Lesson Plan
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The Bolero

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students discuss the structure of the musical film "The Bolero."  In this film arts instructional activity, students watch "The Bolero" before participating in discussion questions and watching a second performance of the same...
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Can You Compose?

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders investigate musical notes. In this music lesson, 4th graders compose a short song while clapping the rhythm and singing the syllables using the appropriate notes or rests.
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All Mixed Up

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners explore the emergence of bootlegs, also known as 'mash-ups' (the combination of two songs into one), on the Internet. By researching the musical origins of songs and creating and performing their own bootlegs, students gain a...
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Haring Inspired CD Covers

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students create CD covers from their music-inspired drawing sessions. They compare what they drew while listening to classical, punk and rap music. They scan their drawings into Adobe Photoshop and design their cover.
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Analyzing Two Dances and Making a Dance Map: The Nutcracker

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Young scholars discuss dance elements and create a dance map. They choose a dance theme and incorporate movement into their dance maps and choreography. They also experiment with different types of music.
Worksheet
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Mozart's Piano Sonatas

For Students 9th - 12th
In this music worksheet, high schoolers examine the work of Mozart while focusing upon his works of piano sonatas. They answer the questions at the end of the passage.
Worksheet
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Rhythm and Pulse

For Students 3rd - 4th
In this music worksheet, students clap together in a steady pulse counting up to eight. Students also practice resting for a single count and clapping half beats.
Lesson Plan
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Metallic Sounds

For Teachers K - 2nd
Young scholars differentiate between metallic and non-metallic sounds. In this music lesson plan, students listen to the audio clip of "March" and march in time with the music. Young scholars identify the metallic sounds in the music...
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Bringing Stories to Life

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers perform short stories with sound effects and music they've created.  In this stories lesson, create effects of record from a file to complete a presented story.
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Once Upon a Time

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine how music and sound affect their creation of artwork. They view art images online, create three hybrid collage creatures, develop a list of hero characteristics, and write an adventure story for a character they have...
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Sergei Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf"

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders study Sergei Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf." They explore the characters and the instruments that represent the characters. They create their own version of "Peter and the Wolf" for the purpose of introducing the...
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Listening Logs

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students hone their listening skills. They develop tools for approaching research into their own musical traditions and those of community and state and examine different ways of recording data. They design different types of research...
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Scaling the Blues

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Young scholars identify musical characteristics of blues music and define the term 'scale.' They identify chromatic, major, pentatonic, and blues scales and label each key on a keyboard using letter names, sharps and flats.
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The Heart of Human Experience: Cultura Azteca

For Teachers 1st
First graders explore Aztec culture to gain understanding of relationship between music, recreation, and culture. Seven lessons on one page.
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The Nutcracker

For Teachers 1st
First graders define a ballet as a story told through dance. They listen to melodies and demonstrate beat and accent through body movement. They watch the ballet.
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From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students research the history, art, music, and architecture of Vienna and make an oral presentation based on their findings. They listen to segments of the Vienna Philharmonic New Year's celebration and design a musical extravaganza in...
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Water Water Water - Costume Designing

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students create costumes using recycled materials determined beforehand by the teacher in this High School Drama/Art lesson on costume designing. The example lesson is based around the title of "Water, Water, Water" but can be adapted...
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Celebration and Satire- Beginning Level

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students examine art elements in a late-19th-century self-portrait painting. In this visual arts instructional activity, students analyze the painting "A Centennial of Independence" and identify the color, shape, and symbols in the art...
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Low and High with Ives

For Teachers 1st
First graders read the Poem "The Elephant" by Shel Silverstein and create a descriptive web in the shape of an animal. In this cross curricular music lesson plan, 1st graders recite a poem with rhythm, then listen to the song...
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Playing With Your Food

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students discover about the form and function of traditional musical instruments, then use this knowledge to create non-traditional instruments that replicate the sounds of traditional instruments. They use vegetables to create their...
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Song Writing

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students write an original song using music composition software such as Music Time. By doing this, students identify another use for the computer besides word processing and games.
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Quarter Rest Lesson

For Teachers 1st
First graders indicate the silent beats (rests) with an outward motion of the arms. They indicate a measure clapped out with a quarter rest, and a measure clapped out without a quarter rest.
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Red, White, and Blue Notes

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the history of major American music genres. Then, through mock radio shows, students examine the distinguishing features of each genre and how each has changed throughout the years.
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Creative Dancing

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young scholars dance a Cossack dance.  In this dance lesson plan, students learn to keep the beat and follow a movement sequence to dance a Cossack Dance.