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...
Curated OER
Mixing it up with Romeo and Juliet
Students create a soundtrack for Romeo and Juliet choosing one song to represent each scene. They write a paragraph explaining their song choices.
Curated OER
The Electric Hearth
Students examine popular media. In this media awareness lesson, students keep logs of their interactions with media and then write an essay regarding the data.
Curated OER
"I" On Philanthropy
Students read children's literature and listen to song lyrics to identify acts of philanthropy. They discuss how one's identity can be shaped by helping others. They also focus on the non-profit sector.
Curated OER
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Students explore the origins of a traditional Christmas song. They adapt historic lyrics to have meaning in their lives today and fabricate, write, and illustrate an accordion book or card. They compare this song to the words of other...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Strange Fruit: Lynching in America
To continue their study of the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the beginning of the civil rights movement, class members watch the YouTube video of Billie Holiday singing "Strange Fruit" as an introduction to an examination of...
Curated OER
Slide-Tape Dramatization as a Way of Teaching Literature
Students select one song and write the lyrics on the blackboard. They segment the lyrics into meaningful phrases or sentences and visualize each unit of meaning to convey the message of the song. They select a different song and act out...
Curated OER
Centennial: Utah We Love Thee
Fourth graders discuss how music can inspire emotion and are introduced to Utah's state song, "Utah, We Love Thee". They discuss the song and then compare and contrast other songs about Utah. They create original lyrics about Utah.
Curated OER
Storytellers: Pearl Jam, Lesson 1
Students examine the meaning of genre, and specifically investigate the musical genre of grunge. They view and discuss photos, watch the video, "VH1 Storytellers: Pearl Jam," answer discussion questions, and paraphrase the lyrics to a...
Curated OER
Storytellers: Bruce Springsteen
Students use the correct music terminology to evaluate a performance, composition, and arrangement of the song "Blinded by the Light" by Bruce Springsteen and compare it to another version recorded by Manfred Man.
Curated OER
Early Industrialization
Eighth graders analyze primary source documents emphasizing young people in factory labor (mill workers during 1840-1860). They study hours of labor, ages of laborers, reasons for working, and working conditions. They write a poem or song.
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. ...
Curated OER
Stand Up and Sing: Music and Our Reform History
Students examine events of historical significance in music. In groups, they are given pieces of sheet music and work together to try to determine the social and political conditions of the time based on the lyrics. They write their own...
Curated OER
Make a Music Video
Learners develop ideas for a music video of a familiar children's song. Working together, they write a script, create costumes, props, and scenery and stage shots to be taped.
Curated OER
Working on the Railroad
Students plan a trip on the railroad. For this railroad creation and implementation lesson, students listen to the song "Working on the Railroad", make a map of where the track was laid and discuss the geographical...
Curated OER
Science Hits Activity
Students listen to a song that teaches the elements of the periodic table and write their own song to be used as an aid in remembering scientific information.
Curated OER
America Poems
Students examine examples of how other Americans have expressed their feelings about America through songs and poetry, and write their own poems to express their relationship with America.
Curated OER
Why Does It Matter? Teaching Tolerance in an Unforgiving Society
Students listen to the song "Scarecrow" by Melissa Etheridge and draw what they think the song is about. They discover the song is about a man who was attacked. They again express their feelings about the song through drawing. Finally...
Curated OER
National Symbols
Students explore symbols of nationalism and consider their relevance today. Students listen to national anthems of various countries, discuss sentiments that songs and lyrics invoke, research history of anthems and countries they...
Curated OER
The Jury's Still Out
Students examine the trials and executions of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. In groups, they use the internet to research the impact of the executions in the shape of political cartoons and writings. They discuss an article to...
Curated OER
Getting Inside The Outsiders Through Music
Students listen to popular music of the 50's and 60's to make literature connections to The Outsiders. For this popular culture lesson, students evaluate and analyze various songs and connect them with the themes in the literature...
Curated OER
Music Video
Middle schoolers explore songs that tell stories over various decades and create a Garage band track for their voice. In this story song lesson, students create a video for their song group. Middle schoolers present a...
Curated OER
M.C. Bard: Hip Hop and Shakespeare
Learners compare lyrics from hip hop songs with monologues from Shakespeare's plays, and perform both for the class.
Curated OER
Poetic Analysis
Students write a poetic analysis on a poem by Carl Sandburg. They take their previous knowledge of poetic devices and apply them to a piece of writing that displays their knowledge on a specific poem. They explain what they know about a...