Curated OER
Music of the Estuary
Students explore the sounds of the estuary. In this wetlands lesson, students discuss how to simulate the sounds of nature. Students write and record a musical score featuring the sounds of the wetlands.
Curated OER
Class in the Media: Writing a Television Show
Students look at popular media presentations to determine what type of messages they convey about class and class-linked behavior. They listen to contemporary music to explore how the songs touch upon social class issues. They read...
Curated OER
"Let's Write a Song"
Fourth graders brainstorm ideas that answer the question, "What is a song?" They determine the parts of a song, read lyrics, and listen to a song while identifying the chorus. They repeat the procedure with a new song before working in...
Curated OER
Regional Songs in the Southern American Experience
Students write a song about transportation in 100 years after comparing and discussing "Proud Mary" and "The Midnight Special".
Curated OER
Music
Third graders sing the Shaker tune "Simple Gifts" while identifying eighth, quarter, and half notes. They listen to Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring and recall other ballet music.
Curated OER
Songs of Unrest - Lesson 4
Students identify popular songs from 1968 and make connections with the year's current events. They pretend that they are producing a new CD. The CD includes four songs that comment on today's social issues. They write the liner notes.
Curated OER
Ta he thaw nu ha la tu-Traditional Oneida Song
Young scholars practice singing a traditional Oneida song. They discuss the meaning in both the English and Oneida languages and how the words to this song demonstrate important feelings for the Oneida people.
Curated OER
Tapping the Trees-Traditional Oneida Song
Students practice singing the song, Tapping the Trees. They discuss the meaning in both the English and Oneida languages and how the words to this song demonstrate important feelings for the Oneida people.
Curated OER
Music Time
Students explore several different music-related jobs by role playing activities that portray each job. In this music careers lesson plan, students plan a performance where all of them have a specific music related job.
Tune Into English
America – West Side Story
Anita's iconic rooftop ode to American life in West Side Story is the focus of a lesson on immigration. As class members listen to "America," they follow along with printed lyrics, and discuss whether they agree with Anita's...
Poetry4kids
Rhythm in Poetry: The Basics
What makes a great poem sound so good? Learn the rhythmic secrets of poetry with an explanatory online lesson.
Curated OER
Storytellers: Bruce Springsteen
Students use the correct music terminology to evaluate a performance, composition, and arrangement of the song "Blinded by the Light" by Bruce Springsteen and compare it to another version recorded by Manfred Man.
Curated OER
Sondheim: Secret Metaphors
Young scholars explore the work of Stephen Sondheim. In this musical theater lesson, students examine the musicals Merrily We Roll Along and Sunday in the Park with George. Young scholars identify and...
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Storytellers: Pearl Jam, Lesson 1
Students examine the meaning of genre, and specifically investigate the musical genre of grunge. They view and discuss photos, watch the video, "VH1 Storytellers: Pearl Jam," answer discussion questions, and paraphrase the lyrics to a...
Curated OER
Blowin' In The Wind
In this song lessons worksheet, students listen to the song by Bob Dylan, "Blowin' in the Wind." They search for key phrases that use the words, "How many," and list each one with the noun that follows the phrase. Students listen to the...
Curated OER
Rewording Nursery Rhymes
Third graders write a song. In this melody instructional activity, 3rd graders discuss their favorite nursery rhymes. Students sing two songs and compare their melodies. Students use the melody of Twinkle Twinkle Little...
Curated OER
James Brown: Life and Times
Students trace James Brown's rise from "Little Junior" in Depression-era Augusta, Georgia, to the "Minister of the New Super Heavy Funk" and create a collage that captures his impact on American music.
Curated OER
Sense of Place: No River Too Wide-Bridges
Fifth graders discover the history of their hometown Des Moines River. In this U.S. Geography lesson students speak with Iowans that tell stories of the settlers and early villages near the Des Moines River. Students document...
Curated OER
Mixing it up with Romeo and Juliet
Students create a soundtrack for Romeo and Juliet choosing one song to represent each scene. They write a paragraph explaining their song choices.
Curated OER
Making a Rainstick
Students construct a rainstick. In this music instructional activity, students investigate the history of the rainstick by reading the book Bringing the Rain to the Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema. Students express their feelings about the...
Curated OER
Under Joni Mitchell's Influence
Students view the AMERICAN MASTERS entitled Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind, examine the concept of influence, and explore how Joni Mitchell and her work have influenced others. Students read, interpret, and analyze her lyrics by...
Curated OER
Melody II
In this music worksheet, learners determine which string of notes are a harmony and which ones are a melody. Students also form a map of the musical contour of the songs "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "Sweet Georgia Brown."
Curated OER
Past Tense Verbs
For this interactive grammar worksheet, students listen to a musical clip of the Beatles song "No Reply" and fill in the missing words in the lyrics. Each word is a past tense verb. There are 20 fill-in's to complete.