Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Sharing Your Music - Lesson 5
Students observe that music can communicate positive social messages. They create a theme concert with a positive social message after watching a video of famous artists playing on Sesame Street.
Curated OER
Musical Tapestry
Students explore the terms and structure of a bluegrass tune. They participate in a listening exercise that will challenge them to identify specific elements within a bluegrass musical arrangement.
Curated OER
"Viennese Musical Clock"
Fourth graders learn about musical patterns as they play a game called fudge. Students are assessed based on whether they were able to identify and play a steady beat, use the appropriate form, and clap the rythmic patterns.
Classics for Kids
"Mars" from The Planets
Gustav Holst's The Planets provide young musicians an opportunity to examine how composers can create a suite: a collection of smaller pieces grouped to explore a single topic. After listening to "Jupiter," they examine "Mars" in detail,...
Berklee College of Music
Create Your Own Afro-Latin Groove
The backbone of Latin American music is the beat! Young musicians work on blending Afro-Latin rhythms and beat patterns before incorporating the major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, and blues scales in their own compositions.
Curated OER
Music in Other Cultures
Learners examine the musical concepts of timbre, melody, and rhythm. They listen to and identify characteristics of music from other cultures.
Curated OER
The Travels of Babar: An Adventure in Scales
Learners become familiar with the musical notify that are associated with the character in Monstel's The Travels of Babar: An Adventure in Scales, so that they can listen attentively to the performance and understand and appreciate ow...
Curated OER
VH1 Classic Presents: Paul McCartney: Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, Lesson 3
Students in a guitar class perform the Beatles song, Eleonor Rigby and study it's melodic and harmonic structures. They discover the process of arranging the song for a 4-part guitar ensemble.
Curated OER
American Music Styles: Blues - Lesson 2
Students describe some of the distinguishing characteristics of blues music. They compare and analyze two versions of the same 12-bar blues song. They read and identify notation symbols for rhythm and tempo.
Curated OER
Tradition through storytelling and music
Students discover how storytelling can shape a person's tradition.Students examine different methods of storytelling such as music, biographies, and African folktales. They then demonstrate their knowledge of storytelling by writing...
Curated OER
African Popular Music
Young scholars explore popular music of West Africa. In this musicians lesson, students complete listening tasks that challenge them to analyze the music of Oumou Sangare, Angelique Kidjo, and Baaba Maal.
John F. Kennedy Center
Jazz music, Dance and Poetry
Students view video and become familiar with the type of movement in jazz dance. In this jazz dance lesson, students write a cinquain about jazz dance. Students recognize the elements of jazz dance and the type of music associated with...
Curated OER
Improvising in the Birthplace of Jazz
Students recognize significant developments in New Orleans jazz music. They improvise blues licks using notes from a minor pentatonic scale.
Curated OER
The National Anthem Project: Notating "The Star-Spangled Banner" (Middle Level Strings).
Students hear a melody, play in their instruments and write it down on manuscript paper. They correct their melody and play from their own manuscript paper. Students continue this procedure at least once a week.
San Francisco Symphony
The American Five - Pentatonic scales in early American melodies
Through vocal warm-ups and exercises, budding musicians will attempt to grasp the five pentatonic scales, commonly used in early American songs. They'll sing and work to identify the pitch, tone, melody, and scales being expressed in the...
Curated OER
Down By the Riverside
Students discuss the musical genre of spirituals and its influence on our musical history. They perform various songs, and read the student score for, Down By the Riverside.
VH1
Lesson 3: Behind the Movie Chicago
In small groups and then as a class, young musicians compare and contrast two pieces from the musical film Chicago. They pair up to look at the elements that make each piece similar and define the elements or arrangements that make them...
Curated OER
Halloween Sing Along
First graders get ready for Halloween while engaging in a spirited sing-along. They sing the song "Halloween" along with the teacher as they clap to keep rhythm with the music. Note: This song or song lyrics are not included.
Curated OER
Discovering the Element of Color in Gaetano Donizetti's Don Pasquale: A Comparison of Tone Color and Art Color
Learners experience several different tone colors in the song and also add layers of color to their copy of "The Owl" to compare and contrast how an artist would create the element of color.
Curated OER
Music: Zim, Zim, and La Tarara
Pupils establish the correct way to sing and play melodies in Spanish. For this music lesson, students review the correct pronunciation of the song "Zim, Zim" and participate in singing it correctly.
Curated OER
VH1 Fan Club ABBA Lesson 1
Students study the relationship between trends and individual tastes in music. They use musical terms to describe the elements of different styles of music.
Curated OER
How Do I Measure Up? (Intermediate)
Fifth graders compare the relationship between meter in music and measurement in math. They practice sightreading music by determining the number of beats per measure, clapping and counting the rhythm.
Curated OER
Jazz In America
Students explore the Jazz Era in America not only by answering questions but listening to music as well.