Lesson Plan
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Symphonic Poetry (SMART Board Lesson)

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Let music and poetry collide in this well-orchestrated language arts lesson plan. After studying program music and C. Debussy's Prelude to an Afternoon Faun, view the attached SMART board lesson plan to read through "Fog" by Carl...
Lesson Plan
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education

Beethoven’s 5th

For Teachers 3rd
Time to pick up an instrument and practice the first part of Beethoven's symphony No.5. Young musicians discuss melody, rhythmic pattern, dynamics, and movements found in symphonic and orchestral pieces. They then practice and play the...
Lesson Plan
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Shifting with Grace

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Learners who play stringed instruments discover how to shift with ease and accuracy throughout the range of their instruments, resulting in the ability to perform orchestral and solo music at a more advanced level.
Lesson Plan
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Just Stringing Along

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students learn the string instruments of the symphony orchestra and recognize their "relatives."
Lesson Plan
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Tinker, Tailor

For Teachers 1st
First graders practice the song "Tinker, Tailor" using percussion instruments, Orff instruments, and their voices in this Music lesson for the 1st grade. The lesson is intended for use within an Orff unit of study and includes...
Lesson Plan
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Antonio Vivaldi-The Four Seasons

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders uncover the form, timbre, and the significance of Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" in the five lessons of this unit. The use of instrumentation forms the basis of the lessons.
Lesson Plan
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Rhythmic Movement Skills

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students practice using their physical skills while performing physical activities.  In this physical education lesson, students participate in musical orchestrated dances with their classmates.  Students utilize a jump rope...
Lesson Plan
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Lesson Plan for Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study the music of Russian composer, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. They compare the sounds individual instruments make. They listen to and study the story of "Scheherazade" and compare it to other pieces that also portray a story or...
Lesson Plan
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Changes of Musical Elements in Popular Music Through the Decades

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students probe samples of European classical, American jazz, and rock and roll to analyze the similarities and differences. The styles and form of these three types of music are examined for tempo, timbre, and rhythm.
Lesson Plan
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The Travels of Babar: An Adventure in Scales

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Learners become familiar with the musical notify that are associated with the character in Monstel's The Travels of Babar: An Adventure in Scales, so that they can listen attentively to the performance and understand and appreciate ow...
Lesson Plan
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Peter and the Wolf

For Teachers 1st
First graders integrate music and fairy tales to improve their listening and analytical skills. In this music and fairy tales lesson, 1st graders view and listen to the musical fairy tale 'Peter and the Wolf' using a SmartBoard. Students...
Lesson Plan
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Save the Music Concert: Part 2 Composition

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners examine why music is considered to be the "universal language" and study the expressive quality of a musical performance. They compose a melody using a computer and software which they perform on an instrument.
Lesson Plan
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Classical Music Connection-Popular Music - Connecting Pachelbel, Beethoven, and Mussorgsky to Disco and Rap

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Young scholars examine classical music and the "Art Rock" of 1967. They review classical themes in their original genre and discuss/analyze how pop musicians incorporate theses themes into a variety of pop music genres.
Lesson Plan
San Francisco Symphony

Washington Portrait

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Fifth and second graders pair up to create mini dance scenes based on the image Washington Crossing the Delaware. Second graders create the movements while their fifth grade partners play the musical accompaniment. Leadership...
Lesson Plan
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Creating Opera

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students study the how music enhances drama in opera. They work in small groups to develop a short story that would be enhanced with music, costumes and props. They perform their operas for classmates and others.
Lesson Plan
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Haunting Music

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students discover music that was inspired by the spooky and bizarre. In this music of Hector Berlioz and Camille Saint-Saens lesson, students identify elements of music and listen to the Symphonie Fantastique and Danse Macabre....
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 lesson plan, students watch "The Bolero" before participating in discussion questions and watching a second performance of the same musical. ...
Lesson Plan
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VH1 Storytellers for Save the Music Starring Billy Joel

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students pretend they are taking a certain job in the music industry and respond to questions.
Lesson Plan
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Pavane pour une Infante Defunte

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students describe the music in terms related to basic elements such as melody, rhythm, harmony, dynamics, timbre, form, style, etc. They identify timbres heard in "Pavane" by movement and respond by movement to timbre.
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In My Dream

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students listen to recordings of early jazz and identify examples of ostinato and syncopation. They discuss important personalities from jazz cultures and take a quiz on aspects of jazz.
Lesson Plan
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Younger Generation

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Students 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...
Lesson Plan
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Contrast Listening

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students listen to two different excerpts of the same music piece. In groups, they collectively write descriptions of the tempo and dynamics of the piece and assign a color to the music. They relate the color chosen to the tempo and...
Lesson Plan
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Great Big House

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders sing and play the song "Great Big House" in the Orff style using soprano and alto glockenspiels, bass xylophones, bass marimbas, triangles, woodblocks, and the singing voice. The lesson includes step-by-step teacher...
Lesson Plan
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All Access Spotlight: U2

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students explain the growth and development of a musical group and their work through discussion and analysis of two representative songs by U2 from their first and last albums.