Students explore jazz's primary elements. They identify the basic definitions of terms associated with jazz. In addition, they listen to Song for My Father.

What can a self-portrait reveal about an artist? Discuss various self-portraits before tasking your pupils with creating their own. Learners research artists, develop an idea of their own individuality, and create photo collages with...

Wonderful worksheets and activities complementing six sequential lessons are what you'll find in this unit on folklore. Pupils create folktales using literary devices and included story starters, compare and contrast different...

Students take a virtual field trip to Memphis, Tennessee in their study of the blues, its characterisitics, founding fathers, and histororical influence on modern music. They compose blues lyrics that reflect present-day attitudes and...

Kids compare and contrast music from the past to the present. They listen to and review the characteristics of Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and Pop music. Then, they discuss the differences in each and how musical icons from the past...

Do pupils know that the Vietnam War spanned a period of 30 years? A war that long is bound to leave devastating effects. Help young historians develop a comprehensive understanding of the war through multiple units on the subject that...

Represent the African diaspora with figurines. Using a discussion on the contributions of people of African descent as inspiration, class members prepare sketches of a figure and put together a small sculpture from those sketches.

Students use tools in a painting package to design tiles and create repeating patterns. They design a single tile using a 4 x 4 grid and experiment with changing the alignment of some of the tiles by rotating different areas.

Welcome to Jamestown! Third and fourth graders read and analyze primary source documents about Jamestown or Fort James. They read and analyze descriptions of Fort James from primary sources. They access a website to explore more...

Readers of Mississippi Trial, 1955 engage in a desktop teaching activity and teach other class members the meaning of a word from Christopher Crowe's novel using an embellished illustration of their word.

Few aspects of life make better fodder for a comedic play than politics. A study guide introduces George Bernard's Shaw comedy Arms and the Man. Along with summaries of each scene and brief biographies of the main characters, two lesson...

Students study the elements in the production of an opera including the personalities, ideas, and stage presence. They examine the skills that are necessary to be a performer in an opera in this series of lessons including making...

Introduce your upper-elementary students to printmaking. Class members view prints, select and research symbols in a piece, and create their own sets of prints using styrofoam trays. Pupils can wash off the paint on their trays to make...

Clara becomes Marie, The Mouse King becomes a rat, and the Shadyside section of Pittsburgh becomes the setting for a modern interpretation of Tchaikovsky's famous ballet. Intended as a resource guide for a 2012 performance, the...

A discussion of bioluminescence launches an investigation of animal adaptations. After re-watching the opening minutes of Dark Water, class members listen to a reading of What Do You Do with a Tail Like This, and then create a new...

Music has been used to convey thoughts, feelings, and the human condition for thousands of years. Your class will analyze several songs hear in the animated classic, "Charlie Brown." They will listen to several jazz pieces from the show,...

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...

The pop movie Moulin Rouge was based on the opera La Boheme. Learners watch the last 30 minutes of each musical to compare and contrast social opposites. They'll first discuss the social differences of the main characters and how those...

Singers practice perfecting the song, Alleluia. They focus on singing techniques, style, phrasing, and working with syncopation. This lesson is a microteahing lesson and includes a warm up and vocal exercises. 

What is liberty rhetoric? Examine how people have used it in four different time periods and situations. High schoolers investigate original source documents and compare them with the Declaration of Independence to decide how liberty...

Fourth graders explore the music of Buenos Aires as they hear and then dance the Tango. They practice basic Tango rhythm, learn to sing the song, "Any Turkey can Tango," then practice a few Tango-riffic dance steps with a partner....

Looking for a great lesson plan on how to write a biography? Here, middle schoolers draw from magazine articles, novels, historical figures, and current events to choose a person, or character to write about in a biography. They follow a...

Your class can create their own Samurai identity with craft paper and a little imagination. Learners will discuss what life was like for a Samurai warrior, and then they will make representations of what they would look like as a...

Invite your pupils to represent a club, team or other group with a trophy of their own creation. Learners examine the Taylor Cup by Laurent Amiot and then prepare trophy designs. When the sketches are complete, pupils sculpt...