Curated OER
Mural to Music 2
Students make a collaborative mural drawing to music using invented sign language, music and their responses to music. They select the music to be played while they are drawing. As the music stops, students move to a new location on the...
San Francisco Symphony
Biographical Slideshow
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...
San Francisco Symphony
Learning Adjectives through the Duke
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...
Curated OER
Mozart vs. Beethoven - Real Classical Composers
Elementary schoolers are given an overview of the baroque, classical, romantic, and modern periods of music. They focus on the lives of Beethoven and Mozart; two of the greatest composers of all time. After listening to samples their...
Curated OER
The Soundtrack of One's Life
Students research a historical person and the time in which he/she lived. They write a biography including images and at least four songs from the time period in which the person lived.
San Francisco Symphony
Heritage Song
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...
Fairfax Public Schools
Walter Dean Myers
If you are reading works by Walter Dean Myers in your class, this resource might be worth a look. Included here are activities and discussion questions for Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary, Somewhere in the Darkness, Scorpions, Fallen...
Curated OER
Landscapes of the Mind
Students review Emily Dickinson's biography and examine themes and forms of some of her poems. They measure ways Graham integrates aspects of Dickinson's life and the themes and forms of her poetry into Letters to the World.
Learn NC
Buffalo Soldiers
"Stolen from Africa, brought to America,/Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival." Bob Marley's "Buffalo Soldiers" provides high schoolers an opportunity to explore the rich history of the Rastafarians in Jamaica and the Buffalo...
Curated OER
VH1 Driven: Shakira
Students watch a video about the life of Latin singer/pop star, Shakira. They identify the elements of Latin Pop-style music and identify the elements that make the singer Shakira unique.
Curated OER
VH1 Driven: Kanye West
Students watch a video excerpt about the life of Kanye West. They draw connections between his life and their own and compose a rap song in the style of West, using his song, "Through the Wire" as an example.
Curated OER
Using Wikis in the Classroom
Learners write a review of a music video. They discuss the review online about the music video. Students create a fan's webpage featuring artist news and biographical information. They discuss what types of music they like listening to,...
Curated OER
The Blues . Writing . Biographies/Profiles . The Soul of a Man
This activity, focused on profile writing and its unique characteristics, considers the profiles developed in the film The Soul of a Man while also asking students to consider other profiles they are familiar with and to write some of...
Curated OER
Music Appreciation:
Students list the four main families of musical instruments, name one instrument from each musical family, name three ways music is used in everyday life.
Curated OER
Music Motivates
Students listen to songs from the Civil Rights movement. They explain how the music might have inspired African-Americans to be activists in the movement. They examine how the Civil Rights movement affected the common good.
Curated OER
Music: Elgar (1962)
Students examine how the creation and performance of music is affected by contextual influences. They specifically examine anthems and discuss the elements that contribute to that musical genre and how the nature of a piece of music may...
Curated OER
Introduction to Music of the Civil Rights Era
Learners summarize the major events of the Civil Rights Movement. They examine leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X and what they did for the movement. They also listen to music from the Civil Rights Era and their...
Curated OER
All About Me
Seventh graders write a story of their life. Using digital pictures and other photographs, 7th graders create a storyboard of their life. They create a video containing pictures, music and a recorded summary of the events depicted.
Curated OER
The Quiet Beatle
Young scholars investigate the life and music of George Harrison. They complete a Webquest, read an online biography, watch a video, listen to audio clips, answer discussion questions, and organize a simulated benefit concert.
Curated OER
Louis Armstrong
In this reading comprehension worksheet students read a biography of jazz musician Louis Armstrong. Students answer 6 questions.
Curated OER
Lesson: Looking Closer: The Artwork of Shinique Smith
A critical discussion regarding the nature of Shinique Smith's second-hand clothing art is the foundation for the lesson. Critical thinkers fully analyze the meaning behind her work, taking close consideration of where the clothing came...
Curated OER
A VIP - Present Perfect Simple and Continuous
Here is an interesting way to teach the present perfect and present perfect continuous. Individuals practice these verb tenses as well as the simple past by asking a partner questions about an imaginary biography. The biography...
Curated OER
Listen Up: Antigone Rising
Upper graders listen to and watch a documentary about an all female group Antigone Rising. They discuss how females are portrayed in the rock world, the type of music they play, their song lyrics, and what they note in the documentary....
Teaching English
Poetry Project in Three Parts
It’s poetry T.I.M.E! Individuals use the T.I.M.E. format (T = Title, thought, and theme; I = Imagery and figurative language; M = music and sound; E = emotion) to study a poet, collect poems that have a similar theme, and create a...