Curated OER
Popular Music of Brazil: Samba
Samba music is a musical mixture of both African and Brazilian sounds and rhythms. Explore this art form with your class using this easy-to-follow slide show. They'll learn about Samba's roots, beats, characteristics, instruments, and...
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
Create a Music Carnival
This outstanding instructional activity will encourage your students to combine their knowledge of rhythm, pitch, tone and color with their imaginations to create original compositions about animals. They create a music carnival to...
Curated OER
"Movies That Rock": Moulin Rouge
Upper graders explore musical film and the Bohemian lifestyle common in Europe during the turn of the century through the musical Moulin Rouge. After listening to (or viewing) songs from the movie, they discuss the Bohemian era and how...
Curated OER
Composing Music
Students explore music appreciation by creating their own music pieces in class. In this music composition instructional activity, students collaborate in small groups with their instruments and compose a short song which they will play...
Center for Civic Education
The Power of Nonviolence: Music Can Change the World
Here is a fantastic activity through which class members discover how music has the ability to influence others in a meaningful way. After reviewing selected pieces and modern-day protest songs, learners will research other songs that...
Curated OER
Teaching About Tolerance Through Music
Explore the importance of tolerance with a music-themed lesson plan. Learners listen to the music of Peter, Paul, and Mary, and discern the underlying messages before discussing the painful effects of ridicule, disrespect, and bullying.
Curated OER
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young: Exploration of Folk Music
Students use the music of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young to examine Folk music.
Curated OER
Radio Commercial Assignment
Testing, testing! Following the provided script, class members are asked to create a radio commercial, complete with sound effects and background music.
Curated OER
Symphonic Poetry
Students interpret the themes in Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, create a 6-line poem based on the themes in the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, and define musical terms related to the study of programmatic music in...
Curated OER
Roots And Styles Of Black Music - Lesson 1
Students identify many genres of Black music. They identify Black music as a reflection of the culture. They study many historically influential Black music artists, producers, and other contributors.
Curated OER
American Music Styles: European Roots and African Influences - Lesson 3
Students describe some of the characteristics of country and blues music. They see how country music rose to a nationally known music style. They write a two-paragraph essay on what they think country music be like in the next 100 years.
Curated OER
Geography and World Music
Students are able to demonstrate the ability to identify, contrast and compare the music of different places and regions, and the ability to recognize music as a resource for information about places and regions.
Curated OER
Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music in America - Louis Armstrong
Students listen to selections of New Orleans street band music. They explore the culture of New Orleans in the 1920's, and perform a closer examination of Armstrong's music.
Curated OER
Getting Inside The Outsiders Through Music
Young scholars listen to popular music of the 50's and 60's to make literature connections to The Outsiders. In this popular culture lesson, students evaluate and analyze various songs and connect them with the themes in the literature...
Curated OER
Classical Music Connection-Popular Music - Connecting Pachelbel, Beethoven, and Mussorgsky to Disco and Rap
Students 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.
Curated OER
Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum
Henry David Thoreau and Linda Ronstadt? Ann Tyler and Pete Townshend? Joyce Carol Oates and Pearl Jam? This richly detailed plan pairs classic literature with contemporary music and asks learners to analyze how the theme of conformity is...
Curated OER
Musical Change
Young learners record observations about different coin denominations and create a song about coins to the traditional song, "The Wheels on the Bus." This lesson is based on the Tennessee Quarter Reverse, and has all sorts of excellent...
Curated OER
Drafting a Recording Contract
High schoolers study the issues involved in a recording artist's contract looking at the contract from both the artist's and record company's point of view. They write a contract based on what they discover.
Curated OER
The Sorcerer's Apprentice: 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons
Upper graders view the animated short, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and analyze how the music score was chosen to express the scene. They create an animation as they listen to a classical recording to experience the connection between...
Curated OER
Alicia Keys, Songs in A Minor
How do a person's musical preferences influence the way they compose music of their own? Learners analyze the sound and lyrics of Alicia Keys in relation to musicians that came before. Jazz, blues, and soul music from the past are shown...
Curated OER
"The Producers" Lights Up Broadway from Recording The Producers: A Muscial Romp with Mel Brooks
Students research the history of Broadway musicals and Mel Brook's life using the internet. They work together to write a short skit to present to the class. They also examine the context of different dramatic performances.
VH1
Lesson 4: Behind the Movie Chicago
The elements of music and journalistic integrity in one lesson; What could be better? The class discusses journalistic approaches to better understand responsible reporting versus sensationalism. They watch the Act One from the film...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "Violin" by Nikki Wallschlaeger
Nikki Wallschlaeger's Violin is the featured poem in a lesson that uses music and multiple readings to delve deep into its analysis. After a writing warm-up, learners watch and listen to a video that showcases Regina Carter Quintet's...