Curated OER
Music in Our Schools Month
Music is an Essential Part of Our Students' Educational Experience
Curated OER
Kodaly Beat Lesson
Introduce rhythmic beat and melodic beat with a upbeat activity that asks young musicians to clap the beat to their favorite nursery rhyme. To introduce the rest beat, class members use small drums or other percussion instruments to play...
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Call and Response Singing
Learners investigate call and response singing. In this fine arts and U.S. history lesson, students listen to several call and response songs that were sung by African-American slaves during the period before the Civil War. ...
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Composing Music
Young scholars explore music appreciation by reading sheet music. In this musical score analysis lesson, students utilize their individual instruments to play the song "Peter and the Wolf." Young scholars listen to an online version of...
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How Poets Evoke Social and Historical Representations
High schoolers explore how poems represent the social, historical, and cultural times that they were written in. In this poetry lesson plan, students compare and contrast poems with music of the time and explore implications of writing...
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Enjoying Latino Music
Students view different musical instruments from around Latino world, predict what sounds instruments will make based on their appearance, listen to and evaluate music from different Latino genres orally or in writing, and make...
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The Music and Message of Lauryn Hill
Students explore the music of artist Lauryn Hill and analyze the way she uses her music in a socially responsible manner. In this music artist lesson, students read the lyrics to Hill's songs and listen to some example songs. Students...
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Skip Counting to Music
Your youngest mathematicians skip count by 2's, 5's, and 10's as they sing along to a Hap Palmer song that helps them remember the patterns. Students practice in whole group and then individually with the worksheet provided, using the...
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American Colonists Protest Song
Students explore the role of protest songs. In this early American history lesson, students research the acts passed by the British that angered colonists. Students then listen to protest songs from contemporary American history prior to...
Peter Nagy
Virtuoso Piano Free 3
This may be as close to playing a piano as it is possible to get without actually having a physical instrument in the class. Learn the names and sounds of keys, play a solo or a duet, and practice scales or any song you'd like–all for free!
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Write Your Own Rap
Third graders create a rap using basic AB form composition. Evaluation of performances are based on rubric formed during the first lesson by all students. This three to four day lesson culminates in student performances and evaluation.
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Chinese New Year Song and Dance
Young scholars identify phrases within a song. In this Chinese New Year lesson students listen to a story about Chinese New Year and "Song of the Dragon". Young scholars each write a phrase from the song on a slip of paper and as a class...
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Music To My Ears: The District of Columbia Quarter
Students practice identifying different genres of music by creating posters. In this music appreciation lesson, students research Duke Ellington and complete worksheets based on his style of music, Jazz. Students collaborate...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Songwriting Skill - Choosing a Tone: Jordan Pruitt - “One Love”
"Tone means attitude." Or so says this resource that uses Jordan Pruitt's "One Love" to model for songwriters how to develop an attitude in their lyrics. Class members engage in a number of exercises designed to give them direct and...
Azar Grammar
Song Lessons: Never, My Love
Here's a clever way to introduce language learners to noun clauses. After a brief exercise that provides examples of different types of noun clauses, class members listen to the Association's "Never, My Love" and identify the clauses in...
Keynotes Education
The Recorder - B
Make some beautiful music with a lesson about playing the recorder! After learning some of the basic fingering positions and notes, have kids practice their skills with two easy songs.
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12 Days of Christmas
Young scholars utilize different problem-solving strategies and creative writing when dealing with the words from the song, "12 Days of Christmas." They try to problem solve how may presents were given and then explain their sequence in...
Prestwick House
The Poetry of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan's selection as the 2016 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, the first songwriter ever to receive the honor, has focused the attention of a new generation on the work of the legendary artist. Class members...
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Introduction to Ludwig van Beethoven
"Ode to la Tortilla" and "Ode to Joy"? Sure! Use Gary Soto's poem to introduce learners to the ode format. After examining the descriptive words Soto uses, class members study a poster of Ludwig van Beethoven, suggest words that describe...
Orlando Shakes
In the Heights: Study Guide
Before Hamilton, Lin Manuel-Miranda gained fame with In the Heights. A study guide prepares theater goers for a performance of the musical about a group of friends living in the New York City neighborhood of Washington Heights....
National Park Service
The Poet's Toolbox
If you need a lesson for your poetry unit, use two poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ("Rain in Summer" and "The Slave in the Dismal Swamp") and a resource on Elements of Poetry. The lesson plan guides you through activities...
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The Imagine Poetry & Mural Lesson
Readers of all ages can work together in groups to create original poetry on the theme of "Imagine," inspired by John Lennon's classic song. They also create a mural to illustrate their poetry. A beautiful lesson, inspired by a beautiful...
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Character Traits in Fables
Combining art, music, dance, and reading comprehension, this lesson is geared to reach all ability levels. After reading a variety of fables and discussing story elements and character traits, class members select a moral to use as the...
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West Virginia Def PB Wants You!
Students write, adapt, and compose a song related to the West Virginia State Museum. In this music instructional activity, students create a composition for a work of visual art. Students incorporate major and minor melodies.