Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Catch the Gullah Beat: Rhythm and Percussion

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students explore the Gullah culture. In this social studies lesson, students construct and play instruments similar to those of the Gullah people.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Meet the Instrument Families

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders listen to a recording of a string quartet and ask questions about what kinds of instrument they think they are listening to and describe what they think the instruments look like. Then they discuss musical ideas such as...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Native American Music and Dance Activity

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students demonstrate keeping steady beat through practice exercises and stepping to the beat using instruments such as conga drums, tambourines and rhythm sticks.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Down By the Riverside

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers discuss the musical genre of spirituals and its influence on our musical history. They perform various songs, and read the student score for, Down By the Riverside.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Music And War

For Students 5th - 6th
For this music worksheet, students read 4 paragraphs of information about music and wars. Students learn the 4 main roles of music in wartime. Students answer 5 questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Musical Milfoil

For Teachers 1st - 8th
Pupils play a game that is a version of musical chairs to introduce them to invasive aquatic plants. In this aquatic plants lesson plan, students play 4 rounds of this game.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Class Rap

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Learners explore rap music and its components. They listen to examples of rap music and discuss their common features. After selecting a topic, they compose a rap with both words and the beat and sing it to the class. As a class they...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tug of War Exercise

For Teachers K - 6th
Learners hone their acting and imagination by playing tug-o-war with an imaginary rope. Each group works together and pretends to pull the other group over the imaginary line with an imaginary rope. This could be a good improve warm up...
Activity
Quaver

World Percussion — Latin America Project Book

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
What's the most popular music style in Brazil? What about Cuba? Or the Dominican Republic? An immersive project teaches young learners about the salsa, the samba, and the merengue with research assignments and dance performances.
Lesson Plan
Classics for Kids

"Mars" from The Planets

For Teachers 5th - 6th Standards
Gustav Holst's The Planets provide young musicians an opportunity to examine how composers can create a suite: a collection of smaller pieces grouped to explore a single topic. After listening to "Jupiter," they examine "Mars" in...
Unit Plan
General Motors Corporation

Jazz

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
PBS

The Sixties: Hitsville USA

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
James Jamerson. You probably heard him but may not have heard of him. But fans of Motown Records will certainly recognize his contributions to the sound that desegregated popular music during the 1960s. Challenge young history...
Worksheet
Curated OER

The Parts of Indian Music

For Students 7th
In this Indian music worksheet, 7th graders examine a graphic organizer that displays the three parts of the music. They read about the Tala, Raga, and Drone before answering 5 short answer questions based on the reading.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Medieval Music -- 500-1450

For Students 4th - 5th
In this music history activity, students learn about the musical style and instrumentation in the years between 500-1450. Students read several informative paragraphs and answer 7 questions.
Organizer
Curated OER

Musical Elements Chart

For Students 6th - 8th
In this Louisiana musical landscape worksheet, students study 6 terms and their meanings as they pertain to music instruction to be used for further classroom activities.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African Popular Music

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students explore popular music of West Africa. In this musicians lesson, students complete listening tasks that challenge them to analyze the music of Oumou Sangare, Angelique Kidjo, and Baaba Maal.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Indian Music Test

For Students 6th - 10th
In this Indian music test activity, students respond to 10 short answer questions in part a and 5 short answer questions in part b as they demonstrate their knowledge of Indian music.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Signin' the Blues with Rock, Rap 'n Roll

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders listen to recordings and study jazz and the blues music. They identify the instrumentation and explore the 12-bar blues progression. After experimenting with different sound, 6th graders create their own arrangement, with...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Orchestra: Exploring the Instruments

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore the instruments of the orchestra. In this music appreciation lesson, students discover the four families of instruments and research each of them using selected Internet sources.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Elements of Music

For Students 5th - 6th
In this music worksheet, learners study the elements of a musical composition: silence, pitch, texture, dynamics, tempo, attack and decay and duration. Students complete 7 questions about these elements. Prior knowledge is assumed.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Elements of Music

For Students 5th - 6th
For this music worksheet, students learn 6 elements of music and match the names with the definitions. The elements are silence, pitch, texture, duration, dynamics, tempo and attack and decay.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Elements of Music

For Students 5th - 8th
In this elements of music worksheet, students review the terms: silence, attack and decay, dynamics, pitch, duration, tempo, and texture as they fill in the blanks with the terms in 7 sentences. In addition, students complete 1...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Viennese Musical Clock"

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders learn about musical patterns as they play a game called fudge. Students are assessed based on whether they were able to identify and play a steady beat, use the appropriate form, and clap the rythmic patterns.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Changes of Musical Elements in Popular Music Through the Decades

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners 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.