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Inter-City Jazz Songbook Project

For Teachers 5th - 11th
Students choose a city with famous musical highlights and create a tourist brochure.
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Retrograde Composition

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students complete their own retrograde composition. They finish playing a set of notes started by their teacher. They use computer software to complete their song.
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Using Shanties to Create Lyrics

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students demonstrate an understanding of shanties, a traditional music form. They listen to several shanties and create their own verses to add on to these songs. They express their feelings through music by using rhythm and rhyme to...
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Feelin; a Groove

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students compare and contrast two versions of April in Paris. They discuss the songs in terms of the grooves each one captures and identify the instruments responsible for creating them.
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Defining Voice of the Punk Years

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students analyze the music of The Clash and have extensive and intensive practice in reading and listening skills.
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Spark Activity: Louisiana Line Dance

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students learn and practice 1 step at a time of the Louisiana Line Dance, then put all steps together and practice the dance to music. 
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Sanctus--Frank Martin

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders complete a music listening log and then work in small groups to complete essays that answer a given set of questions about the music.
Organizer
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Sonata Form

For Students 9th
In this sonata form worksheet, students examine the three main portions of the sonata form. They read about the exposition, recapitulation, and the development. There are no questions associated with this worksheet about the Classical...
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Trades People

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students discuss the names of the people who work on various stuctures. They examine the many different roles people in construction can have. They match tools with the correct job and sing songs about workers.
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You Can Play It

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students listen to a piece of music on the bells, recorder, and rhythm sticks, comparing and contrasting the different instruments. They play the song, Row Row Row Your Boat, rotating groups to play the bells, recorder, and rhythm sticks.
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Syncopation in Pevensey Castle

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the syncopation rhythms from the musical piece, Pevensey Castle. They count and execute rhythms, count syncopated rhythms, and clap and count rhythms.
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The Rhythm of Life - Episode 2 - Melody

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
Pupils complete a unit on melodies from various cultures. They watch an online program, analyze various melodies, write a short original melody, complete a worksheet, and compare/contrast three versions of "Amazing Grace."
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Jam Sessions

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students examine the connection between sense of humor and jazz improvisation by identifying the musical instruments imitated by comedian Bill Cosby. They listen to another recording by Clark Terry and write what they think he might be...
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Civil Rights Leaders

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders investigate three American leaders from the Civil Rights Movement while they examine the early 1960's and the topic of racial equality. They listen to music from the era, read speeches, and look at images of Martin Luther...
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Strike Up the Band

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students create song lyrics celebrating the history of labor unions serving the entertainment industry, then create posters illustrating the importance of each union to the industry they represent.
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Mood

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students analyze their feelings after reading or listening to music. In this moods lesson, students react to the feelings generated by the story or music they heard. Students pair edit their stories.
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Cole Porter: You're the Top

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners watch selected film clips about Cole Porter and discover his uniqueness. In groups, they research associates of the Porter's and present reports on them. Then, they write position papers on prominent people of the Jazz Age. ...
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"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders sing the son "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." They are asked:"How many of you have looked at the stars in the sky on a clear night? Have you ever wished on a star? What did you wish?" Students are explained the concept...
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The Tabloid Ballad

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers explore the poetic ballad. They examine the rhythm of a typical ballad and listen to recitations of sample ballads. They choose an article from a supermarket tabloid and write a comical ballad using rhythms and...
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Trash or Treasure?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners explore their experiences and reflect on how one person can make a difference in our world. In this service learning lesson, students analyze themes in music related to encouragement. Learners perform a service learning project...
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THE PEN VS. THE SWORD: LYRICAL RESPONSES TO A NATION AT WAR

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students brainstorm lists of songs that were written in response to American wars; consider the patterns in the lists they create.
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Why Does It Matter? Teaching Tolerance in an Unforgiving Society

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students listen to the song "Scarecrow" by Melissa Etheridge and draw what they think the song is about. They discover the song is about a man who was attacked. They again express their feelings about the song through drawing. Finally...
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No Form of Tobacco is Safe

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students create an advertisement to convince children to stay away from tobacco products. In this smoking prevention lesson, students discuss the health effects of tobacco use and evaluate current tobacco ads. Students work in small...
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Woody Guthrie: Ain't Got No Home

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the music of Woody Guthrie and how the political and economic climate influenced his work. They read and discuss online articles, define key vocabulary words, take a Political Orientation Survey, and write a position...