Broadway GPS
The Lion King—The Broadway Musical Study Guide
Musicals have been adapted from stage plays, novels, and movies. With The Lion King, Disney transforms its animated film into show-stopping, live-action musical theatre. The guide Disney provides to accompany a study of the award-winning...
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Elements of Music—How do Composers Plan?
The introduction to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and the finale of his Symphony No. 4 provide young musicians with an opportunity to investigate the music elements composers employ to develop the themes they want to create. They compare the...
Pearson
Musical Theater Performance
Musical theater is a trifecta, requiring cast members to be actors, singers, and dancers. Help theater arts students develop these skills with a unit designed to prepare them for a staging of a musical.
Special needs in Music
Music Work Sheet (Special Ed)
Music is beneficial for all learners. Help your learners with special needs learn about different styles of music, as well as the ways that music is represented on paper, with 30 different worksheets.
Curated OER
Thrilling Information: Music and Reading
Here’s a cross-curricular program music activity that uses Peer Gynt to engage class members. Groups take one section of “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” choreograph their section of the tune to represent the story as they imagine it,...
Illinois Music Education Conference
Taking the “General” Out of Middle School General Music!
Middle schoolers will sing the praises of this music program. The resource, designed as an overview for music instructors, is loaded with ideas, activities, and links. Not a sour note in the packet.
Smithsonian Institution
The Birth of an Icon: Learning and Performing the Origins of the Drum Set and Early Jazz Drumming in New Orleans, Louisiana
Bass drum, snare drum, tom-toms, cymbals. Perched behind their drum sets, wielding their drum sticks and wire brushes, drummers lay the grove and are the heartbeat of a band's performance. A dynamic lesson introduces young musicians to...
Curated OER
Critical Listening: Music Vocabulary
The school band or orchestra analyzes their own performance after exploring musical terminology. They listen to a classical piece and describe it using only words. They look up musical terminology and then use those words to compare and...
iTheatrics and Broadway
School of Rock the Musical: Education Guide
That old fashioned rock and roll comes alive as theatre arts students prepare to attend a live performance of the musical School of Rock. Packed with both pre- and post-production materials, the guide has it all. Rock on!
Broadway GPS
ALADDIN: Broadway's New Musical Comedy
Aladdin, Disney's Broadway musical comedy, is a magic carpet ride. Prepare your class for a field trip to the show with a study guide that is a treasure trove of activities, cultural connections, and background information.
Smithsonian Institution
African American Music: Let’s Sing and Play Clapping Games
Two lessons focus on making a beat. Using popular African American music of its time, scholars listen and analyze the rhythm then recreate it with hands drums, and cups.
Classics for Kids
Fun With Musical Words
Is concertmaster another term for conductor, or is he or she another person entirely? Learn the specifics of the role of concertmaster with an activity focused on classical music. After learners define the term, they select a piece of...
Hookshot Creative
Compose Your Own Music
Channel the masters with an interactive music composition activity! Learners use the online tool to create their own masterpieces one measure at a time.
Curated OER
A Musical Composition Experience
Upper graders having skills in music performance will extend their abilities through creative musical composition. They'll use Finale 2000 to explore facets of music composition, they'll then compose a piece for their instrument in C, F,...
Leading Learner
Using Music to Tell a Story or Describe a Scene
Young composers demonstrate their understanding of the stylistic features of descriptive music, including pitch, tempo, dynamics, rhythm, and timbre, by developing a melody and countermelody for a main character in a story. As part of...
Curated OER
Music Lesson Plan for Teaching Children with (Severe) Autism
Here's a packet of music activities designed specifically for children with autism. Kids learn greeting, echo, and repertory songs, as well as rhythmic patterns to play rhythm instruments.
Curated OER
Producing Beats
Turn your classroom into a music studio as groups work together to determine why music sounds different when performed live versus a recording. After listening to some different music, each group picks a poem, creates a recording, and...
VH1
Lesson 3: Marketing of Pop Music
Pop music and marketing are thrown into the mix to make a fun and engaging lesson. Learners listen to several pop songs and discuss the differences in musical style. They then get into groups and work together to decide how they are...
National Center for Families Learning
The Summer Fun Summer Learning Music Unit
Take note. Soul music. Gospel music. Country music. Summer comes alive with the sounds of music as program participants learn about various genres of music, create instruments, and write and perform songs about the facts and traditions...
Curated OER
Same and Different Through Music and Art
This lesson is intended for a music class but would be a great way to teach compare and contrast to any class. Kindergarteners dance the Hokey Pokey to four different styles of music and examine two paintings of Humpty Dumpty, then...
English Language Support Programme
Traditional Irish Music
Celebrate sean-nós, céilí, and the lilting music of the Emerald Isle with a set of language arts activities! Learners complete word puzzles, vocabulary exercises, and comprehension questions about traditional Irish music.
Fun Music Company
Bat Trails: Music Symbols
Whether written for Therese, Elisabeth, or for Juliane, young music theory students will enjoy pursuing the clues hidden in music symbols that indicate who wrote "Fur Elise."
Curated OER
Save the Music Concerts: Parts 1 & 2
Music aficionados classify pop music into by musical genres or styles. They evaluate the positive and negatives of collaborative performances, view segments of VH1's "Save the Music" concert, and discuss the difficulties of categorizing...
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Performing Arts
The classical arts have made a lasting impact on our society and your advanced learners get to find out why. The activity starts as the children create a list of the arts found in society, they discuss how these art forms impact their...