Unit Plan
Queen's Printer for Ontario

Composers in Music History

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
What do Johann Sebastian Bach and Miles Davis have in common? Much more than class members might imagine. The comparison of these two famous composers is just one lesson in a unit that investigates many facets of the music industry...
Unit Plan
iTheatrics and Broadway

School of Rock the Musical: Education Guide

For Parents 6th - 12th Standards
That old fashioned rock and roll comes alive as theatre arts students prepare to attend a live performance of the musical School of Rock. Packed with both pre- and post-production materials, the guide has it all. Rock on!
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Middle School General Music Unit Plans

For Students 6th - 8th
Here's a collection of unit plans for middle school musicians. Topics include the mbira, opera, rhythm and culture, music in Africa, music in the movies, music theory and notation, blues and jazz, and the ocarina. Definitely worth a look.
Unit Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian In Your Classroom: The Music in Poetry

For Teachers K - 12th
Take poetry off the page and put it into terms of movement, physical space and, finally, music with this series of three lessons from the Smithsonian Institution. This resource introduces students to two poetic forms that originated as...
Unit Plan
Johnny Mercer Foundation

The American Musical

For Teachers 7th
General music students learn about the history of popular American music by creating and performing a one-act musical. After researching and creating an American Musical timeline, class members write a song with lyrics using Jam Studio,...
Unit Plan
San Francisco Symphony

Prehistoric Music

For Teachers 6th - 8th
What was music like during the Stone Age? Learners listen to a CD entitled, Art of Primitive Sound as they consider the culture of people in the Stone Age. They use objects found in nature to create instruments, and then...
Unit Plan
BBC

The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky

For Teachers K - 5th
Over the course of six lessons, scholars try their hand at composing and dancing after a thorough examination of the famous ballet, The Nutcracker, by Tchaikovsky. Participants watch and discuss the performance of two dances, create...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Africa: Small Sounds From a Big Country

For Teachers 8th
Students explore the music from Burundi, Zimbabwe, and Pygmy cultures. They listen to and discuss music from the African cultures, analyze the musical elements, write a song, and perform music.
Unit Plan
Johnny Mercer Foundation

Project-Based Songwriting

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Project-based learning in a music theory class? Take note. Young songwriters compose, record, copyright, and promote their original songs. They even design their own CD cover.
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Europe: Indigenous Musical Genius

For Teachers 8th
Students are introduced to several forms of indigenous European music. Students become familiar with instruments, musical and forms and styles from Spain, Sardinia, Austria and Switzerland. Students recreate selected rhythms and styles.
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Music Drama & Richard Wagner: The Lord Of The Ring

For Teachers 7th
Students study Richard Wagner and his idea of "Music Drama". Students listen to his music, pantomime, and lead "music dramas" to discover Wagner's idea of the world of composition and drama.
Unit Plan
San Francisco Symphony

Heritage Song

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learning how to compare and contrast is a core skill. Learners compare two music selections that showcase a specific heritage. They draw and discuss how each song and the composers of each song used their personal heritage as...
Unit Plan
San Francisco Symphony

Learning Adjectives through the Duke

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Duke Ellington, jazz, and jive kick-off a fun and creative lesson on responding emotionally to music. The class will learn about jive talk used in the 1920s and the life and music of Duke Ellington. They'll listen to a selection of his...
Unit Plan
San Francisco Symphony

Admirable Armonica Admirers

For Teachers 1st - 6th
What do Ben Franklin and Wolfgang Mozart have in common? Find out about the musical invention, the armonica or glassy-chord. Learners will read about how Ben Franklin invented this new instrument and how Wolfgang Mozart came to play it....
Unit Plan
San Francisco Symphony

Biographical Slideshow

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Biographies can be a fun topic for any history project. Learners choose one famous person that lived between 1865 and 1930 to research. They gather information, work on reading comprehension, and use what they find to create slide shows...
Unit Plan
San Francisco Symphony

Instrument and Visual Appreciation of Art

For Teachers 9th - 12th
There are a lot of great ideas to be found here. To better understand the connection between art and history, learners research several music and art pieces, then relate them to major social events. They study the lives and works...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

The Best of Baroque

For Teachers 6th
Students study about listening strategies, as well as the culture, music and two prominent composers of the Baroque period, namely J.S. Bach and G.F. Handel. They demonstrate their understanding of the content through several assessments.
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Exploring the Continents Through the Arts

For Teachers K
Students examine the continents and explore geographic components in the fifteen lessons of this unit. The location of the continents, the equator, the four major oceans, and the music, food, literature, dance, and drama from each of the...
Unit Plan
Film Foundation

The Day The Earth Stood Still: The Filmmaking Process

For Teachers 6th - 10th Standards
How are films made? As part of their study of film, middle schoolers investigate the pre-production, production, and post-production process and consider the role of the director, the screenwriter, production designer, cinematographer,...
Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs: Math With Jake: Music Transposition

For Students 6th - 8th
Composer and ukulele artist Jake Shimabukuro describes the concept of transposing notes in music and how ratios are applied in this video from Center for Asian American Media. Shimabukuro explains why it is necessary to transpose music...
Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: Music and Math: The Genius of Beethoven

For Students 9th - 10th
How is it that Beethoven, who is celebrated as one of the most significant composers of all time, wrote many of his most beloved songs while going deaf? The answer lies in the math behind his music. Natalya St. Clair employs the...
Unit Plan
Department of Defense

Do Dea: Music From the Ashes

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This is a self-guided learning unit on the topic of poetry. Included are lessons, self-assessments, background information, learning activities, and related literature. Learn how to analyze poetry, appreciate figurative language, and...
Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs: The Blues as Poetry

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Discover what the relationship is between poetry and the blues. This site features lesson plans and online resources.
Unit Plan
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Documents Gallery: Ellington and Strayhorn

For Students 9th - 10th
Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, two of the greatest jazz composers, collaborated on hundreds of works. As you explore this exhibition, you will have an opportunity to view original music scores, listen to audio clips, and view videos...

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