Improvisation Teacher Resources

Really? Rapping The Odyssey? Really. A discussion of the oral tradition of story telling and its links to Epic poetry sets the stage for a series of activities that encourage improvisation to integrate music into other classrooms....

What to do? Out in the woods without anything to wear? No worries, you can use things you've salvaged to make improvised clothing. Show this clip prior to going to science camp, to demonstrate creative thinking in action, and to show the...

Jazz improvisation can be difficult to listen to for some music enthusiasts, however there are patterns and characteristics that can be analyzed. They use this Venn diagram to aid them in comparing two improvisational pieces, where they...

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...

High schoolers perform improvisations in front of their classmates. They have no time to prepare. The object is spontaneity. Their roles and situations are given to them on the spot and they have to react immediately. Students...

Second graders explore setting through improvisations.  In this theatre lesson, 2nd graders perform a variety of improvisations in different settings and chart how they established the setting in the different environments. 

Students watch "The Greatest TV Moments: Sesame Street Music A to Z" and improvise melodic and rhythmic embellishments for the song "O What A Beautiful Morning" or "Rubber Duckie."

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...

Connect the ideas of jazz improvisation and art to writing poetry. Learners collaborate and write different lines of poetry, imitating the jazz styles of improvisation and freewriting. Take a close look at the poems "Tenebrae" by Yusef...

Read then role-play the characters from story of If You Give A Pig a Pancake. Young actors use improvisation and characterization to create the characters from the story. They will also write and role play original version of the...

You'll need to be a little tech savvy to teach this music instructional activity. Pupils will attempt to play along with an accompaniment piece you've created using music software. They will be assessed on their performance and ability...

Students participate in a class discussion about jazz music, compare improvisation with regular conversion, listen to various jazz musicians and compare and contrast their individual sounds.

Students observe that there are myriad combinations of rhythms to choose from when improvising jazz and blues music, and recognize that while the variations seem infinite, they are in fact finite. They notate a 12 bar blues progression...

Middle schoolers explore and experience jazz through collage. They listen to improvisational jazz, discuss the origins of jazz, then design and create a collage that shows jazz being played. This project will result in amazing works of...

Students explore the work of 3 for All. In this performing arts lesson, students watch a video segment about the improvisation group 3 for All, study improvisation, and participate in their own improvisation routines.

Young scholars are introduced to the concept of improvisation. In groups, they practice improvising a different scenario given to them and explore the various ways people communicate with each other. To end the lesson, they reflect on...

Students recognize significant developments in New Orleans jazz music. They improvise blues licks using notes from a minor pentatonic scale.

Young scholars explore the various rhythmic combinations in jazz and blues music. They watch a video segment, apply a mathematical formula to calculate the number of possible rhythmic combinations, and perform a combination of notes and...

Students describe and compare characters and situations in dramas from and about cultures and historical periods, illustrate in improvised or scripted scenes, and discuss how theater reflects a culture.

Language learners get into the swing of things with a jazzy lesson about similes. They read an article about Duke Ellington, listen to samples of his music, and then try their hand at crafting similes to describe his improvisational and...

Building a realistic understanding of the trials Jews suffered during WWII isn't always easy. This plan employs student constructed dramatic freeze frame scenes to help build a deeper understanding of Jewish Ghettos, concentration camps,...

Images of works by Salvador Dali, Luis Bunuel, and Man Ray launch a study of Dada and Surrealism. After critiquing works by these and other artists, class members gather their own images and arrange them into a cohesive composition.

Young scholars evaluate jazz music and a jazz music performance. They collaborate and create an improvised group short story. They improvise a musical piece on found objects.

Sixth graders present reader's theatre by improvising folktales from different countries. In groups, they produce an improvisation of a folktale story from an assigned reading of a folktale.