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Lesson Plan
1
1
California Department of Education

Creating a Therapeutic Soundscape: Ambient Improvisations and Planned Catharsis (CTE)

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How is music a form of therapy? Scholars explore the topic using the fourth and final instructional activity from the Changing One's Tune: A Music Therapy STEM series. Learners explore the relationship between music and the mind and...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
California Department of Education

Instruments of Change: Making a Simple Stringed Instrument (CTE)

For Teachers 9th - 12th
What materials and skills does a person need to build a simple working instrument? With the first of four lessons from the Changing One's Tune: A Music Therapy STEM Integrated Project series, scholars learn about the basic structure of...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
California Department of Education

Tension and Release: Creating Mindful Harmony (CTE)

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Perhaps the Doobie Brothers said it best when they sang, "Listen to the Music." With the third of four lessons from the Changing One's Tune: A Music Therapy STEM Integrated Project series, pupils discover the connection between music and...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
National Endowment for the Humanities

The Glass Menagerie: Impact of Expressionism

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Young scholars are challenged to write a realistic analysis of Tennessee Williams' nonrealistic memory play, The Glass Menagerie. Writers use the evidence gathered on their worksheets to craft an effective thesis and concluding statement...
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Lesson Plan
2
2
National Endowment for the Humanities

The Glass Menagerie: Key Themes

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Using the list of expressionist techniques generated in the first lesson, groups analyze how Williams uses these techniques to develop one of the play's themes. The whole class then shares and discusses the examples they found where...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
National Endowment for the Humanities

The Glass Menagerie as Expressionist Theatre

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The first lesson in a three-part unit has high schoolers examine The Glass Menagerie as an example of expressionist theatre. After reading a short article about expressionism, scholars list expressionist techniques in Tennessee...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Power To The People: Bill Of Rights Art

For Teachers 11th - 12th
The works of Juane Quick-to-see Smith are featured in a lesson that asks pupils to consider the role artists play in bringing about social and political change. Scholars examine protest art by Smith and several street artists and...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Jazz In Oklahoma

For Teachers 9th - 12th
When considering the possible hot spots of jazz in the United States, Oklahoma isn't the state that first comes to mind. However, it is the birthplace of several jazz musicians that influenced the evolution of the genre and Oklahoma City...
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Unit Plan
Institut Obert de Catalunya

20th Century Music: Jazz

For Teachers 9th - 12th
A 67-page packet provides instructors with a complete course in the history of Jazz. Lessons look at the roots of jazz in early 20th century African American communities in the southern United States and continues to the New Orleans...
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Activity
PBS

Reading Adventure Pack: Music

For Parents K Standards
Music is the focus of the reading adventure pack. After reading, pupils complete hands-on activities. Scholars use household items to make shakers and cymbals. They listen to eclectic music by turning on the radio, borrowing music from...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

The Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 7th - 12th
A reading of Walter Dean Myers' "Harlem" sets the stage for studying the literature, art, and music of the Harlem Renaissance. The activity begins with a review of the social, political, and economic conditions of the 1920s and 1930s...
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Lesson Plan
EBSCO Industries

Music and Poetry

For Teachers 8th - 10th Standards
Song lyrics, like poems, are meant to be heard. After examining the literary devices in several poems, scholars examine the lyrics of popular songs and identify the sound devices and the figurative language writers use to create the...
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Unit Plan
Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University

Are You My Mother? An Opinion Writing Unit

For Teachers 2nd Standards
During a five-day lesson, scholars analyze written and visual art—primarily the poem, Mother to Son by Langston Hughes— identify facts, and write opinions. Learners read the poem several times, discuss, write, compare and...
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Activity
Digital Public Library of America

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A set of 14 primary sources provides background for a study of Lorraine Hansberry's drama, A Raisin in the Sun. Featured are images from stage productions of the play, white supremacy protests, a clip from a television interview, and...
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Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Center

Harriet Tubman: Secret Messages Through Song

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
A lesson all about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad introduces scholars to African American spirituals. By way of reading, speaking, and listening, learners discover, analyze, and decode African American spirituals. They...
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Activity
Digital Public Library of America

Women and the Blues

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A 12-piece primary source packet sets the tone for a study of the role women played in the origins, development, and impact of blues music. Legends like Bessie Smith, Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, Mamie Smith, and Ida Cox are featured, as are...
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Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Center

Harriet Tubman: An Informative and Impressionistic Look

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Informational text and impressionistic art lead a lesson about Harriet Tubman. Working in teams, scholars examine a variety of resources. They analyze, compare, and contrast the work.  Using their research findings, pupils create an...
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Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Center

Harriet Tubman: Retelling History Through Dance and Drama

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Scholars listen to several pieces of music in preparation for a discussion about how instruments and lyrics convey emotions. With Harriet Tubman as the focus, small groups create an original song or dance. A reflection piece concludes...
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Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Center

Musical Harlem: How Is Jazz Music Reflective of the Harlem Renaissance?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Bring jazz music and the Harlem Renaissance to light with a instructional activity that challenges scholars to research and create. Pupils delve deep into information materials to identify jazz terminology, compare types of jazz and jazz...
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Singing for Justice: Following the Musical Journey of “This Little Light of Mine”

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Scholars go on a musical journey to discover the origin, importance, and evolution of the song, "This Little Light of Mine". Class members boost their voice talents and clap to the beat while learning the lyrics in both English and Zulu....
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Songs, Sounds and Stories from the Georgia Sea Islands

For Teachers K - 12th
American music is the result of the influence of many cultures, including the traditions brought by the African slaves. Young scholars study the polyrhythms, the call-and-response format, and the vocal improvisations of the Gullah...
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Jamaican Song, Dance, and Play: Experiences with Jamaican Musical Traditions

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young musicians experience song, dance, and play of the Jamaican culture. Scholars listen for and recreate beats, they play tunes, make up original dances, and play a game that challenges pupils to pass stones to a specific beat.
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

African American Music: Let’s Sing and Play Clapping Games

For Teachers K - 2nd
Two lessons focus on making a beat. Using popular African American music of its time, scholars listen and analyze the rhythm then recreate it with hands drums, and cups. 
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Spirits Across the Ocean: Yoruban and Dahomean Cultures in the Caribbean Brought by the Slave Trade

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Much of Latin American music owes its origins to the slave trade. Peoples from the Yoruban and Dahomean cultures brought with them the distinctive rhythms, time signatures, and eighth note patterns that now characterize Caribbean music....