How is music a form of therapy? Scholars explore the topic using the fourth and final instructional activity from the Changing One's Tune: A Music Therapy STEM series. Learners explore the relationship between music and the mind and...

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s marched to its own beat—literally. Using songs from the era, as well as other primary sources such as King's "I Have a Dream" speech, class members analyze lyrics to discover how music and protest...

Language learners get into the swing of things with a jazzy lesson plan about similes. They read an article about Duke Ellington, listen to samples of his music, and then try their hand at crafting similes to describe his improvisational...

Bring jazz music and the Harlem Renaissance to light with a lesson that challenges scholars to research and create. Pupils delve deep into information materials to identify jazz terminology, compare types of jazz and jazz musicians,...

Introduce young explorers to the music and history of Jamaican culture through game songs and dances. As a bonus, class members get to play simple songs transcribed for the recorder.

Ah, the classic business cycle model: recession, depression, recovery, prosperity. And then there was the Great Depression. Groups investigate the economic conditions that led to and social movements of the 1920s that great out of the...

A powerful, award-winning video launches a lesson about socially conscious social networking. After watching the video and engaging in a full class discussion, individuals share their ideas about healthy social networking in a podcast or...

To better understand the cultural achievements of the Harlem Renaissance and become familiar with its major figures, class members examine a painting by Aaron Douglas and a poem by Langston Hughes and compare how the artists develop...

Students analyze several pieces of music and videos to examine how popular musicians and their music affect us as individuals and as a society. The perception of society's ideals, hypocrisy in government, and injustice are explored.

Eleventh graders examine political, cultural, and social movements through music. In this 1960s American history lesson, 11th graders explore the music of the decade in order to better understand the complexity of the time period....

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.

Class members are introduced to a project-based learning unit on US immigration with an activity that asks them to analyze sheet music and other primary source materials to uncover issues raised by immigration.  

Class members explore cultural diversity through a variety of texts that showcase the importance of traditions. Then, they interview their family members to research their own cultural background and write their findings on quilt...

Very few outsiders get to see the Hopi "Butterfly Dance." However, using approved footage from the tribe, class members consider the importance of symbols in Hopi culture by watching the dance and analyzing lyrics from its songs....

Here is a fantastic activity through which class members discover how music has the ability to influence others in a meaningful way. After reviewing selected pieces and modern-day protest songs, learners will research other songs that...

Each of the three dance lessons included here will get your class moving. The first lesson allows learners to explore how music and movement differ in meaning depending on cultural context. Lesson two gives them an opportunity to create...

As part of their study of the influence of TV and films, class members consider how music, lighting, costumes, camera angles, etc. are used to influence the response of viewers.

Did I hear you right? You need a great lesson on active listening? Through large- and small-group activities, learners differentiate between poor and excellent listening skills. The resource, 7th in a series of 15, focuses on active...

Here's a must-have resource for your Vietnam War curriculum file. Class members view a PowerPoint that details the background of the conflict and then examines the reasons for and the effects of protest songs on American attitudes toward...

Use a packet packed with ideas for how to celebrate the traditions of your country, state, community, and pupils's families. Suggestions for how to draw on oral and material traditions, customs, beliefs, music, and stories all find...

"And it's one, two, three...what are we fighting for?" Use music to assess the climate of protest during the Vietnam War, listening to and analyzing Country Joe MacDonald's "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag" (lyrics included)....

Before Woodstock, there was Newport. Get plugged in to the social changes of the 1960s with a lesson that looks at Bob Dylan's performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival as a symbol of the radical changes that marked the era.

Middle schoolers weigh in on dress codes, specifically those that apply to hair and make-up, with a lesson that uses a 2017 case from a charter school in Massachusetts. Class members read about two girls suspended for violating the...

Upper graders explore the similarities, differences, and depth of pop music from the Romantic era and the 20th century. They listen to selections that exemplify the Baroque, Romantic, and 20th century periods, then create presentations...