Curated OER
Signin' the Blues with Rock, Rap 'n Roll
Sixth graders listen to recordings and study jazz and the blues music. They identify the instrumentation and explore the 12-bar blues progression. After experimenting with different sound, 6th graders create their own arrangement, with...
Curated OER
Heart Healthy Food Musical Chairs
Learners participate in a game of musical chairs that discusses heart health. In this health lesson plan, students walk around a group of chairs and when the music stops they sit down. Some chairs will have index cards with a picture of...
Curated OER
Letter Sound Accuracy, Musical Chairs
Students explore word structure by participating in a game of musical chairs. In this phonics lesson, students discuss the letters of the alphabet and identify words that begin with each letter and the sounds they make. Students...
National First Ladies' Library
Ragtime: The First "American" Music?
Learners investigate the concept of ragtime music and the times associated with it in American history. They conduct research using a variety of resources and listen to a sample before writing down some of the results of the information...
Curated OER
Musical Chair Review
Students play a simple game designed to reinforce letter names, sounds or sight words. They walk in a circle as music plays, and stop in front of a chair when the music stops. Each chair has a letter or sight word that the child must...
Curated OER
Musical Tapestry
Students explore the terms and structure of a bluegrass tune. They participate in a listening exercise that will challenge them to identify specific elements within a bluegrass musical arrangement.
Curated OER
Cover the Music
Students explore U.S. history by listening to musical pieces in class. In this Civil War era lesson, students discuss the types of musical instruments that were available to soldiers during the war and the themes of their songs. Students...
Curated OER
Performance into Art
Learners explore two works of art of performance art. In this performance art lesson, students analyze performance art in the examples of Yves Klein and Joseph Beuys. Learners complete image based discussion activities. Students research...
Curated OER
"Music Be the Food Of Love": Found Poetry with Shakespeare and Hip Hop
Students create found poetry using lines from hip hop songs and Shakespeare's plays. They try to rewrite the words to music so that more people can explain Shakespeare's plays. They discuss the results of the activity.
John F. Kennedy Center
Jazz music, Dance and Poetry
Learners view video and become familiar with the type of movement in jazz dance. In this jazz dance lesson, students write a cinquain about jazz dance. Learners recognize the elements of jazz dance and the type of music associated with...
Curated OER
Shaker Band
Students shake up some lively music. In this early childhood music and art lesson, students use a variety of materials to make shakers that will acquaint them with different rhythms and enhance their sensory awareness.
Curated OER
Counterpoint Activities: Listening and Discussion
Students assess whether or not a piece of music is contrapuntal. In this music education lesson, students listen to various pieces of music and identify whether the music is contrapuntal or not contrapuntal.
Curated OER
Chance Art: Pollock, Cage and Cunningham
Students clearly identify commonalities and differences between dance and other disciplines with regard to fundamental concepts such as materials, elements, and ways of communicating meaning.
Curated OER
Basketball Notes
Students add the value of various musical notes to win a chance to shoot a basketball. They compete in teams and consider the values of quarter, half and whole notes to complete related math problems.
Curated OER
Woody Guthrie: Life and Art
Woody Guthrie will capture the imagination of even your most reluctant learners. Using his work, your class will develop their skills in non-fiction reading comprehension, interpreting primary source material, and use of multiple forms...
Curated OER
Arts Impact and Math
Third graders incorporate math into dancing. In this algebra lesson, 3rd graders identify different shapes and patterns using dance movements. They relate the different creations to polygons as they incorporate the use of stretchy bands...
Curated OER
Carnival of the Animals and Aquarium and Magic Fish
Engage little learners in this moderately developed three-lesson unit on the composer Camille Saint-Saens and his piece "The Carnival of Animals." Each lesson includes a listening, discussion, and an art project to engage your class in...
Curated OER
Monsters
Do monsters really exist? Find out what your class thinks with these discussion questions prior to reading Beowulf. Incorporate music and a video clip into the anticipatory set to engage your learners. Take a day to search online for...
Curated OER
MTV and Othello
After reading Acts III and IV of Othello, give your class a fun, interactive, music-related activity. Begin by asking students about songs they have heard in movies or plays. Let them look up the lyrics online and ruminate about the...
Curated OER
Pop Tops
Get your class primed for a comparative analysis lesson with this activity. They compare and contrast their music preferences to those of their classmates. After reading an article, they identify current trends in popular music, analyze...
Curated OER
Poets Got Them Blues
Contemplate what music learners listen to and why they listen. Can they find poetry within music lyrics? Specifically hone in on blues lyrics and ruminate upon the social issues prevalent in the themes. Particular song lyrics coincide...
The Kennedy Center
Fairy Tale Variations
Here are two great lessons that work together and are inspired by the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods. Young writers and actors will retell the story of "The Frog Prince" through games, improvisational script writing, and song....
Curated OER
Covering the Issue
Examine how art and music can be powerful tools for conveying a political or social message. After considering the issues surrounding rapper Paris, students design their own album covers that reflect their political and/or social...
Curated OER
Oh, I Believe in Yesterday
Who is Aimee Mann? Read the New York Times article "P.S. I Loved You," included here, and have your readers answer a series of reading comprehension questions. Afterward, encourage your class to brainstorm ways in which they were...