Curated OER
Music of My Heart
Young scholars view and discuss the movie, Music of the Heart. They compare/contrast two versions of the song, Music of My Heart, identify characteristics of heroes, and sing the song, Music of My Heart.
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Putting Pitch In Its Place
Students focus on reading musical notations. They see, hear, practice and write notations in the lessons to become more independent readers of music. They complete a Rubric for Pitch Worksheet.
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Focus on Harmony
Harmony is the focus of this band lesson. Upper graders play the Star Spangled Banner, while focusing on harmony, chords, and musical voice. This lesson includes several suggested cross-curricular activities.
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General Music: Star Spangled Banner
"The Star Spangled Banner" became our country's national anthem, but why? Second and third grade musicians read about the song, analyze the lyrics, and discuss patriotism. They then complete a related word search.
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Musical Form of "The Star-Spangled Banner"
Students use a recording of "The Star Spangled Banner," to identify the AABC form of the anthem and describe the repetitions and contrasts in the piece of music. They memorize the music in eight-measure phrases being aware of the form...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: Musical Myths
Create musical myths in this West African tales lesson. Middle schoolers read myths from African Myths and Legends as well as West African Trickster Tales. They note when music could be used to enhance the tales, and then write their own...
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High School Lesson Plan
Students compose and arrange music within specific guidelines. They # identify and explain compositional devices and techniques used in a musical work. They compare and contrast the use of those techniques between different compositions.
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Music of the Civil Rights Era, 1954-1968
Learners experience the aesthetics of music and learn about freedom songs that motivated the Civil Rights activists. In this music history lesson, students learn how music can motivate and move listeners. Learners then describe how...
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Realism in Music, The Underground Railroad
Students complete a unit of 9 lessons to learn about realism in music during the time of the Underground Railroad. In this music realism lesson, students learn about coded lyrics in the slave songs. Students complete 9 lessons using...
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Write a Rap Song
Students compose lyrics for a rap song. In this music lesson, students choose a topic, such as "Our School," and use rhyming words to compose a rap song. Students perform the song for their classmates.
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Native American Music and the Flute
Students study the role of the flute in Native American music while determining what an exemplary example of flute music sounds like. They develop a method of assessing a Native American flute performance. They perform a Native American...
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Moving with Music
Second graders explore and experience the basic concepts of crescendo, decrescendo, andante and allegro by moving with the appropriate signal in accordance to the music being sung. They study the words to the songs "Old McDonald,"...
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Words/Music/Images: Interpretation and Meaning A Motivational Activity
Students explore popular music in its historical context. In this music lesson, students examine the lyrics, musicical arrangement, and video imagery of selected songs to interpret the messages and themes of the songs.
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The Sounds of Music
Students listen to Brazilian folk music and discuss its various sounds and connections to today's music. They record sounds that define and represent the culture of their school and community.
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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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Turn Down Music to Save Hearing
Learners participate in a informal survey of their listening habits, then read a news article about the possibility of portable music players harming kids hearing. In this current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a...
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Signin' the Blues with Rock, Rap 'n Roll
Sixth graders listen to recordings and study jazz and the blues music. They identify the instrumentation and explore the 12-bar blues progression. After experimenting with different sound, 6th graders create their own arrangement, with...
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Development of Popular Music
The history and marketing of pop music is the subject of this lesson. Students first read an article detailing definitions and historical shifts of pop music in society. The activity then provides students with a few comprehension-level...
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Classical Period Music - 1750-1810
In this classical music worksheet, students examine a graphic organizer that explains 7 characteristics of the music. They examine characteristics such as melody, timbre, texture, dynamics, and melody. There are no questions associated...
VH1
Lesson 3: Behind the Movie Chicago
In small groups and then as a class, young musicians compare and contrast two pieces from the musical film Chicago. They pair up to look at the elements that make each piece similar and define the elements or arrangements that make them...
Connecticut Gilbert & Sullivan Society
Jobs in the Musical Theater
Much like an iceberg, the actors you see on stage are only a fraction of the number of people involved in a theatrical production. Introduce theatre arts students to the roles played by the behind-the-scenes- personnel with an worksheet...
Curated OER
Epic Improvisation
Really? Rapping The Odyssey? Really. A discussion of the oral tradition of story telling and its links to Epic poetry sets the stage for a series of activities that encourage improvisation to integrate music into other classrooms....
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"Music Be the Food of Love:" Found Poetry with Shakespeare and Hip-Hop
Lines from Shakespeare and from hip-hop artists provide learners with an opportunity to examine the literary devices these artists use to express their ideas about love. Groups use the provided lines to craft found poems, and then the...
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Ice -T's Rap School
Young scholars research the history of rap and gain an understanding of the components of rap music. They experience the correlation between Shakespeare's poetry and rap music of today.