Curated OER
Musical Instruments - Percussion
Students research and analyze various percussion instruments from different countries and cultures in this Music lesson for the upper-elementary classroom. Emphasis is placed on internet research and hands-on drumming techniques from...
Curated OER
Germanic Music - Christmas Carols
Students learn German Christmas carols. In this Christmas music lesson, students learn Christmas carols in either German or English. They study the background of the songs and learn about Germanic Christmas traditions.
Curated OER
Musical Instruments - Woodwinds
Learners assemble and examine typical European orchestral woodwind instruments, determine how the instruments change pitch, identify common orchestral woodwind instruments by sound, and research a non-Euro-centric woodwind instrument in...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Sondheim: Voice of Cultural Change
High schoolers explore Stephen Sondheim's contributions to musical theatre in the context of the dramatic cultural shift that occurred in American life in the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Music of African American History
High schoolers examine role spirituals have played in African American history and religion, examine Harriet Tubman's use of spirituals in her work, explore power of spirituals in Civil Rights Movement, and work with oral tradition,...
Education Closet
West Side Shifts
Combine math, language arts, music, and dance with an activity focused on "America" from West Side Story. After listening to the song, learners compare the film to Romeo and Juliet, analyze the song's meter, design choreography, plan...
Curated OER
Hip-Hop History and the Beastie Boys
So what about those Beastie Boys? Kids read a New York Times article relating the history of hip-hop and rap icons the Beastie Boys. They then answer eleven who, what, when, where, and why questions about the text they read.
Curated OER
M.C. Bard: Hip-Hop and Shakespeare
What is poetry? Does hip-hop qualify as poetry? Do Shakespeare's monologues qualify as poetry? Class members grapple with these questions as they examine the poetic elements and themes presented in different texts. Groups of four study...
PBS
The Sixties: Dylan Plugs in and Sells Out
Before Woodstock, there was Newport. Get plugged in to the social changes of the 1960s with a lesson that looks at Bob Dylan's performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival as a symbol of the radical changes that marked the era.
Curated OER
Learning How to Sing Rounds
Learn about rounding by reciting songs alongside classmates, discovering the difference between singing together and singing in canon. In this musical lesson, students discover what a "round" is and the melodic effect it can have on a...
Curated OER
Simple Chordal Harmony
Practice makes perfect, especially when playing a musical instrument. This lesson examines simple chordal harmony, melody, and playing with accompaniment. Learners listen to a series of songs that exemplify the concept then play a...
Curated OER
Welcome To Ella Fitzgerald: the Singer Not the Song
Students study the life and musical works of Ella Fitzgerald. They investigate how technology influences art using this series of web and video based lessons. They create their own melodies.
Curated OER
The Blues . Music Education
What ultimately influences a musician's creations? Is it the time in which he/she lives, his/her personal experiences, the music of the time and previous times, or the image the artist hopes to convey? This lesson explores these...
Curated OER
Musical Hoops
Students are introduced to the five health related concepts, muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance, body composition and flexibility through a game of musical hoops which incorporates math operations.
Curated OER
Our Own Water Music
Students listen to a portion of Handel's Water Music Suite and hypothesize about what would happen if you tapped on the edge of a glass with varying levels of water. They experiment with the glasses and, in small groups, compose their...
Curated OER
Language Arts, Music, Poetry: Blues Style
This lesson focuses on how the blues both operates as poetry and informs the poetry of many prominent African American poets. Students consider the poetic devices and recurring themes in blues lyrics and the significance of the poetry of...
Curated OER
Global Music Patterns- Islamic Art
Students compose music using Islamic patterns. In this cultural arts lesson, students examine Islamic art and analyze the patterns. Students incorporate various Islamic patterns into a musical composition.
Curated OER
The Beat of the Blues
This lesson plan focuses on how students can learn basic blues percussion patterns by considering the polyrhythms of African drumming and investigating how and why such drums were banned during slavery. Students will listen to several...
Curated OER
The Blues . Music Education
In this instructional activity students will learn about finding the blues in a variety of musical styles. They will investigate instances of the blues form heard in mainstream pop music, along with exploring the musical styles of two...
Curated OER
Poetry in Music
Sixth graders look at poetry in music. In this language arts lesson plan, 6th graders listen to and read the lyrics of songs to find the poetic aspects of them. They focus on similes and metaphors and write their own songs lyrics.
Curated OER
Music Education, The Blues
This lesson examines both the content and form of lyrics in blues songs. In addition to highlighting the basic musical form of a blues song, it also addresses the use of floating verses in blues music, both within the context of the...
Curated OER
Spanish Culture Lesson - Cinco de Mayo
Students role play the characters and events which led to the holiday of Cinco de Mayo. In this Cinco de Mayo lesson, students dance the "La Raspa" dance. Students complete a Cinco de Mayo word search.
Curated OER
Different! Diverse! Dynamic! Lesson 2: Teaching Peace Through Literature And Song
Students investigate bullying and discrimination and draw pictures of a personal response to being bullied. They read Thank You, Mr. Falkner by Patricia Polacco, to determine the philosophic act that the main character performs. They...