Teaching Tolerance
Community Arts Showcase
An art showcase encourages class members to explore the themes of social justice and tolerance. They create an original artwork, engage in group discussions, and journal writing. The art gallery also provides a chance for families and...
Mississippi Whole School Initiative
Dream Big...With Your Eyes Wide Open
For many people, Barack Obama's presidency was the next step in Martin Luther King, Jr's dream of America's future. Explore the dreams of Americans past and present, as well as the young Americans in your class, with a set of activities...
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...
Curated OER
Concert Suite from Dances With Wolves
Students complete a unit of lessons that prepares them to perform, 'Concert Suite From Dances With Wolves,' at a public performance. They analyze the emotions depicted by music, view excerpts from the movie, and perform the music.
Curated OER
A Jazz Talk Show
Students analyze and describe music while connecting it to history and culture. They gain experience in theatre arts skills and writing. They use the Internet to do research in order to find out the most about this subject.
Curated OER
Jazz Forms and Improvisation
Students listen to an original recording of Louis Armstrong and discuss instrumentation. They identify an AABA song form as they listen. They list similarities between the following: traditional meets modern and small group vs. big band.
Curated OER
Hello Girls
Ninth grade girls get together to sing the song Hello Girls. They warm up with common voice exercises then work to maintain melody, harmony, pitch and tone.
Curated OER
Scooter Ships
Students explore simple physics concepts such as push/pull, friction, and speed. In this physics/physical education lesson plan, students work in co-operative groups to "build" a spaceship out of scooters and folded mats. Teams...
Curated OER
Raid the Food Pantry
Young scholars explore the food groups represented on the food pyramid. In this nutrition and physical education instructional activity, students participate in a game in which teams try to grab a play food object designated by the...
Curated OER
The Great Migration
Students explore how migration to Harlem created a new life for African Americans. In this cross curricular lesson, students illustrate maps showing the migration, paint murals representing African American life in the South and...
Curated OER
Define My Own Destiny: Using Arrested Development and Lauryn Hill to Teach Hansberry's Raisin in the Sun
Literary themes don't just belong to literature. High schoolers listen to the lyrics of modern songs by Arrested Development, Lauryn Hill, and others to enhance their study and to connect to characters, conflicts, and themes of...
Michigan Sea Grant
Survival Game
Musical chairs may be a classic game, but Ruffe Musical Chairs is a unique lesson plan on invasive species! Using the time-honored game, pupils role play the behaviors of the invasive fish called Eurasian ruffe. Learning about this...
Curated OER
Fifty States In Rhyme
Students perform "Fifty States in Rhyme" with correct posture, correct rhythms, and accurate pitches. They also identify and perform such musical terms as tone color, tempo, dynamics, phrases, and accents. Emphasis is placed on the...
Curated OER
The Chicken Dance
Third graders identify and perform the five main dance movements of the "Chicken Dance" to accordion music.
Curated OER
Instrumental Rehearsals for Excellence - Lesson 3
Pupils identify some characteristics of successful music teachers and rehearsals. They develop a list of criteria for evaluating the quality of a performance, and apply those criteria to a specific performance.
Curated OER
VH1 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons Lesson 2
Students examine the origins of ragtime music in American and analyze its musical form.
Curated OER
Blues Improvisation
Students practice playing and improvising while playing the 12 bar blues. They practice compositional skills, evaluate and perform musical pieces focused on the blues.
Curated OER
Younger Generation
Pupils discuss the composer Aaron Copland and the lyricist Ira Gershwin and their significance in/contributions to American music of their time while singing the song "Younger Generation" in the choir setting. Emphasis is placed on...
Curated OER
VH1 Goes Inside (Out) Trey and Dave Go to Africa
Students discuss the Western method of teaching and learning music and compare that to the aural transmission method used around the world. They practice singing two songs using aural transmission and watch a video showing musicians...
Curated OER
VH1 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll Lesson 6
Students study vocal style and techniques in various genres. They critique vocal performances by completing critique charts.
Curated OER
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young: Exploration of Live vs. Recorded
Students examine the differences between live and recorded music using the music of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
Curated OER
Storytellers: Pearl Jam
Students examine the nature of their own generation by looking at current events and music styles. They update old lyrics with new ones that are more relevant to current times and express a truth about their own generation. Finally,...
Curated OER
VH1 Driven: Jamie Foxx
Students compare and contrast Jamie Foxx's early musical career with the careers of J.S. Back and F.J. Haydn. They watch and discuss a segment of "VH1 Driven: Jamie Foxx," listen to a hymn, and complete a worksheet.
Curated OER
Storytellers: Dave Matthews Band
Students decide what the term "art" means to them. They identify artistic elements displayed by the Dave Matthews Band. They understand the relationship between music and other means of artistic expression.