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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Theater Arts/Creative Movement Lesson Plan

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Here is a series of five exercises intended to bring movement, dance, and theater into the classroom. Intended for special ed classes, but appropriate for any grade, learners will pantomime, play pretend, dance, move, and create...
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

African American Music: Let’s Sing and Play Clapping Games

For Teachers K - 2nd
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. 
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Lesson Plan
Northern Nevada Council for the Social Studies

What Are the Origins and Influences of Rap Music?

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Considered an American art form, rap has its roots in places from Jamaica to the Bronx. Using a series of readings, comprehension questions, and videos, scholars explore the history of rap and its connections to the African diaspora....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Kindergarten Music Lesson

For Teachers K
Singing, clapping, moving up and down with the melody, it all sounds like a great music lesson. Kinder-musicians sing three different songs to practice memory, speaking, and movement skills. They'll move to the melody, build memory with...
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Jamaican Song, Dance, and Play: Experiences with Jamaican Musical Traditions

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young musicians experience song, dance, and play of the Jamaican culture. Scholars listen for and recreate beats, they play tunes, make up original dances, and play a game that challenges pupils to pass stones to a specific beat.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Butterflies Fly!

For Teachers 3rd
Chopin was a lovely composer who played the piano masterfully. Third graders are introduced to Chopin, his piano sounds, triple meter, music patterns, movement, and the waltz. They listen to his music while hearing the story Butterflies...
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Activity
Curated OER

Musical Activities for Early Childhood Inclusion

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st Standards
Get your movers and shakers grooving to the beat with this series of musical activities designed to meet everyone's needs! Ten games, using an assortment of instruments, bring awareness to one's body, brain, and social interactions in a...
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Lesson Plan
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Center for Civic Education

The Power of Nonviolence: Music Can Change the World

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Here is a fantastic activity through which class members discover how music has the ability to influence others in a meaningful way. After reviewing selected pieces and modern-day protest songs, learners will research other songs that...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mexican Culture “La Raspa”

For Teachers 1st
Here are three lessons that work together to engage learners in a cultural and musical exploration. In lesson one the listen to the Mexican folk song, "La Raspa" and discuss cultural context. In lesson two they dance along to both "La...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson: Urs Fischer: Reviving the Past Art Movements

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Seven major abstract art movements are analyzed by learners in groups. Each group analyzes various works by determining which work belongs to which movement. They then read Flatland, engage in an art and literary analysis discussion,...
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Printables
Jolly Learning Ltd

Jolly Music Posters

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Perfect for music class or a dance lesson, these Jolly Music posters are charming for young learners of any age. They each feature a children's song with applicable illustrations and motion, prompting your young musicians to move to the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Harmonic Vision’s Music Ace Software to Reinforce Basic Music Skills

For Teachers K
If you have access to Harmonic Vision’s Music Ace Software, then this instructional activity could work for you. Kindergarteners use the video music software to place, identify, and read musical notes. They listen in and identify both...
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Unit Plan
Washington University in St. Louis

Teaching Jazz as American Culture

For Students 6th - 12th
Jazz and the City, Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement, Jazz and Gender, Jazz and Literature, Jazz and the Arts, Jazz and Film. Here's a packet of unit plans organized around themes that reflect American culture. Each unit examines how...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What A Feeling ... Just Dance!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Hopefully your students have had some introduction already to dance movement before you do this instructional activity. If they have, then giving them ribbons and instructing them to make up a little routine should be a fun activity....
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Lesson Plan
PBS

The Sixties: Hitsville USA

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
James Jamerson. You probably heard him but may not have heard of him. But fans of Motown Records will certainly recognize his contributions to the sound that desegregated popular music during the 1960s. Challenge young history detectives...
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Egalitarian America

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
What does a true American represent? Scholars investigate the equal rights era of the 1960s and 1970s in the 20th installment of a 22-part series on American history. Using photographic, magazine, written, and video evidence, groups...
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Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Songs of Protest: Seneca Falls to Vietnam

For Teachers 8th - Higher Ed Standards
Long before the songs of the 1960's Peace Movement, long before the songs of the Civil Rights Movement, and even before the songs of the Abolition Movement, were the songs of the Suffrage Movement. To understand the power of protest...
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Lesson Plan
Lauren Kitchin

Singing in the Classroom

For Teachers K - 6th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dance: Discovering the Culture of Gullah

For Teachers 5th - 7th
It's wonderful to see a lesson that incorporates art, movement, and writing. These three forms of creative expression are explored as learners dance to music from the Gullah people of West Africa. They analyze several paintings, listen...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mirror Exercise

For Teachers K - 6th
Kids get up and act! To promote inventiveness, timing, and clowning, they pair up and act as though they are looking in a mirror. Child A does a move while child B attempts to mimic it as closely as possible. This is a fun activity that...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dance Sequences and Phrases

For Teachers 8th - 12th
A series of lessons about dance would be a great addition to your physical education class. Straightforward as well as creative, it teaches the basic skills of dance movement. A rubric helps guide the dancers to let them know what steps...
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Unit Plan
General Motors Corporation

Jazz

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Over the history of the world, music has been at the heart of some of the greatest social and political movements. Scholars discover their musical roots as they dive into the sounds and emotions of renowned jazz players. They see how...
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Unit Plan
Jazz Academy

Let Freedom Swing

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Three lessons in the Let Freedom Swing concert tour resource guide packed with information, materials, and activities that provide the context for any study of American history.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Yellow Bird and Me

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Upper elementary artists create works which demonstrate an understanding of the many elements of theater and the visual arts. This four-day plan combines many wonderful aspects of visual, musical, and theatrical arts into one very...