Curated OER
My (musical) Valentine
Get out those bells, sand blocks, and sticks! Your kindergarteners use their singing voices to ask and answer friendly questions while keeping rhythm. They take turns in a group and in pairs singing questions and answers while keeping...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Music
Music is the focus of the reading adventure pack. After reading, pupils complete hands-on activities. Scholars use household items to make shakers and cymbals. They listen to eclectic music by turning on the radio, borrowing music from...
Country Music Hall of Fame
Ray Charles and Country Music
Ray Charles used the pain and adversity from his life to influence an entire genre of American music. Learn about the musician's daily life, struggles and success, and powerful musical style with a thorough resource.
Science 4 Inquiry
Musical Vibes with Palm Pipes
Ancient people used musical pipes as early as the third millennium BCE. Young scientists explore the workings of musical pipes to better understand the relationship with frequency, length of pipe, and sound waves. They determine the...
Curated OER
Music- Found-Object Orchestra
Students construct simple musical instruments. In this music lesson, students read the text Max Found Two Sticks and construct their own instruments from classroom materials.
Curated OER
Instruments Used in Folk Music
In this music worksheet, learners read short excerpts about the instruments that accompany folk music songs. They write 5-10 paragraphs about the use of the banjo and mandolin in folk music and about their differences. They read...
Curated OER
Designing Musical Instruments
Students examine musical instruments as main part of the study of sound energy. In this designing instruments lesson plan, students focus on the elements of an instrument that cause sound to be created and design a unique musical...
Curated OER
Musical Sounds
Students investigate music appreciation by completing worksheets. In this musical arts lesson, students complete worksheets in which they identify different musical instruments, the sounds they make and the family of instruments they...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Engineered Music
Sound engineers investigate the structural design of a musical instrument, the recorder. They work in collaborative groups to choose an instrument to build out of everyday craft materials. It must be able to repeat a three-note sequence...
Curated OER
Pop Culture Icons: Medieval Music
Kids compare and contrast music from the past to the present. They listen to and review the characteristics of Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and Pop music. Then, they discuss the differences in each and how musical icons from the past...
Curated OER
Music: Off the Wall & Onto the Stage - Composing
Kids explore Gullah music from Africa and then create original compositions based on what they've learned. They practice traditional melodies and rhythms then make some of their own, which they then perform for the class.
Amani Project
The 5 Elements of Music
A series of activities teach young musicians that they don't need a room full of instruments to make music. The second activity in the Amani Project has participants use their hands, feet, and voices to demonstrate the five elements of...
California Department of Education
Instruments of Change: Making a Simple Stringed Instrument (CTE)
What materials and skills does a person need to build a simple working instrument? With the first of four lessons from the Changing One's Tune: A Music Therapy STEM Integrated Project series, scholars learn about the basic structure of...
Curated OER
Instrument Families
From the clarinet to maracas, this PowerPoint covers various instruments in the 4 instrument families: woodwinds, brass, strings, percussion. Descriptions and pictures of instruments in the four families are provided. Slides 19-22...
Curated OER
The Role of the Opera Orchestra
Students listen to and examine a recording of the opera Don Pasquale and study the various musical instruments in an orchestra. They discuss the difference between a symphony orchestra and an opera orchestra. Finally they play the music...
Curated OER
Loud or soft?
Send this cute activity home with kids, to increase family involvement. They'll consider what would happen if rice was bounced in a tambourine, and then they'll complete a sound activity by makings an instrument out of wax paper and a...
Curated OER
Driving Music
Students experience both playing a musical instrument and driving a car. The two experiences tied together by one engineer. The score appears as a road, with twists and turns representing the composer's suggested shifts in mood. This...
Curated OER
Middle School General Music Unit Plans
Here's a collection of unit plans for middle school musicians. Topics include the mbira, opera, rhythm and culture, music in Africa, music in the movies, music theory and notation, blues and jazz, and the ocarina. Definitely worth a look.
Ceramic Arts Daily
Making Sounds with Clay
Here is a great way to incorporate art, history, and music. Learners will make airduct instruments, such as recorders, flutes, and whistles out of clay. The ceramic instruments can be quite ornate and even used to make music. The...
Curated OER
Woodwind Instruments and Pitch
Young scholars explore musical pitch. In this cross curriculum musical instruments and "sound" physics lesson, students identify and describe common traits of woodwind instruments. Young scholars research "pitch" and what causes pitch...
Curated OER
Rubber Band Banza
Third graders review ideas about sound and vibration to make their own stringed instrument. They review what a pictograph and bar graph are. Pupils conduct a survey within the classroom to choose the four favorite string instruments and...
San Francisco Symphony
Music and Early Man
Creative projects are great ways to increase interest in topical research. Middle schoolers learning about primitive life styles in the Americas explore the importance of music to hunter gatherers. They research and create musical...
August House
When Turtle Grew Feathers
Friendship is a valuable part of growing up. Learn about the importance of friendship with a variety of activities based on When Turtle Grew Feathers by Tim Tingle. Kids practice making musical instruments, discussing plot points,...
Curated OER
TE Lesson: Energy Transfer in Musical Instruments
Students study concepts of energy and energy transfer. They look at how these concepts apply to musical instruments. They study the law of conservation of energy. They use the concepts studied in the lesson to design a musical instrument.