietnam war and its treatment of American veterans. High schoolers analyze the song's lyrics in an activity...
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Website
University of North Carolina

Music

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Music is a universal pleasure, but writing about it can be a little trickier. An informative handout discusses common types of music writing assignments that one might encounter in a college-level course. Individuals read about musical...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lyric Poetry Lesson

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students synthesize the "textbook" definition of lyric poetry and discuss various forms (love lyric, complaint lyric, loss lyric, satiric lyric). They discover the relationship of poetry to musical selections.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Writing Lyrics

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the themes and structure of a bluegrass song and identify the common themes in bluegrass music. They practice songwriting by rewriting the lyrics of "Oh! Susanna" as a bluegrass tune.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

On the Beach: Disabled and Mother's Pride

For Teachers 9th - 12th
What do an early 20th century poet and a 1980's rock star have in common with a novel from the 1960's? Using Wilfred Owen's poem "Disabled" and George Michael's song "Mother's Pride," learners answer questions about the lyrics and themes...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poets Got Them Blues

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Contemplate what music learners listen to and why they listen. Can they find poetry within music lyrics? Specifically hone in on blues lyrics and ruminate upon the social issues prevalent in the themes. Particular song lyrics coincide...
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

The Vocal Blues: Created in the Deep South of the U.S.

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Bring the sounds of the deep South vocal blues to the classroom with a Smithsonian Folkways lesson. In preparation, scholars listen to and count the 12 bar blues patterns in several works and identify the I, II, IV, and V chords as well...
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Activity
Tune Into English

Yellow Submarine – The Beatles – Notes

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Enhance English language skills using the fan-favorite song, "Yellow Submarine" by The Beatles. Scholars predict what the song is about then listen and mark specific words they hear. Playing the song again, participants unscramble lyrics...
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Unit Plan
National Center for Families Learning

The Summer Fun Summer Learning Poetry Unit

For Teachers 1st - 8th Standards
Focus on poetry this summer to enhance those comprehension, fluency, and language skills with a set of resources intended to explore different types of poetry, specifically lyric poetry. The daily activities contain differentiation ideas...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

If I Had... Conditional and Subjunctive Sentences

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Lines from popular songs are used to teach middle schoolers about conditional and subjunctive moods. Groups engage in a card sort activity to identify conditional and subjective sentences and then partners draft sentences of each type....
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Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Analyzing Media Messages

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Telling young people to just say no can be difficult in a world that inundates them with messages to just say yes. A instructional activity on media messages encourages teenagers to analyze song lyrics and advertisements that mention...
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Writing
Curated OER

Song Writing: Recording Your Song

For Students 9th
In this music sales worksheet, students read advice on the how to sell the songs that they write. They read about producers, managers, demos, royalties, and agents. They design a pamphlet based on the information in the reading and as an...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson: American Idyll

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Using the painting, Childhood Idyll for inspiration, learners reflect on things that are idealized. They focus in on pop music and pop idols, write a song, and perform it in front of the class, American Idol style.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Parts of Speech

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
What better way to practice employing the different parts of speech than through a song? Young scholars color code different parts of speech in song lyrics, working first as a whole group and then individually. The parts of speech...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music and Lyrics

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders analyze lyrics from songs from a variety of genres. In this musical analysis lesson, 8th graders write an essay about their life plans in which they discuss the lyrics of U2's song, "One." They tell how the writings of Dr....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Write a Rap Song

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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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