Curated OER
Lesson Plan: Musical Myths
Create musical myths in this West African tales lesson. Middle schoolers read myths from African Myths and Legends as well as West African Trickster Tales. They note when music could be used to enhance the tales, and then write their own...
Canada's National Arts Center
Vivaldi and The Four Seasons
Did you know that Vivaldi’s orchestra was largely made up of girls from an orphanage? Fun facts like this fill a 34-page teacher's kit designed to accompany a cross-curricular study of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons.
Curated OER
If Paintings Could Talk: Art and Language
Middle schoolers learn about the artist Canaletto, play a vocabulary game, and create a landscape using collage technique. Background information on the artist is provided along with instructions for the game and vocabulary words to...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Color Moods
Can art be a mode of communication? You bet it can! Learners explore how colors are used to convey mood in art. First, the class listens to three very unique musical selections that convey three different moods. Then, they compare and...
Curated OER
Jazz in America
Young scholars participate in a class discussion about jazz music, compare improvisation with regular conversion, listen to various jazz musicians and compare and contrast their individual sounds.
Curated OER
The Virtuoso Phenomenon
After reading the New York Times article "Virtuosos Becoming a Dime a Dozen," learners answer eight who, what, when, where, and why questions. They post their answers on the New York Times Education Blog. A fun way to get learners...
Classics for Kids
Composers and Their Countries
How many of the world's greatest composers were born in Austria? Or Germany? Or the United States? An interactive map provides young musicians with information about prominent composers in the last few centuries, as well as the periods...
Curated OER
The Magic Opera
Introduce your young learners to opera by dressing up as Mozart and recounting some of the fascinating details of his life and music. After exploring the Metropolitan Opera's site for kids, the class listens to a reading of Kyra...
Trinity University Digital Commons
Romanticism: Past and Present
With its focus on nature, individualism, imagination, and rejection of traditional authority, Romanticism has great appeal to young high schoolers. After examining classic paintings and poems as well as current works, class members...
Simon & Schuster
Les Miserables Classroom Activities
Modern readers apply classic themes to Victor Hugo's masterpiece, Les Miserables. After they discuss tricky vocabulary and plot elements from the novel, class members compare Hugo's written work to a stage or film adaptation of the musical.
Curated OER
VH1 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons Lesson 1
Students study the affect of a theme song can have on a show or performer. They compare and contrast an original television theme song with classical music.
Curated OER
200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons
Students watch Bugs Bunny cartoons, discuss the role of classical music in them, create musical parodies, and discuss Bugs Bunny as a Pop Icon.
Curated OER
Joe Trio
In this music worksheet, students answer 6 questions about classical music and do one piano keyboard labeling activity. Student watch a Canadian show in order to answer the questions.
Curated OER
A Picture's Worth a Thousand Notes
Students listen to classical music and create a listening map for each piece. In this classical music lesson, students select a piece of classical music and create a visual map for the piece. Students set their pictures to music in a...
Classics for Kids
Instrumental Sounds
What sound does a piccolo make? What's the difference between a violin and viola? What family does a timpani belong to? Take a tour through the different sections of an orchestra with an interactive reference tool.
Canada's National Arts Center
Vivaldi and The Four Seasons: Teacher Resource Kit
Did you know that Vivaldi wrote "Winter," the final concerto of his The Four Seasons, in the key of F minor to echo the sleigh ride pieces popular at the time? A teacher resource kit, designed to support a study of the work, is packed...
Curated OER
American Music Styles: European Roots and African Influences - Lesson 3
Students describe some of the characteristics of country and blues music. They see how country music rose to a nationally known music style. They write a two-paragraph essay on what they think country music be like in the next 100 years.
Curated OER
Indian Music
In this music worksheet, students complete 10 sentences about Indian music. Students also research different Indian instruments and write an explanation for each.
Curated OER
The Poetics of Hip Hop
The Bard, Nikki Giovanni, Mos Def? “Sonnet 18,” Ego Tripping,” and “Black on Both Sides”? Sure! It’s the poetics. Class members compare the lyrics, rhythm, and rhyme in classic poetry to hip-hop in a richly detailed resource that...
Curated OER
iPoetry: Modern Interpretation of Classic Poetry
Students interpret a piece of poetry with images and music in a movie project.
Curated OER
Classical Music
Students explore the history of music written during the classical era. They compare the melodic contours of specific thematic music, identifying the trills, slurs and articulations. As a class, students discus the characteristics of...
Curated OER
Music Makers
Young scholars explore distinct styles that have characterized famous musicians and conductors. By studying one musician or conductor in-depth, students become experts on this person's musical style and are given the opportunity to share.
Fun Music Company
Working Out the Key
"Gimme an E minor!" Or any key for that matter. But how do you figure out the key of a piece of music? Here's a worksheet that shows young musicians three easy steps to help them identify the key of a piece of music.
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
West Side Story Suite and In The Night Fancy Free
West Side Story and Romeo & Juliet—two classics in their own rights that help young literature lovers better analyze different works. Learners research and compare the characters and story elements of West Side Story and Romeo &...