Curated OER
Music in the Common Schools
Students sing songs from the common schools era and compare music from the common schools era and today. In this music lesson plan, students look at pictures, fill out Venn Diagrams, and listen to music.
Curated OER
The History of Rock and Roll: Part 6 - My Generation Social an Cultural Influence on Music Composition
Students examine influences on the creation and development of music.
Curated OER
Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, The Minstrels
Students explore "Stairway to Heaven". In this music history lesson, students examine the music and lyrics of the Led Zeppelin song. Students compare the song to Renaissance madrigal music.
Curated OER
History of Christmas Carols
Students write the lyrics to their own Christmas carol. Through discussion and lecture, students become aware of the history of two Christmas carols. They memorize the lyrics to carols and perform them in class. Students use their...
Curated OER
Jazz Talk
Middle schoolers analyze the origins of jazz music by examining work songs, spirituals, blues, and gospel songs as well as works of poetry from African American artists. They create their own poems from either the narrative, dramatic,...
Curated OER
Grouping Musical Instruments
Students study about musical instruments and group them into these categories: percussion, strings, woodwinds, and brass. After discussing these instruments, they independently complete the worksheet.
Curated OER
I Went to the Crossroads: The Faust Theme in Music, Film and Literature
Pupils analyze song lyrics and discuss Faust theme in musical history. In this thematic lesson, students view a film clip and create a song lyric, poem or short story developed around the Faust theme. Pupils perform or present their...
Education World
A Walk Through The 20th Century
Learners review the people, places, and events of a particular decade of the 20th Century. They write a report about that decade and create a booth of memorabilia, music, dress, pictures and other artifacts representing the time period.
Curated OER
Billie Holiday's Song "Strange Fruit"
Pupils analyze a variety of primary source materials related to lynching (news articles, letters written to or written by prominent Americans, pamphlets, broadsides, etc.) in order to assess the effectiveness of the anti-lynching...
Friends of Fort McHenry
Sensory “Star Spangled Banner”
Music can help us to access memories and events in a meaningful way, and Francis Scott Key used specific words to convey what he had seen and felt when writing what would become America's national anthem. Help your class connect to the...
Curated OER
Civil War Music - Irish Folk Songs
Students determine what it was like to serve as an Irish-American in the American Civil War. In this Irish folk song lesson, students use the provided worksheets to analyze selected Irish folk songs and make inferences about war...
Curated OER
The Sound of Music and Passage to Freedom
Seventh graders examine music examples to investigate a conflict in history about Hitler's invasions during WWII. In this music analysis lesson, 7th graders discuss vocabulary and the history for the Holocaust and Hitler's invasions....
Curated OER
Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum
High schoolers explore the American dream. In this contemporary music lesson, students analyze the lyrics of songs by Neil Diamond, Bruce Springsteen, and David Massengill. High schoolers create 3-D representations of the American dream...
Curated OER
Music, Culture and War
Students see that music serves as a major conduit for the transport of knowledge. As they watch video, students tabulate the variety of music artists listed by different soldiers.
Curated OER
An Ancient Greek and Roman Festival
Third graders label a map of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations and do a written report on one element of these two cultures. They participate in discussions of food, farming, daily life and government (among others). Students use the...
Curated OER
Women's History
Students research famous women in history. In this Women's History month instructional activity, students choose one historical woman to research and use biographies and websites to gather information. Students complete an included...
Curated OER
Harriet Tubman
Students sing the song "Harriet Tubman" by Walter Robinson. In this African-American history lesson, students review code words that were used during the slave trade and listen to the song "Harriet Tubman". Students create movements to...
Curated OER
Call and Response Singing
Students investigate call and response singing. In this fine arts and U.S. history lesson, students listen to several call and response songs that were sung by African-American slaves during the period before the Civil War. Students...
Curated OER
Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music In America Music In America
Students study early New Orleans Jazz music and recognize Louis Armstrong as an early jazz artist. They recognize the elements and roots of Jazz.
PBS
Breaking the Code: Actions and Songs of Protest
Ezell Blair, Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil changed history. Their sit-in at the lunch counter of the Woolworths in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960 became a model for the nonviolent protests that...
Museum of Tolerance
Cultural Research Activity
Class members explore cultural diversity through a variety of texts that showcase the importance of traditions. Then, they interview their family members to research their own cultural background and write their findings on quilt pieces....
Curated OER
"I Hear America Singing": Controversy and Music in the Mexican War
Eighth graders examine the Mexican War and its outcome through music. In this primary source analysis instructional activity, 8th graders analyze the lyrics of selected songs to consider the 2 perspectives regarding U.S. involvement in...
Curated OER
True Music
Eleventh graders research a given decade in US History. In this American History lesson, 11th graders interview a person who lived during the decade to gain a personal perspective on it. Students rehearse and present their composition.
Curated OER
Poetry through Jazz, Rap, and Hip Hop
Students explore poetry through jazz, rap, and hip hop music. They discover the common threads that run through the poetry and music. Students design their own lyrics to a jazz, rap, or hip hop selection and share their songs with the...