Lauren Kitchin
Singing in the Classroom
Those new to the Kodály Method of music instruction, as well as experienced educations, will find everything they need in a resource designed to launch a five-week vocal music program. Packed with warm ups, games, activities, and...
Curated OER
Using Poetry As Inspiration for Composition
A reading of Robert Frost’s "The Road Not Taken" launches an interdisciplinary study of the connection between the meters of a poem and a melody. After identifying the number of beats in each line of the poem, young musicians use...
Curated OER
Melodic Phrases
Melodic phrases in pieces of music are the focus of this music instructional activity. Young musicians study melodic phrases in vocal and instrumental music pieces. They listen to a variety of musical examples in order to identify the...
Concordia College Archives
History and Musical Aesthetics
What are the musical elements that characterize a school's fight song or its alma mater? Class members listen to examples of fight songs and alma maters from various schools, play a listening game, and then create a list of the...
Can Teach
Pass the Melody
Get a jam session started in your elementary music class! Learners engage in melody transitions by singing a familiar song and passing on the tune to the next person.
Curated OER
Parallel Harmonies
What is a parallel harmony? You and your class can explore musical terminology through song. You define what a parallel harmony is, the class identifies parallel harmony in music they hear, and then you all sing some examples together....
Curated OER
Set a Poem to Music
Fun awaits both you and your class as you embark on a musical activity. After discussing different rhythmic meters they choose a poem to set to music. The poem must rhyme and be set to a melody in the key of C Major. Because the activity...
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Kindergarten Music Lesson
Singing, clapping, moving up and down with the melody, it all sounds like a great music activity. Kinder-musicians sing three different songs to practice memory, speaking, and movement skills. They'll move to the melody, build memory...
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Simple Chordal Harmony
Practice makes perfect, especially when playing a musical instrument. This lesson examines simple chordal harmony, melody, and playing with accompaniment. Learners listen to a series of songs that exemplify the concept then play a...
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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,...
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General Music: Grades 4 & 5
The story behind the Star Spangled Banner sets off this singing and music lesson plan. Emergent singers study facts about Francis Scott Key and his famous song, they then discuss and practice singing the first verse paying close...
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Music of Japan
My, how Japan has changed! From Hogaku to karaoke, this slide show provides an overview of the culture, instruments, and periods of transition through Japanese music. Here you will find 21 text-rich slides which are great for note taking.
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Classical Period: Understanding Four-Bar Sequences
Her is an interesting topic, as well as a great way to teach it! You'll find two worksheets on this link, one for the teacher, and one for the learner. Worksheet one describes how classical composers used musical repetition to make their...
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Music and Animation: 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons
Music has been used to convey thoughts, feelings, and the human condition for thousands of years. Your class will analyze several songs hear in the animated classic, "Charlie Brown." They will listen to several jazz pieces from the show,...
Curated OER
Learning How to Sing Rounds
Learn about rounding by reciting songs alongside classmates, discovering the difference between singing together and singing in canon. In this musical lesson, students discover what a "round" is and the melodic effect it can have on a...
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Upward and Downward Motion of Melody
First graders explore the notion of upward and downward melody motion. They hum, sing, and listen as the melody moves up and down. To show what they know, they put their thumbs up or down as the melody shifts.
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Hello Girls
Ninth grade girls get together to sing the song Hello Girls. They warm up with common voice exercises then work to maintain melody, harmony, pitch and tone.
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The National Anthem Project: Notating "The Star-Spangled Banner" (Middle Level Strings).
Pupils hear a melody, play in their instruments and write it down on manuscript paper. They correct their melody and play from their own manuscript paper. Students continue this procedure at least once a week.
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Melody: A Very Important Element of Music
As part of an exploration of music, this clear and simple presentation could be a useful tool. It could be used in a music class or in a regular classroom as part of a discussion of the topic. Some of the topics defined include notes and...
Curated OER
Melody: A Very Important Element of Music
Notes, lines, and spaces are the theme of this presentation. This is a basic lesson on music elements. As a first foray into music, this would be adequate, but it could be enhanced with additional information if so desired.
Curated OER
Rewording Nursery Rhymes
Third graders write a song. In this melody instructional activity, 3rd graders discuss their favorite nursery rhymes. Students sing two songs and compare their melodies. Students use the melody of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to write...
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Chinese New Year Song and Dance
Students identify phrases within a song. In this Chinese New Year lesson students listen to a story about Chinese New Year and "Song of the Dragon". Students each write a phrase from the song on a slip of paper and as a class put the...
Curated OER
Melodies and Math: Creating Music with Non-Traditional Instruments
Review the 4/4 and 2/4 time signatures in music with a helpful music theory lesson plan. Young musicians experiment with electronic sounds and create their own musical performance using instruments made from materials found in the...
Curated OER
Composing Your Own Melody
Get the songwriters in your class started early with an engaging music composition activity. After experimenting with an existing melody, class members improvise in a given range of notes and create their own melodies.