Students analyze the genres of folk and country music and the importance of the singer/songwriter. They compose their own lyrics based on an inspiring event.

"Tone means attitude." Or so says this resource that uses Jordan Pruitt's "One Love" to model for songwriters how to develop an attitude in their lyrics. Class members engage in a number of exercises designed to give them direct and...

Using the family stories of a famous comedian and singer-songwriter, learners consider what life was like for African Americans who were enslaved and free before the Civil War. To complete a concluding activity, they write about the...

Students listen to and analyze songs of folk rock musicians of 1970 and then compose and perform a song in a popular or folk style for acoustic guitar and voice or for two acoustic guitars.

Second graders engage in a lesson that uses folk instruments in an accompaniment while listening to a song about a comet. They make a cross-curricular connection to Halley's Comet. Students discuss the qualities of a singer-songwriter.

Young scholars write songs about something incredible they have experienced or know about. They consider topics of events, dreams, ideas, feelings, or animals. They accompany themselves with small musical instruments while performing the...

Students trace James Brown's rise from "Little Junior" in Depression-era Augusta, Georgia, to the "Minister of the New Super Heavy Funk" and create a collage that captures his impact on American music.

“Who’s This Guy Dylan Who’s Borrowing Lines From Henry Timrod?” The basic question in this lesson from the New York Time’s Learning Network is whether artists and authors who use the words of others are stealing from that artist or...

Students investigate climate change. They read and listen to an environmental song or a song about change or taking action. Students write, sing, and record their own song about climate change.

Students view the AMERICAN MASTERS entitled Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind, examine the concept of influence, and explore how Joni Mitchell and her work have influenced others. Students read, interpret, and analyze her lyrics by...

Students are able to identify ordered pairs on coordinate plane, and graph points on a coordinate plane. They are able to write an ordered pair for each of the points on a graph, and create a design or picture using ordered pairs.

Learners listen to story A Mason-Dixon Memory, by Clifton Davis, and complete worksheets about the story. The worksheets are embedded in the plan. This activity provides good reading comprehension practice for young readers.

Learners watch selected film clips about Cole Porter and discover his uniqueness. In groups, they research associates of the Porter's and present reports on them. Then, they write position papers on prominent people of the Jazz Age. ...

Students explore, listen to and analyze songs that helped define rock and roll music. They read and discuss the article, "They're All Oldies, Dad Included." Research on contemporary artists is conducted and then the students choose who...

Students watch a videotape on the musical career of Aretha Franklin and explore the different careers in the music industry.

Students read about Woody Guthrie and how folk music often tells of events of the time and can be effective protest music.

Students write nursery rhyme rebus songs. In this music activity, students practice writing rebuses as a class. Students then create their own rebus based upon "The Bag I'm Taking to Grandma's".

Students become familiar with the characteristic form and sound of the blues, then learn about the history and evolution of the blues in relationship to the African-American experience. Students examine the structure and language of...