Here's a collection of unit plans for middle school musicians. Topics include the mbira, opera, rhythm and culture, music in Africa, music in the movies, music theory and notation, blues and jazz, and the ocarina. Definitely worth a look.

A 67-page packet provides instructors with a complete course in the history of Jazz. Lessons look at the roots of jazz in early 20th century African American communities in the southern United States and continues to the New Orleans...

Over the history of the world, music has been at the heart of some of the greatest social and political movements. Scholars discover their musical roots as they dive into the sounds and emotions of renowned jazz players. They see how...

That old fashioned rock and roll comes alive as theatre arts students prepare to attend a live performance of the musical School of Rock. Packed with both pre- and post-production materials, the guide has it all. Rock on!

Tone is a tough topic to teach to teenagers. But never, fear, help is here in the form of a unit plan that takes advantage of their interest in music to set the stage for a series of activities that lead them to understand how setting,...

Whether new to the Kodály Method of music instruction or an experienced veteran, you'll find much to make your heart sing in a teacher guide that was designed for a music appreciation project. 

Aaron Douglas, Meta Warrick Fuller, Palmer Hayden, William Johnson, and James Lesesne Wells, the painters and sculptors of the Harlem Renaissance, are featured in a unit study of artists of the Harlem Renaissance.

Students study about listening strategies, as well as the culture, music and two prominent composers of the Baroque period, namely J.S. Bach and G.F. Handel. They demonstrate their understanding of the content through several assessments.

Students investigate early presidents of the United States. Students complete a series of lessons in which they research the contributions and political climate during the terms of U.S. presidents from George Washington to Andrew Jackson.

Students create news articles that help them build their knowledge, skills, and academic confidence. In this special education lesson, students use previous knowledge to write a newsletter and demonstrate their understanding of various...

Students identify and discuss six traits of writing and complete some beginning drawing and writing utilizing the traits. Six lessons on one page.

Students search into a variety of story elements in the eight lessons of this unit. The title, author, illustrator, setting, main character, problem, solution, events and the story are the components of the lessons.

Visit with Andres during fiesta time at Paracho Michoacan, Mexico's "guitar town". As Andres shows in this video segment from ZOOM, guitar music goes beyond simple sound vibrations. [2:55]

Celebrate Black American History Month by studying this noteworthy Black American musician from the past Learn why Marian Anderson was called the voice of the century, how she impacted the lives of other Black musicians, and what it...

A full-featured site for learning about the music of India, although not actively maintained since 2004. Easy-to-read spotlights on instruments and musicians communicate the essential qualities of Indian music. Accompanying audio files...

An info-packed lesson on jazz improvisation and jazz history. Very useful for musicians aspiring to play in the jazz idiom.

Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, two of the greatest jazz composers, collaborated on hundreds of works. As you explore this exhibition, you will have an opportunity to view original music scores, listen to audio clips, and view videos...

An excellent overview of the African American experience in America beginning with West Africa during the slave trade, through emancipation and reconstruction, to "New beginnings."

Trace the history of the blues in America through the play, Blues Journey, based on the book by Walter Dean Myers. You can see video clips of the stage play, listen to blues radio shows, and learn about different types of blues music.

Musician and composer Jake Shimabukuro explains how ratios of notes have an inverse relationship to the string length of a ukulele, allowing musicians to produce various notes and pitches, in this video from the Center for Asian American...

A full-featured site for learning about the music of Brazil, although not actively maintained since 2005. Easy-to-read spotlights on instruments and musicians communicate the essential qualities of Brazilian music. Accompanying audio...

This site contains a list of 12 words from the songs of country musician, Merle Haggard (1937-2016). Teachers can digitally assign this list to their students to reinforce the spellings, pronunciations, and meanings of these words.

Like an actor's script, a sheet of music instructs a musician on what to play (the pitch) and when to play it (the rhythm). Sheet music may look complicated, but once you've gotten the hang of a few simple elements like notes, bars and...

What gives the trumpet its clarion ring and the tuba its gut shaking oompah-pah? And what makes the trombone so jazzy? Al Cannon shows how these answers lie not in the brass the instruments are made of, but in the journey that air takes...