Lesson Plan
Curated OER

True Spin: Music

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Upper graders take a critical look at art criticism, music, and politics. They watch one segment of "True Spin," produced by VH1 music television and then discuss myths that relate to art and music. Several modern songs are analyzed...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Country's Music

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Jazz, Blue Grass, Hip Hop, Swing. Gospel, R&B, Ragtime, Disco. So many music genres born in the USA. After reading an article about the fate of New Orlean's Jazz after Hurricane Katrina, class members investigate the life cycles of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Getting the Meaning in Pop Music

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Critical thinkers compare the impact of visual versus aural perception in how they comprehend artistic intent. They consider the meaning of a set of pop lyrics first by reading them, then by listening to them orally, and finally viewing...
Lesson Plan
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Jazz Music and the Crisis Over School Desegregation

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers will learn to appreciate the civil rights movement with a focus on Little Rock, Arkansas. They will also acknowledge Louis Armstrong's unparalleled contributions to American music.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rock & Roll through Literary Terms: An Upbeat Lyrical Adventure

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students participate in a variety of activities surrounding Rock & Roll music, lyrics, drama and visual art and how they all help demonstrate examples of literary terms. They use Rock & Roll as an effective aid to stimulate their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Getting Inside The Outsiders Through Music

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students listen to popular music of the 50's and 60's to make literature connections to The Outsiders. In this popular culture lesson plan, students evaluate and analyze various songs and connect them with the themes in the literature...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Modest Proposal: Irony Made Understandable with Rock and Roll

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Who doesn't love music? Poems and songs will engage your high school class in a discussion about irony. Use songs like "Rockin' in the Free World" or "Born in the U.S.A." to illustrate the ironic point of view. Print the lyrics so...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Know Thyself: Reflections of the Adolescent Identity Crisis in Rock and Roll

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders define themselves through music. In this psychology lesson, 12th graders identify James Marcia's 4 states of identity and identify songs that reflect each of the states.
Lesson Plan
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The Princess and the Frog

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students study the sounds of New Orleans jazz, its origins, and its influences. In this jazz music lesson, students listen to various jazz songs and discuss the songs. Students use the worksheet 'Jazz: the Universal Language' to study...
Lesson Plan
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Words/Music/Images: Interpretation and Meaning A Motivational Activity

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore popular music in its historical context. In this music lesson plan, students examine the lyrics, musicical arrangement, and video imagery of selected songs to interpret the messages and themes of the songs.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders read lyrics for "My Hometown" and complete a worksheet to identify setting and tone in the song. In this Romanticism activity, 12th graders read Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey by Wordsworth and...
Lesson Plan
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Music Appreciation:

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Learners list the four main families of musical instruments, name one instrument from each musical family, name three ways music is used in everyday life.
Lesson Plan
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Using Cross-Genre Comparisons to Find the Message in Hip-Hop

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students analyze two cross -genre songs written in the early 1980s for lyrical content and social commentary. They consider the artistic merit of hip hop music in today's culture.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I Went to the Crossroads: The Faust Theme in Music, Film and Literature

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students analyze song lyrics and discuss Faust theme in musical history. In this thematic instructional activity, students view a film clip and create a song lyric, poem or short story developed around the Faust theme. Students perform...
Lesson Plan
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Scops, Rappers and You: Historians with Style!

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students examine the epic poem Beowulf. For this analyzing poetry lesson, student compare listen to the Will Smith song "Wild, Wild West" and read Beowulf. Students analyze the song and the poem. Students then research an influential...
Lesson Plan
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Woody Guthrie and The Grapes of Wrath

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students examine American idealism. In this literature and music lesson, students analyze the lyrics of Woody Guthrie songs as well as the themes of Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. Students examine parallels between the characters in the...
Lesson Plan
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Fifties/Sixties Musical Playwriting Workshop

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students write a coherent script based on characterization, theme, conflict and emotional tone as found in the songs' lyrics and develop an understanding of the enjoyment that comes through discipline and hard work leading toward a...
Lesson Plan
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Percussion Family Lesson Plan

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students gain an appreciation for percussion instruments. They can identify the instruments by sight and sound and associate them with different musical styles. Using Microsoft Musical Instruments, students hear other percussion...
Lesson Plan
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My Place In Space

For Teachers 4th - 8th
The purpose of this unit is for students to make the rich set of connections between astronomy and the rest of science and technology, language arts, cultural studies (social studies), math, art, and music.
Lesson Plan
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Lesson Plan for Granny Will Your Dog Bite and Other Mountain Rhymes

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders practice choral reading of poetry.  In this creative literature lesson, 6th graders incorporate elements of performing arts into their choral readings of various poems.  They discuss musical instruments, facial...
Lesson Plan
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Repetitive Song Form

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders discover different concepts for identifying musical structure and song form.  In this Music History instructional activity, 8th graders compare and contrast a Red Hot Chili Peppers song to an Andrea Bocelli's song. 
Lesson Plan
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Personal Resources

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students evaluate thought and action regarding care of ourselves and our possessions. They develop a positive approach to life and a mature sense of self-worth and value. They develop a an appreciation and a voice for individual...
Lesson Plan
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From Mark Twain to David Bowie: The Artistic Persona vs. The Individual

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the concept of public image. In this public persona lesson, students discover what public image is and discuss the role of an author's life when interpreting pieces of their work.
Lesson Plan
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 39: People Everyday

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This activity with a song of my choice, 'People Everyday' by Arrested Development, will be an introduction to literary analysis and media/popular music literacy. Students will learn to examine critically what they view and hear. They...