The Beat of Mexico

Students observe global cultures by listening to music and watching videos. In this Latin American dance activity, students define merengue, salsa and other dances from the Hispanic culture while listening to Latin rhythm music. Students...

Students investigate Mexican Mariachi, Mexican Norteno, and American Tex-Mex music and identify which songs are from Mexico.

Learn a little Spanish, discover how a volcano works, and get into the cultural context of the book, Hill of Fire. Because the book addresses so many different topics, it is perfect as the basis for a cross-curricular unit of study....

Fourth graders observe music by researching U.S. history. In this music culture instructional activity, 4th graders identify the era of the American Frontier and discuss the instruments, rhythms and compositions of music from the time....

Yee-haw! Youngsters read all about the history of rodeos in a brief informational text, which has select vocabulary words defined within the instructional activity. After learning about the various events, they choose one and create a...

Students discover compositional techniques through the study of a current young composer and listening examples. This 30-minute instructional activity is an introduction to a unit on current classical music trends.

Explore Native American music. Listen to several examples of Native American music. Locate the tribes on maps and practice pronouncing words in the Cherokee language. Write out rhythmic accompaniment or a melodic introduction.

Young scholars review the 4/4 and 2/4 time signatures in music. For this music theory lesson, students review basic music theory, experiment with electronic sounds, and create their own musical performance using instruments made from...

Young scholars play the beats of mariachi music. In this mariachi lesson plan, students listen to mariachi music and discuss why music is important.

Fourth graders explore ballet. For this dance and music humanities lesson, 4th graders practice ballet positions and play a card game using French ballet vocabulary. Students count beats in rhythm patterns and listen to classical music...