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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

The Birth of an Icon: Learning and Performing the Origins of the Drum Set and Early Jazz Drumming in New Orleans, Louisiana

For Teachers 5th - 12th
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...
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Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

Sounds of the Silk Road

For Students 6th - 12th
Young explorers may not be able to travel the Silk Road but they can listen to music that was played on instruments of the time and create their own songs with the help of an interesting interactive resource. 
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Activity
Quaver

Large Coffee Can Bongo

For Teachers K - 8th
Want to make some music but you don't have the instruments? Get a start on your percussion section with a creative bongo drum project! Young musicians use a coffee can, packing tape, and colorful paper to create the perfect percussive...
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Activity
Kansas Music Educators Association

Games for the Elementary Music Classroom

For Teachers K - 6th
Perfect for music specialists, classroom teachers, and substitutes, a packet of 18 games includes complete lessons as well as short activities for when you have some extra time at the end of class.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Nepalese Drum on a Stick

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students create a two sided percussion instrument designed to look like a damaru drum from Nepal. They locate Nepal on a map and conduct research on Nepal and the damaru. Students then create a damaru drum using a small plastic container...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Drum

For Teachers 1st
First graders read and discuss the folktale from India "The Drum." They locate India on a map, compare and contrast "The Drum" with other stories, and participate in a Words For Storytelling game. Students also complete an adjective...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"The Drum"

For Teachers K
Students listen to and discuss the folktale from India, "The Drum," written by Rob Cleveland. They discuss the "Golden Rule," and answer story comprehension questions. Students then complete a drum phonics worksheet and a matching...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Drum

For Teachers K
Students complete a variety of activities related to the folktale from India, "The Drum." They listen to the story and answer comprehension questions, construct a coffee can drum, and complete a phonics and matching worksheet.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"The Drum"

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders read and discuss the folktale "The Drum" from India. They also answer story comprehension questions, complete an adjectives and verb worksheet, and label a map of India. Students sequence events from the story and make...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Chinese Dragon Drum Lesson Plan

For Teachers K - 6th
Students research the significance of drums and the color red in Chinese culture. They make a replica of a Chinese drum using construction paper and art materials. They examine pictures of Chinese drums before decorating the ones which...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning the Beat

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students identify gifts found in folktales. In this folktale instructional activity, students read the Hindi folktale "The Drum" and discuss the value of gifts such as time, talent, treasure, etc. Students also create drum beats.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Light, Sound and Energy

For Teachers 4th - 5th
The students will be given opportunities to work independently and in teacher-directed situations to study and discover the many facets of light and sound, and the uses of energy in our environment. The grade 4 students will learn the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Catch the Gullah Beat: Rhythm and Percussion

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Young scholars explore the Gullah culture. For this social studies lesson, students construct and play instruments similar to those of the Gullah people.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Drum Set: Print and Color

For Students Pre-K - 1st
In this word recognition worksheet, students trace the words "drum set", write the words independently, and color the picture of a drum set.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

And the Beat Goes On...

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers respond to the Indian folktale, The Drum. In this philanthropy lesson, students reflect upon the folktale and demonstrate ways one person can make a difference in the world. Middle schoolers construct a Powerpoint...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Talking Drums

For Teachers K - 12th
Students study African percussion. In this music lesson, students explore Africa's sounds as they discover tonal language, talking drum, message drum, the relationship between talking drums and tonal language, and how to change the pitch...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Baga Drum

For Teachers K - 12th
Students draw and design a musical instrument that incorporates a human figure or animal. In this musical lesson plan, students will discover the differences between African drums. This lesson plan is designed for elementary, middle,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Acoustics House

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students study how drums produce sound by building and playing a simple drum. They measure the diameter of their can, then mark a circle two inches larger in diameter on their piece of plastic with the marker or chalk, and cut out the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching Musical Instruments in Kindergarten

For Teachers K
Students explore the sounds of different instruments through the nne lessons of this unit. Instruments representing the elements of percussion, string, and wind are utilized in this unit.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sounds Like Science - Drums

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students see that understanding how sound is produced makes it possible for us to manipulate it so we can decrease the number of unpleasant sounds we encounter. They make a drum to explore the concepts of force, pitch and volume.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Our Class Band

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students play percussion instruments that have been divided into four groups and perform to 'Old MacDonald Had a Farm'. For this percussion performance lesson, students identify percussion instruments divided into four categories....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Percussion Family

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders complete a unit to learn about the percussion family and African and Latin drumming. In this percussion instructional activity, 2nd graders complete 9 lessons to learn about the percussion family. Students learn to use...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Drums and Sound

For Teachers K - 1st
Through discussion, demonstration, and observation of performances by drum groups, students discover how vibrations create sounds. Through exploration students can infer that when drums are struck they make noise due to vibrations.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Illustration # 1: Source of Illustration

For Teachers K
Students play a game of imitating steady beats by mimicking the instructor. They use drums and repeat the game by echoing rhythmic patterns. The patterns may vary in degree of difficulty according to each individual's ability.