Other
I Hear America Singing: Whitman and the Music of His Time
This I Hear America Singing site describes Whitman's views on music, the influence it had on his work, and a discussion of music in Whitman's time.
John F. Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center: Multimedia Hero Analysis
In this 9-12 lesson, students will analyze the positive character traits of heroes as depicted in music, art, and literature. They will gain an understanding of how cultures and societies have produced folk, military, religious,...
A&E Television
History.com: Woodstock 1969: How a Music Festival That Should've Been a Disaster Became Iconic Instead
Fifty years later, people are still trying to match the bizarre accident that was Woodstock '69. The Woodstock Music and Art Fair began on August 15, 1969, as half a million people gathered on a dairy farm in Bethel, New York. Billed as...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Music and Creativity in Ancient Greece
You think you love music? You have nothing on the Ancient Greek obsession. Every aspect of Greek life was punctuated by song: history, poetry, theater, sports and even astronomy. In fact, music was so important to Greek philosopher Plato...
PBS
Pbs: Who Made America?: Innovators: Russell Simmons
Hip-hop's master impresario brought marginalized voices to a mass audience -- and cross-marketed a youth cultural movement in music, comedy, fashion, poetry, and social action.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 17: Irony Made Understandable
One of the more difficult literary concepts to teach is irony, especially ironic point of view. Not only do students often miss the subtle linguistic clues, they become distracted by the issue of author's intent. Whether it's the classic...
PBS
Pbs News Hour Extra: Rap as Lyrical Poetry
Here is an excellent way to engage your students in the study of poetry; use rap! PBS provides the materials you will need. Students will examine central themes, hip hop culture, political, social and cultural events that may have...
PBS
Pbs: Allen Ginsberg: Poetry and Politics
This site is a lesson about the poet Allen Ginsberg. Read his poems, read about the work of other writers in the Beat movement, and investigate the larger social and political climate in which they lived.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Poetry of Liberation: Allen Ginsberg
Poet Allen Ginsberg is featured in this brief biography for his literary contributions to the Beat movement. See "Allen Ginsberg Activities" for related resources.
A&E Television
History.com: The Epic Battle to Beat Babe Ruth's Home Run Record
In an epic drama spiced with improbable plot twists, New York Yankees stars Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris dueled in 1961 to break Babe Ruth's Major League Baseball season record for home runs. Their pursuit of the magical mark of 60, set...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Stairway to Heaven Examining Metaphor in Popular Music
Contains plans for two lessons that ask students to make connections between literary texts and popular culture texts like song lyrics. After checking popular culture texts for literary elements, these elements are then examined in...
Utah Education Network
Uen: Song Writing
This lesson engages students in writing lyrics to songs. Students will use free musical software to aid students as they put their lyrics to a tune and tempo.
John F. Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center: The Poetics of Hip Hop
Students will analyze form in Shakespearean sonnets and hip-hop music. Concepts viewed in-depth include rhythm, form, diction, and sound. [Requires QuickTime 7].
Emory University
Emory University: Odyssey Online
Odyssey Online is a resource for both students and teachers as they explore world mythology in reading, writing, history, and art classes. Providing sections on Near Eastern, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and African mythology, Odyssey uses...
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Advice to Youth on Things Now Gone
Poetry and music are unmistakably intermixed, and in this lesson, we focus on the word choice and idea development of both song and poem. After listening to the modern song and reading the famous old poem, "Gone" by Switchfoot and "To...
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Ain't That America
Students think that classic literature and historic events have little in common with life today, right? Think again! In this lesson, students get a chance to compare themes from classic novels or from American history to those found in...
PBS
Pbs: Frontline: The Ira and Sinn Fein: Poetry: "The Foggy Dew"
A favorite of Irish nationalists from the time that it was written (1919), "The Foggy Dew" is an example of a traditional ballad inspired by one of the most significant events in Ireland's long struggle with Britain: the 1916 Easter Rising.
Academy of American Poets
Poets.org: "A Supermarket in California" by Allen Ginsberg
Contains an audio recording and full text of the poem "A Supermarket in California" by Allen Ginsberg.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 43: Screening Coleridge's Fantasies
Students are often hesitant to speak out with their own explications of literature, but usually have no qualms when asked to offer interpretations of popular musical lyrics. In fact, they seem quite eager to defend a lyrical explanation...
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 52: Scops, Rappers and You
This lesson will help learners to better understand and appreciate the epic poem Beowulf by comparing it to a modern rap song. All learners, and at-risk students in particular, learn better when they are able to find relevance and...
Pequeno Artista (Brazil)
Pequeno Artista
Site focuses on children's arts, including visual arts, poetry, music, painting, short stories, film, books, dance, and games. Also offers some fun science projects and interesting facts to enhance a child's overall knowledge of his/her...
PBS
Pbs: Mathline: Tessellations Wow! [Pdf]
An integrated geometry lesson on spatial sense in which students identify and use different shapes to create a tessellation. "Through a variety of modalities such as writing, music, art, poetry, and literature, students are introduced to...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Dance Mama Dance by Daniel Beaty
Daniel Beaty is an award-winning actor, singer, writer, and poet. His productions are known for incorporating music, movement, and words. In this poem, the speaker discusses their mother and their wish to see her dance. It also provides...
ArtsNow
Arts Now Learning: Realizing the Power of Your Own Creativity [Pdf]
In this lesson, students interpret a poem called 'The Little Blue Engine' by adding music, movement, visual art, and drama. After performing their creation, they will discuss any mathematical and/or scientific connections that have a...