Curated OER
From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration
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...
Curated OER
Meet the Instruments of the Orchestra
Young scholars examine the characteristics of the four families of instruments. They read an eBook, unscramble instruments and categorize them in the correct families, take a quiz, and explore the San Francisco Symphony website.
Curated OER
Beethoven Manuscript Sold at Auction
Students react to a series of statements about Beethoven, then read a news article about the sale of a 179-year-old manuscript by the musical genius. In this current events instructional activity, the teacher introduces the article with...
Curated OER
"Mambo" from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein
Students encounter and study "Mambo" from "West Side Story," by Leonard Bernstein. They practice utilizing musical elements (instrumentation, tempo, and dynamics) to create a certain mood for a scene with music. Each student interprets...
BBC
The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky
Over the course of six lessons, scholars try their hand at composing and dancing after a thorough examination of the famous ballet, The Nutcracker, by Tchaikovsky. Participants watch and discuss the performance of two dances, create...
Look! We're Learning!
Ella Fitzgerald Biography Mini-Unit
Before there was Beyonce, before there was Madonna, before there was Cher, there was Ella. Introduce Ella Fitzgerald, The First Lady of Jazz, with a reading comprehension exercise that presents a brief biography of her life and then asks...
Curated OER
Musical Instrument Workshop: Somerset Waste Action Programme
Students use recyclable material they bring from home to create a musical instrument. They play their instrument for the class and work as a class to play as in a band or orchestra. Students discuss recycling, and other uses they can put...
Curated OER
Rhythm, Math, Rhythm
Young scholars play instruments in math class to learn the interconnectedness between math and music. In this math lesson, students subdivide a piece of music, clapping rhythms and charting rhythm patterns in the song. A guided...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
The Lion and More
Melody, rhythm, tempo, and dynamics; get out those recorders it's time to play music! Your class will work on playing two lion-themed pieces that exemplify two different styles, folk and waltz. They'll discuss the elements of music and...
San Francisco Symphony
Instrument and Visual Appreciation of Art
There are a lot of great ideas to be found here. To better understand the connection between art and history, learners research several music and art pieces, then relate them to major social events. They study the lives and works...
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...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Instruments from Various Cultures
After a review of orchestral instruments and instrument families, learners make their own. They listen to the song "Simple Gifts" and identify the instruments heard in the piece. Then they draw an instrument of their own invention,...
Perkins School for the Blind
Familiar Sounds
To foster concept development and auditory discrimination skills, learners with visual impairments listen to identify a variety of common sounds. The teacher makes recordings of various sounds, including those found in the home, at the...
Curated OER
SUITE FOR ORCHESTRA NO.3
Students listen to a recording of Suite for Orchestra No. 3 by J. S. Bach, review and recognize basic musical instruments by sight, and begin to recognize sounds of some instruments.
Curated OER
Meet Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov!
Pupils listen to music and review instruments of the orchestra. They explore musical terms, solo, texture and theme of the music and discuss other features of the music. Students research and discuss the life of Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov.
Curated OER
Orfeo: Sinfonie e Ritornelli
Students identify the dramatic expression made by performance and how it relates to the content of the story L'Orfeo. They determine the form of orchestra and each instrumental group within the orchestra for this piece.
Curated OER
Instrument Research
Fourth graders work in pairs and choose one instrument from the orchestra to research. They are introduced to the software and use it to search for their instrument. They then may go onto the website, "DSOkids.com" to find out more about...
Curated OER
Santana
The orchestra plays the National Anthem and discusses their origin. Middle schoolers listen to other nation's National Anthems, and discuss how they felt while listening. As the students play the National Anthem, the teacher sings. The...
Curated OER
Instrumental And Orchestral Development
Students use the computer software "Sibelius" to investigate the development of the Orchestra and specific instruments throughout human history. This lesson can be used in conjunction with other lessons or as a stand-alone, small group...
Curated OER
Duke Ellington: Great American Musician and Composer
Learners delve into the life and music of Duke Ellington as a major American musician and composer. The elements that made the sound of his orchestra unique and the talents of his band members are explored in this lesson.
Curated OER
Just Stringing Along
Students learn the string instruments of the symphony orchestra and recognize their "relatives."
Curated OER
String Instruments and Pitch
Students make predictions and explore how pitch is altered in string instruments. In this acoustic science lesson plan, students learn the types and parts of string instruments and create their own. They listen to classical music and...
Curated OER
Timbre: Identifying the Tone Color of the Saxophone
Students explore the concept of timbre. In this timbre lesson, students experience timbres produced by saxophones in contemporary music. Students explore the science behind the music.
Curated OER
Mahler
For this music worksheet, students read a short piece about Gustav Mahler, the composer. They write responses to 10 questions about this romantic composer. Students are asked to comment on Mahler's interests, techniques, and musical style.