Curated OER
Variations of Pain
High schoolers listen to the song :King of Pain" by the Police. They identify different instrumentation and different rhythmic accompaniments to the opening vocal phrase and explore the text in-depth, discussing the various poetic...
Curated OER
Poetry for the Common Good
Learners identify examples of philanthropy in poetry or song. For this philanthropy lesson, students examine several poems such as Give by Carrie A. Thomas and identify concepts of philanthropy in the poem. Learners construct their own...
Curated OER
Complete the Lyrics
In this interactive sentence completion worksheet, students listen to the song "I Will Always Love You" and fill in the missing words of the lyrics.
Curated OER
The Elephant Song
In this songs worksheet, students listen to the song, fill in the blanks, sequence sentences, and label images for The Elephant Song. Students complete 5 activities total.
Curated OER
Lyric Poetry Lesson
Students synthesize the "textbook" definition of lyric poetry and discuss various forms (love lyric, complaint lyric, loss lyric, satiric lyric). They discover the relationship of poetry to musical selections.
Curated OER
Summertime
Explore expressive reading through the read-aloud Summertime: From Porgy and Bess. Readers will make predictions about the text and listen to the song Summertime. They will also identify how the story relates to the song lyrics.
Curated OER
Teaching About Tolerance Through Music
Explore the importance of tolerance with a music-themed lesson. 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.
University of North Carolina
Music
Music is a universal pleasure, but writing about it can be a little trickier. An informative handout discusses common types of music writing assignments that one might encounter in a college-level course. Individuals read about musical...
Curated OER
25 Greatest Protest Songs
Students analyze the lyrics of protest songs as a catalyst for social change. They discuss the influence of music on behavior and explain the use of music as historical record.
Curated OER
Re-Name That Tune
Learners select a familiar children's tune and redesign it by rewriting the lyrics, writing a play, a dance, a storybook or a puppet show. Students work in groups and share their finished project with their classmates.
K20 LEARN
If I Had... Conditional and Subjunctive Sentences
Lines from popular songs are used to teach middle schoolers about conditional and subjunctive moods. Groups engage in a card sort activity to identify conditional and subjective sentences and then partners draft sentences of each type....
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
“Double Double Speak Speak”
Bilateral suborbital hematoma? Call an audible? 404? Have fun with “the twittering or warbling of birds,” or as 14th century French speakers would say, have fun with “jargon.” Groups match specialized jargon with plain speech, decode...
Curated OER
MacBeth Activity Using Alanis Morissette's "Wake Up"
Students analyze Macbeth through the lens of a pop song. In this Macbeth lesson, students read Act I, Scene 7 of Macbeth and determine Lady Macbeth's viewpoint. Students read the lyrics to Alanis Morrissette's song 'Wake Up' and work in...
Curated OER
Character Development Through Song
Learners use songs to analyze their sense of identity and self-worth. In groups, they discuss and explore their own character development and discover how far they have come in recent years. They also identify the positive and negative...
Curated OER
Be An Incredible 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...
Curated OER
Singing the Blues with Garageband
Music composition can be easy with a little software assistance. The class uses Garageband to listen to, write, sing, and record a blues song. They listen to the song provided through the software, write their own lyrics to the song,...
Curated OER
Music and Lyrics
Eighth graders analyze lyrics from songs from a variety of genres. For this musical analysis lesson, 8th graders write an essay about their life plans in which they discuss the lyrics of U2's song, "One." They tell how the writings of...
Curated OER
Poetic Devices in Songs
By teaching about poetic devices in music teachers can provide a creative way to practice reading, writing, and language skills.
Curated OER
Vocabulary Songs: Vocabulary Reinforcement Activity
Students compose songs using vocabulary words. In this vocabulary lesson, students are introduced to a new set of vocabulary words and their definitions. Students collaborate in groups of three or four to write new lyrics to the tune of...
Learn NC
Buffalo Soldiers
"Stolen from Africa, brought to America,/Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival." Bob Marley's "Buffalo Soldiers" provides high schoolers an opportunity to explore the rich history of the Rastafarians in Jamaica and the Buffalo...
Curated OER
Collective Poetry: Teaching Tolerance
Help your class create collective poetry following a simple, engaging model from Teaching Tolerance (tolerance.org). Each young poet writes five things on an index card: sayings from others, favorite sound, favorite place, favorite...
Curated OER
A Song for Today - Lesson 3
Students analyze musical and topical elements in popular songs and compose song as a classroom effort. They write a short paragraph evaluating the effectiveness of the song in conveying the message of the lyrics.
Curated OER
The National Anthem
In this National Anthem worksheet, students read the lyrics to the National Anthem and describe them in their own words. They draw a picture to match their explanation.
Curated OER
A Personal Narrative on the Immigration Experience
The students create a personal narrative on their experiences with immigration. In this lesson, students are asked to read and understand examples of narrative writing as well as evaluate lyrics from Ben Folds Five to determine elements...