Curated OER
Using Words to Work Things Out
Students explore appropriate ways to communicate feelings. In this character development lesson, students listen to Hands are not for Hitting and several other books about expressing emotions appropriately. Students observe puppet...
Curated OER
Storymaking Through Pantomime
Students explore performing arts by participating in a role-play activity. In this storytelling instructional activity, students utilize their physical expressions to particpate in a pantomime performance. Students evaluate performances...
Curated OER
Swirls and Smilies
Students listen to a variety of poetry and music that depicts emotions or feelings. As a class, they brainstorm a list of words that they use to show their feelings. To end the instructional activity, they listen to one song individually...
Teaching Tolerance
Artistic Expression Showcase
No one is too young to create a masterpiece. Elementary artists delve into the topic of social justice with original artwork. Scholars keep journals to reflect on their experiences before putting paintbrush to paper. Final artwork is...
Novelinks
Zach’s Lie: Guided Imagery
Close your eyes and picture a time where you decided to tell the truth to someone. What were you wearing? How did you feel? Such prompts begin a guided imagery activity for Zach's Lie. Directions for creating an environment conducive to...
Curated OER
Mysterious Music
Eighth graders investigate how to compose music for a detective program. The goal is for them to discover the method needed. The idea was simple, they were told to compose the music with emotional tension that climaxed and then relaxed...
Curated OER
Puppet Frogs
Learners identify the elements of line, shape, and color and expressive qualities of pictorial representation. Students create their own puppet frog using emotion and perform in a reader's theater. Learners listen to various pieces of...
Curated OER
Crawford Grill: Opening the Doors of Opportunity
Analyze the role the Crawford Grill played in the history of Jazz music. Budding historians research interviews and video clips to learn about the Crawford Grill in Pennsylvania and black music history. The lesson culminates when...
Curated OER
Rockin’ the World: Rock and Roll and Social Protest in 20th Century America
Students explore protest songs. In this interdisciplinary lesson, students examine issues-based music by summarizing lyrics and revealing inferences, generalizations, conclusions, and points of view found in the songs.
Curated OER
Story-Hour Kit
Students explore four picture books. In this early childhood lesson, students are read the books, discuss them, and then complete extension activities. These include writing and illustrating their own experiences, practice with emotions,...
Curated OER
My Many Colored Days
Students explore feelings. In this mental health cross-curriculum lesson, students listen to My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss and discuss their own moods and feelings. Students sing related songs, write about feelings, and play a...
Curated OER
Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey
Twelfth graders read lyrics for "My Hometown" and complete a worksheet to identify setting and tone in the song. In this Romanticism lesson, 12th graders read Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey by Wordsworth and discuss the...
Curated OER
Lesson 2 - Music: A Uniting Force?
Students gain an understanding of the role music plays during a crisis such as wartime. They discuss emotions associated with war and how music connects with these feelings.
Curated OER
Save the Music Concert: Part 2 Composition
Students examine why music is considered to be the "universal language" and study the expressive quality of a musical performance. They compose a melody using a computer and software which they perform on an instrument.
Curated OER
Musical Freeze Improvisions
Students are introduced to the process of creating story from movement through improvisation and invention. When the music is playing, they move. When the music stops, the students freeze. A discussion on the role that music plays in the...
Curated OER
Listen to Music
Young scholars listen to, analyze, and describe music. They identify examples of music forms including such as motive phhrase, 4-bar phrase,
canon, and rondo. In addition, they perform a dance called a partner mixer and model the pattern...
Curated OER
Music to My Ears - Figures of Speech and Stylistic Devices
Students know the meaning of a given list of figures of speech and stylistic devices. They identify examples of these terms in the music and songs with which they are familiar. They examine how to apply the knowledge of these terms to...
US Department of Health and Human Services
Learning Something New: How Does It Feel?
Use song and dance to help your youngsters identify their feelings and embrace learning. Starting with a brainstorming activity, class members talk about learning new things and how this made them feel. After listing to the song, and...
Curated OER
Haring Inspired CD Covers
Young scholars create CD covers from their music-inspired drawing sessions. They compare what they drew while listening to classical, punk and rap music. They scan their drawings into Adobe Photoshop and design their cover.
Curated OER
Dance: Personal Soundtracks
Students create a musical autobiography. For this fine arts lesson, students explore the emotions that music can express by listening to and discussing a variety of music. Students construct a personal timeline and a collection of music...
Curated OER
Storytellers: Bruce Springsteen
Students study rock and roll with the music of Bruce Springsteen.
Curated OER
Rhythmic Expression
Learners discover movement and expression to music/sound through a series of teacher-led exercises and role plays. This lesson is ideal for the middle school drama class with possibilities for adaptation to any level of drama or general...
Curated OER
Introduction to Poetry Part I-- The Three Pillars of Poetry
In these poetry writing worksheets, students learn the power of words and the ability of the poet to say a great deal with a few well-chosen words. Students learn the 3 pillars of poetry: Emotion (makes you feel something), Image (makes...
Curated OER
Storytellers: Bruce Springsteen
Students use the music of Bruce Springsteen to learn literature techniques.