An American Ballad - Lesson 1

Take poetry off the page and put it into terms of movement, physical space and, finally, music with this series of three lessons from the Smithsonian Institution. This resource introduces students to two poetic forms that originated as...

What are the ingredients of happiness? Jenna, expert pie maker and the main character in the musical, Waitress, is faced with this question, as she struggles to free herself from an abusive marriage and pursue a happier life. The...

A six-week unit takes high schoolers through various works of African-American literature, including poems, plays, and short stories. The lesson plan format includes a week-by-week description of activities, goals, materials, and...

Learners explore the historic background of the song, The Battle of New Orleans. Working in pairs, students research other historic events and write their own songs based on them.

Eleventh graders examine political, cultural, and social movements through music. In this 1960s American history lesson, 11th graders explore the music of the decade in order to better understand the complexity of the time period....

Students compose song as a classroom effort. They write a one-paragraph essay about "message" songs in 100 years and include three ideas for topics along with the style of music (such as folk, rock, blues, rap, etc.) that would match.

Students practice singing a traditional Oneida song. They discuss the meaning in both the English and Oneida languages and how the words to this song demonstrate important feelings for the Oneida people.

Learners listen to the song, Get Together, and discuss the theme. They list topics that bring people together, write the lyrics to and sing a class song, and write a paragraph about message songs.

Students perform "Fifty States in Rhyme" with correct posture, correct rhythms, and accurate pitches. They also identify and perform such musical terms as tone color, tempo, dynamics, phrases, and accents. Emphasis is placed on the...

Students sing the melody of the song, "No Man is an Island," in the Oneida native language. They memorize the song and discuss how the words demonstrate important feelings of the Oneida people.