Students consider the negative image that some have of rap and hip-hop music through discussion and reading an opinion piece from The New York Times. They create CD cover artwork reflecting these messages.

Students analyze lyrics of selected Disco songs for content, theme and vocabulary. They write an extended response citing specific lyrics in response to three general themes.

Students recognize and describe elements of Bob Marley's life that influenced his song writing as evidenced in the song "No Woman No Cry". They identify the elements of music characteristic of Reggae.

Eleventh graders discover the thematic connections between classical literary and popular song lyrics.  In this English lesson, 11th graders research a specific topic to be presented to the class.  Students analyze song lyrics...

Eleventh graders analyze the lyrics of protest music. In this Vietnam War lesson, 11th graders examine conflict as they consider the controversial nature of the war as evidenced in song lyrics. Students also consider the Iraq War and its...

Students, after analyzing a satiric song written during the Prohibition era, illustrate how humor can be utilized as a political tool by writing satiric lyrics on a current political issue at the front of the news world today. They...

Students analyze and describe Reggae music using correct musical terms to discuss tonality, instrumentation, meter and tempo. They experiment with singing and dancing to Reggae music in a style appropriate to the genre.

Students explore poetry. In this literature lesson, students examine music and lyrics by Natalie Merchant in order to make the transition to analyzing poetry by Keats and Wordsworth.

Young scholars examine American idealism. For this literature and music lesson, students analyze the lyrics of Woody Guthrie songs as well as the themes of Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. Young scholars examine parallels between the...

Fifth graders use maps and music to learn the 50 states. In this US Geography lesson, 5th graders map out a region of the United States and practice singing the song, The 50 States that Rhyme.

Students explore the meaning behind "The Star-Spangled Banner." In this music lesson, students sing the first verse of the national anthem and watch several performances of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Students define several vocabulary...

Students discuss the role of the rapper in Hip Hop music and how the rapper promoted their group's DJ. They compose a short rap about a fellow student highlighting that student's accomplishments and good traits.

In this early childhood song lyrics and images worksheet, students practice reading and singing the words of "How Much is That Doggie?".

Students explore repetition in music. In this music instructional activity, students discover the lyrics of a folk song from Argentina about farm animals. Students read about farms and the animals found on farms prior to learning the...

Students accompany music to the story Bringing the Rain to the Kapiti Plain - Kenya to show how sound and music can accompany story description. In this music lesson, students learn how to show sound during a story.

Students compose songs using vocabulary words. In this vocabulary lesson, students are introduced to a new set of vocabulary words and their definitions. Students collaborate in groups of three or four to write new lyrics to the tune of...

Learners evaluate comments submitted by young people regarding teenage criminals. They plan a new approach to young offenders and explain their ideas as a poem or rap lyrics.

High schoolers brainstorm lists of songs that were written in response to American wars; consider the patterns in the lists they create.

First graders sing America the Beautiful and understand the words to the song.  In this singing social studies lesson, 1st graders become familiar with the images and vocabulary in America the Beautiful while singing the words.

Students listen to conjunto music and identify the instrumentation. After discussing the the history of South Texas, they examine lyrics of several songs and interpret them. As extensions, students can learn to partner dance to the...

Students examine why music is considered to be the "universal language" and study the expressive quality of a musical performance. They compose a melody using a computer and software which they perform on an instrument.

Tenth graders study songs and music of the US Civil War period. They use technology to compose a song that highlights an event or concept from the war.

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...

Students read, analyze and critique a newspaper article about ancient musical tunes that have been found in a church in Scotland. They assess key vocabulary terms found within the article and compose lyrics for a song after answering a...