First graders engage in a lesson that emphasizes the use of music to form a rhythmic beat that incorporates singing. They create a song in freestyle and some of them create a song. Students are assessed at using hand movement to track...

Students analyze rhythmic patterns (beat versus no beat), sing an echo song on Solfege syllables, improvise melodies, and express music through creative movement. This lesson is written to meet State and National Standards for the Arts.

Seventh graders examine the setting in pieces of fiction.  In this story analysis lesson, 7th graders investigate the setting in fictional stories and the importance it has.  Students discover new vocabulary terms applying to...

Pupils are often confused by the literary terms tone and voice. Focus on tone by analyzing the poems suggested here, which are all from Words with Wings: A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art. While reading through each poem,...

First graders listen to the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and identify the pitch of the bears' voices as high, medium, and low. They improvise on xylophones a melody to accompany the bears in the telling of the story.

Testing, testing! Following the provided script, class members are asked to create a radio commercial, complete with sound effects and background music.

Some babies are learning sign language before learning to speak. Given the scenarios in this quiz, can you identify what each sign means? Multiple-choice answers are provided for each question. Use this resource in a psychology or sign...

Students read and analyze Truman Capote's autobiographical short story, "A Christmas Memory." They discuss writing styles, conduct Internet research on Truman Capote, write a book review, and write a short story based on one of Truman...

Eighth graders gather ideas generated from other poems and their own inspiration, to create original poetry. A celebration is included as students bind and submit poems for publication.

Reading aloud is a great way to engage learners in pacing and pronunciation! They practice using voice, pitch and intonation correctly. The teacher introduces the activity by example, correctly stressing punctuation and using appropriate...

Parents often feel as nervous as their children on the first day of school. Help to assuage their worries with a sweet letter by Michelle Guppy, assuring them that you are taking care of their children and thoroughly engaging in their...

Students to link Jazz music to Langston Hughes' poetry through analysis and recitation. They examine tone and demonstrate uses of tone and voice in everyday life. Students develop their own dialog, similar to that of Madam and the...

Here is a template offering a comprehensive outline of ACT skill categories, what standards are expected to be mastered, and blank spaces for you to include how you plan to address those standards within your curriculum.

Teach learners to use polite words when they do not want something, rather than being rude or aggressive, using these simple presentation slides. The presentation walks students step by step through what it means to say "No,...

Different tones for different audiences. That's the big idea behind the second lesson plan in a two-part series that reveals Abigail Adams as a mother. Scholars examine letters Abigail Adams wrote to her sons, John Quincy Adams and...

As part of their study of Elie Wiesel's Night, individuals assume the voice of an Auschwitz survivor and craft a letter to a former SS officer who worked at the camp and claims he is not guilty of any crime. 

Make sound visible with an activity that provides directions for how to build a vocal visualizer meant to create light patterns. Making noise into the visualizer causes a mirror to vibrate, reflecting a laser beam, and creating...

Halloween isn't fun for everyone — but playing together is! Read about Esme and her space pirate friend with a short reading passage, accompanied by ten short answer questions.

The verbal techniques and emotional appeals contained in the language used in political ads plays a vital role in creating the impact of the ad. As class members continue their study of Presidential campaign commercials from 1952–2012,...

Little ones learn the tones mi, so, and la by singing an answer to a sung question. They play a name game to identify beat, then discuss songs with no beat. If there is time during this musical instruction lesson plan, they dance about...

Play and sing a Valentine's song with your second graders. They'll follow along allow as you demonstrate how to sing and keep a steady beat on non-pitched percussive instruments. While the music lesson has a Valentine theme, that theme...

Students analyze the language and characters in the Shakespeare play, Much Ado About Nothing. In this Shakespeare play lesson, students read section of the play and discuss the speech of Benedick and Claudio. Students record the speech...

Students write a story from the perspective of a water droplet on a journey through the water cycle. They use the 6+1 Traits writing method to focus on voice in the writing as they create characters that their water droplet has...

In this study guide worksheet for The Bean Trees, students answer comprehension questions based on the reading. Students are given vocabulary words to know, asked about motifs, themes and symbols.