Curated OER
Inventing a Musical Instrument, a Tool And a Toy
In this inventing a musical instrument, tool and toy worksheet, students look at all the materials they have available to them and as a team design a unique musical instrument, tool and toy.
Curated OER
Musical Activities for Early Childhood Inclusion
Get your movers and shakers grooving to the beat with this series of musical activities designed to meet everyone's needs! Ten games, using an assortment of instruments, bring awareness to one's body, brain, and social interactions in a...
Curated OER
My (musical) Valentine
Get out those bells, sand blocks, and sticks! Your kindergarteners use their singing voices to ask and answer friendly questions while keeping rhythm. They take turns in a group and in pairs singing questions and answers while keeping...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Charlie Parker Played Be Bop (Raschka)
Get in touch with Charlie Parker's jazz beats as learners explore new words in Chris Raschka's onomatopoeic book Charlie Parker Played Be Bop. Scholars are acquainted with some musical terminology before they hear these terms in the...
Curated OER
"Uncle Sam's Got Himself in a Terrible Jam": Protest Music and the Vietnam War
"And it's one, two, three...what are we fighting for?" Use music to assess the climate of protest during the Vietnam War, listening to and analyzing Country Joe MacDonald's "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag" (lyrics included)....
Curated OER
Aristotle's Six Elements Of A Play
Fifth graders view the play, The Ant and the Grasshopper. They define Aristotle's six elements of a play. At the end of the lesson, 5th graders be asked to participate in the play by acting like busy ants. This lesson would tie in nicely...
Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford
Similes Activity using Jazz (featuring Duke Ellington)
Language learners get into the swing of things with a jazzy lesson about similes. They read an article about Duke Ellington, listen to samples of his music, and then try their hand at crafting similes to describe his improvisational and...
California Department of Education
Waves and Music
Strike the right chord with a musical activity! Instructors provide a lecture on the mechanics of a pan flute. Pupils build their own pan flutes by using straws and calculating the lengths to create a scale. After cutting the straws to...
Connecticut Gilbert & Sullivan Society
Jobs in the Musical Theater
Much like an iceberg, the actors you see on stage are only a fraction of the number of people involved in a theatrical production. Introduce theatre arts students to the roles played by the behind-the-scenes- personnel with an worksheet...
K5 Learning
Musical Instruments to Play
Bring some music to your language arts lesson with a reading comprehension activity. Learners read an informational passage about different musical instruments before answering a series of comprehension and vocabulary questions.
Smithsonian Institution
The Sounds of an Island: Jamaican Music for the Classroom
Introduce young explorers to the music and history of Jamaican culture through game songs and dances. As a bonus, class members get to play simple songs transcribed for the recorder.
Curated OER
Music Conducting: Classroom Activities
Turn the class into a percussive orchestra and let the kids take over as conductor. You'll explain a few ins and outs of what a conductor does. Then you hand over the baton and let your budding Beethovens conduct each other as they...
Curated OER
Music in Our Schools Month
Music is an Essential Part of Our Students' Educational Experience
Curated OER
Melodies and Math: Creating Music with Non-Traditional Instruments
Review the 4/4 and 2/4 time signatures in music with a helpful music theory lesson plan. Young musicians experiment with electronic sounds and create their own musical performance using instruments made from materials found in the...
Curated OER
Composing Music
Students explore music appreciation by reading sheet music. In this musical score analysis activity, students utilize their individual instruments to play the song "Peter and the Wolf." Students listen to an online version of the song...
Curated OER
Composing Music
Students explore music appreciation by creating their own music pieces in class. In this music composition lesson, students collaborate in small groups with their instruments and compose a short song which they will play for class....
Curated OER
Comparing Native American and American Folk Music
Students examine how aspects of Native American and American folk music are alike and different. They contrast both forms of music and engage in many activities to identify or explain how music fulfills a variety of purposes.
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...
Curated OER
Exploring Pentatonic Scales
What better way to teach pentatonic scales than to have them playing while you define them? This slide-show includes simple yet correct descriptions of five note scales in C, G, and F major as well as examples for learners to hear.
Amani Project
Harmony Break! Finding Emotions With Music
Gather the entire family (or class members) for a fun Harmony Break! A volunteer thinks of a color from their Mood Meter that they will express by singing, playing an instrument, or performing a dance. After the performance, the audience...
Curated OER
MTV and Othello
After reading Acts III and IV of Othello, give your class a fun, interactive, music-related activity. Begin by asking students about songs they have heard in movies or plays. Let them look up the lyrics online and ruminate about the...
Film English
Mixtape
A short film about music is the inspiration for a well-sequenced lesson that includes discussion, group work, and writing. After the whole class converses about music, small groups write narratives about a still from the film. Pupils...
Curated OER
The Blues, B.B. King, Muddy Waters
B.B. King and Muddy Waters are two of the most famous blues performers of all time. In this music instructional activity, middle schoolers study the early careers and lasting musical contributions of both artists, each of whom carried...
Curated OER
19th & 20th Century Composers: Exoticism
VH1 Music Studio has put out another great lesson plan that incorporates analysis, compare/contrast, and musical terminology. Kids will listen to the song "Habanera" considering the use of specific instruments in evoking a sense of...