Curated OER
Rhythm Jam
Groups create, memorize, and perform for the class a 4 beats per measure rhythm pattern using percussion instruments including xylophones, rhythm sticks, and drums. The pattern is recorded on the worksheet provided in the resource.
T. Smith Publishing
Percussion Instruments
Xylophone, drum, cymbals, tambourine, bell. Introduce kindergarten and primary schoolers to percussion by asking them to trace the names of five percussion instruments.
Jolly Learning Ltd
Jolly Phonics Actions
A fun activity from Jolly Phonics is a great way to teach kids about the alphabet and blended sounds. The activity prompts kids to move and make sounds according to the letters, such as puffing out candles for the letter P, or playing a...
Curated OER
Native American Song and Dance
Students examine the importance of the drum and drumming in the cultural context of the Native American. Musical insturments and native dance is employed to support the focus of the lesson.
Curated OER
The Percussion Family
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...
Curated OER
Illustration # 1: Source of Illustration
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.
Curated OER
Introduction to African Culture Through Music & Dance
Students explore various elements in West African Culture through the medium of a traditional music and dance from Ghana. They take an imaginary tour of a village dance-drumming event in West Africa.
Curated OER
Light, Sound and Energy
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...
Curated OER
Kye Kye Kule
Third graders study the repeating patterns and basic dance movements used in traditional African drumming songs. In groups, they create a story that can be used with a ritual/tradition and a rhythmic piece that uses repeating rhythmic...
Curated OER
African Drums and Culture
Sixth graders identify and research several African drums. They use interdisciplinary skills to build a model of an African drum, write a research paper and demonstrate its use in context. Students present information about one of the...
Curated OER
Counting Three, Drums
In this math activity, students count the three drums. A large number three is in the center of the page. Three drums are pictured under the number. Students may color the drums after they count them.
Curated OER
Baga Drum
Students examine a Baga Drum in order to explore the history of the Baga people of West Africa. In this art history lesson, students recognize figures used in Baga Drum design that represent aspects of Baga culture. They also design and...
Curated OER
Exploring Instruments
Orchestral instruments are the focus of this introductory presentation. Learners identify individual instruments on slide two and then read about the characteristics of six other instruments typically used in orchestral pieces.
PBS
Supernatural Shakespeare and Macbeth
"A drum, a drum! Macbeth doth come." The withered and wild witches of Shakespeare’s Scottish play launch an examination of the fantastical elements in Act I, scene iii, paying particular attention to the action, imagery,...
Amani Project
Harmony Break! Mood Shifting
The fifth activity in the Amani Project series, another Harmony Break, has participants demonstrate a mood shift. They begin by drumming in a way that indicates their current feelings. They then model a change in mood by transitioning...
Anti-Defamation League
Challenging Gender Role Stereotypes
Through thoughtful discussion and a read-aloud, scholars challenge gender role stereotypes. Pupils examine pictures and collaborate with their small groups to debunk stereotypes. They explain what gender role stereotypes they know of and...
DocsTeach
Cultural Diplomacy and the Smith-Mundt Act
During the Cold War, the United States used everything from bookmobiles to radio stations to improve its image globally. Using documents from the programs, including photographs and official memos, individuals consider how the United...
Curated OER
Using Garage Band to Enhance 2nd Grade Composition
Your second graders can become composers with a little help from the Garage Band software. You pre-select several drum, piano, and guitar loops for the groups to choose from, then they put them together following an ABA looping pattern....
Curated OER
Lesson: The Power of Music
The sounds of the past echo through art and our social understanding. Will the sounds of today echo into the future? Learners discuss the cultural and social impact of music, then analyze the art on an African Drum. They develop...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Fuzzy Wuzzy
You don't need drums to play percussion; you can use your own body. Second graders use body percussion to make four-beat rhythms and play patterned clapping games. When they are finished they discuss beats, patterns, rhythm, and rhyme.
Google
Futuristic Communication Project
Conversations around the fire, smoke signals, drums. Books, letters, newspapers. Telegraph, radio, television. Telephones, cell phones, the Internet, Twitter, Pinterest. These developments in communication devices, which we take for...
Science Friday
Make a Model Eardrum to Detect Sound Waves
Make sound waves visible with an experiment that asks middle schoolers to build a model ear drum using plastic bottles, rubber bands, plastic wrap, and sand-like substances.
Classics for Kids
"Mars" from The Planets
Gustav Holst's The Planets provide young musicians an opportunity to examine how composers can create a suite: a collection of smaller pieces grouped to explore a single topic. After listening to "Jupiter," they examine "Mars" in detail,...
Smithsonian Institution
Affirmation, Assimilation, and Acculturation: Middle School
Latin American culture is deeply embedded in American culture as a whole. From the Latin rock scene in San Francisco to the hip-hop world of New York, Latin American artists have influenced every genre of modern music. Learn about the...