Illinois Music Education Conference
Taking the “General” Out of Middle School General Music!
Middle schoolers will sing the praises of this music program. The resource, designed as an overview for music instructors, is loaded with ideas, activities, and links. Not a sour note in the packet.
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Band On Line
In 1996, using the Internet to enhance learning was a new innovation. While the lesson here is a bit outdated, it could still provide a basic understanding of how technology can enhance music appreciation. Members of the school band...
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When The Saints Go Marching In: A Lesson for Middle School Keyboard Lab Students
After listening to a variety of interpretations of "When the Saints Go Marching In," partners compose and then perform their own renditions of this classic before joining a full-class jam session.
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Our School Song
Show your school spirit! Class members use instruments or sing along and employ what they have learned in the two previous lessons to perform their school's songs.
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Starting at the Beginning
Sixth graders develop basic band skills through in-class instruction, individual practice, and the Essential Elements band method. Instruction is teacher-led with examples and drill/practice. National Standards for the arts are...
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Rehearsal and Sightreading Techniques
Eighth graders prepare the two pieces "American Celebration" and "Patriotic Bits and Pieces" for an upcoming performance. This lesson is a forty-five minute lesson geared towards a middle school advanced band (8th Grade). National and...
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Listen Up! Swinging with some Big Band Music
Middle schoolers read about the music and life of Glenn Miller. They listen to Miller's "Jeep Jockey Jump" and analyze the piece for instrumentation, formal structure and stylistic characteristics.
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Jazz
Over the history of the world, music has been at the heart of some of the greatest social and political movements. Scholars discover their musical roots as they dive into the sounds and emotions of renowned jazz players. They see how...
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Marching Band Cadence
Students compose an original cadence. They compose a short segment (2 measures) of a cadence on staff paper. Papers are collected and entered into Sibelius program. They compose original cadences using the Sibelius program and...
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Capturing Light: The Science of Photography
Students create their own cameras to understand how artists use light to capture an image in a photograph. In this light lesson plan, students use tape, wax paper, rubber bands, and more to create their cameras.
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African Art: Ntan Drum
Students study African history, anthropology and culture using the lens of the art object, Ntan Drum. Lesson and instruction is differentiated for elementary, middle and high school students.
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Mariachi Concert
Students study Mexican music. In this Mexican culture lesson, students research mariachi bands and then design posters that accurately advertise them.
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Math is Beautiful: Tessellation
Students examine patterning in Chinese and Japanese artwork prior to creating their
own tessellations using styrofoam plates in this creative cross-curricular lesson for upper-elementary/middle level classrooms.
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Berlioz the Bear
Young children read the story, Berlioz the Bear and complete various reading and writing activities. They learn about fiction and non-fiction, and complete graphing and writing activities for the story. Youngsters draw the bear and use...
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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.
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A Place for Me in the Field of Music
Second graders listen to interviews with career musicians. They, in groups, present to classmates the life, music, inspiration, and goals of a favorite composer, performer, or group.
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Dizzy Gillespie
Students compare and contrast two songs by Dizzy Gillespie and identify elements of bebop. They construct a Web page about Gillespie and his music.
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Lesson #23: Ceramic Self-Portrait as a Famous Artist
Students sculpt a bust out of clay using naturalistic features. In this sculpture lesson, students use themselves or classmates as models to ensure correct form and proportion of a hollow bust. This lesson includes pictures...
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Create Your Own Florida Murals
Students study a mural that represents life in Florida. They choose one portion of the mural and redraw it showing what the character in that portion would be doing next. (Is the person headed to the beach? Where the bird fly next? etc.)
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Inventing and Presenting Unit 2: Effective Speeches and Building the Invention
Students identify the characteristics of effective speeches. Students find elements of good speeches in the text and in the delivery of model speeches. Students build a working three-dimensional model of an invention or an actual...
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Composer/Musician Study
Students research a musician or composer of their choice and present their research through a written paper and free choice activity. This lesson can be done over the course of five to six classes with some homework. The paper...
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Texture And The World Around You
Pupils discover different textures used in art by exploring objects, creating magazine montages, and printing collagraphs. The lesson spans three days and includes three different activities to aid in the learning process.
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Digable Planets, K.B.'s Alley When Jazz Meets Hip-Hop
Middle schoolers explore the musical style of jazz and identify its elements while listening to hip-hop recordings. They select two styles of music and fuse them together in this activity.
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There Ya Go, Bobby McFerrin, Creativity ans Jazz
Students examine the percussion sounds used to create percussive sounds and identify the instruments that Bobby McFerrin imitates in his scat vocals. A scat version of the musical piece "So What" is improvised in this lesson.