Curated OER
Words and Music - Lesson 2
High schoolers analyze the relationships among cultural values, freedom of artistic expression, ethics, and artistic choices in various cultures and historical periods.
National First Ladies' Library
Hey, Hey, It's the Beatles!
Young scholars study the Beatles and the contributions their music made to much of the pop music that came afterward. They synthesize complex information and the skills of "compare and contrast" in writing. They research some aspect of...
Curated OER
How Poets Evoke Social and Historical Representations
Students explore how poems represent the social, historical, and cultural times that they were written in. In this poetry lesson plan, students compare and contrast poems with music of the time and explore implications of writing poems...
Curated OER
Teach Your Parents Well
Young scholars compare various aspects of their lives with those of their parents or guardians to find out how they are different, and consider cultural gap between parents and their children by reading and discussing article, "??omg my...
Curated OER
Portrait of a Year
Students design a montage of digital images about a specific year. In this digital image research activity, students choose a specific year in history that they would like to investigate. They search the Internet for images of things...
Curated OER
Caribbean Music: National Dances
In this Caribbean national dance songs worksheet, students read information pertaining to the merengue, the calypso, and the mento. Students then respond to 12 short answer questions regarding the dances.
Curated OER
Conveying Message Through Musical Composition
Students listen to and discuss various protest songs from the 1960's, and write original lyrics for a song addressing global or societal issues. They write a paragraph evaluating the efficacy of the song to convey a message.
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Performing Arts
The classical arts have made a lasting impact on our society and your advanced learners get to find out why. The activity starts as the children create a list of the arts found in society, they discuss how these art forms impact their...
Curated OER
VH1 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons
Pupils compare two versions of a song by two different artists and define "covering." students examine the longevity of recording artists.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Arabic Poetry: Guzzle a Ghazal!
Young scholars research the evolution and cultural significance of the Arabic ghazal form of poetry. They, in groups, compose an original ghazal poem and read it aloud to the class.
Curated OER
Re-Name That Tune: A Vocabulary Activity
Students build vocabulary skills by rewriting the names of some popular holiday songs, and create a fun "Holiday Tune" bulletin board display.
Curated OER
Using Wikis in the Classroom
Learners write a review of a music video. They discuss the review online about the music video. Students create a fan's webpage featuring artist news and biographical information. They discuss what types of music they like listening to,...
Curated OER
The Aerial Age
Learners infer America's attitude towards aviation in the early 1900s. In this The Aerial Age lesson plan, students analyze early 1900s literature, music, advertisements, and popular culture in reference to aviation. Learners represent...
Curated OER
Man in Conflict - Vietnam and Literature
Eleventh graders analyze the lyrics of protest music. In this Vietnam War instructional activity, 11th graders examine conflict as they consider the controversial nature of the war as evidenced in song lyrics. Students also consider the...
Curated OER
Being in the Noh: An Introduction to Japanese Noh Plays
Students analyze the conventions used in Noh plays and write an introduction to a Noh play of their own. In this Noh play lesson, students identify the conventions of the Noh form and analyze the realizations the main character achieves....
San Francisco Symphony
Dear Mr. Copland and Mr. Ellington
After a teacher-led demonstration on the lives and music of Aaron Copland and Duke Ellington, learners write a letter to them which shows their understanding of how a person's life experiences can be reflected in a composer's music. They...
Curated OER
Jazz In America
Young scholars gain a fundamental understanding of the role of jazz in the Harlem Renaissance. They explain its historical significance and cultural implications.
Curated OER
Jazz in America Lesson Plan 7
The student will explore free jazz, fusion, and contemporary jazz. They will listen to avant garde, fusion, and pop recordings. In addition, they participate in a class discussion regarding jazz's contribution to and reflection of...
American Museum of Natural History
What's This? Gold
Cell phones are likely made of gold—at least part of them! An interesting lesson explains the conventional and not-so-conventional uses of the popular element gold. From the Inca empire to modern-day technology, learners discover gold...
Curated OER
Songs that Bring Us Together - Lesson 5
Students compose song as a classroom effort. They write a one-paragraph essay about "message" songs in 100 years and include three ideas for topics along with the style of music (such as folk, rock, blues, rap, etc.) that would match.
Curated OER
VH1 Presents the 1980s - Lesson 3
Students identify different genres of music popular in the 1980s. They study musicians of the 1980s examples of the songs that they made popular. They utilize a worksheet imbedded in this plan to categorize the music.
Curated OER
A Song for Every Headline - Lesson 1
Students identify popular songs from 1968 and make connections with the year's current events They recognize popular music as a reflection of the culture. They focus on songs of the Vietnam War era.
Curated OER
Songs from Two Generations - Lesson 2
Students identify popular songs from 1968 era and analyze some of the topical and musical elements. They focus on social protest songs and other songs of social conscious.
Curated OER
A Song for Today - Lesson 3
High schoolers analyze musical and topical elements in popular songs and compose song as a classroom effort. They write a short paragraph evaluating the effectiveness of the song in conveying the message of the lyrics.