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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music: Off the Wall & Onto the Stage - Composing

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Kids explore Gullah music from Africa and then create original compositions based on what they've learned. They practice traditional melodies and rhythms then make some of their own, which they then perform for the class. 
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Lesson Plan5:53
TED-Ed

A-rhythm-etic. The Math Behind the Beats

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Your learners will dance in their seats as this talented drummer connects math to music in a short video clip. Clayton Cameron shows how math puts the "cool" in various genres of music, including jazz, hip-hop, pop, R&B, and others,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Producers

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students design attractive posters to promote the work of Leroy Anderson, an American composer with an unusual style.
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Activity
PBS

Broadway and The American Dream

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Considering a unit study of American Musical Theatre? What better way to start than at the very beginning. Eight pairs of cards provide class members with background information about the genre from 1893 through 2004. The cards are...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Elementary Music Plan

For Teachers 3rd
Hey Macarena! Third graders keep time while they sing a Latin Folk Song. To practice keeping a steady rhythm and singing in pitch, the class sings the Folk Song together and in a round while keeping a beat. They then learn to do the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Notable American Composers

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students visit web sites for each of the composersand listen to selections of each composer's music and place important dates of the composers into a pre-printed time line.
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Unit Plan
Queen's Printer for Ontario

Composers in Music History

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
What do Johann Sebastian Bach and Miles Davis have in common? Much more than class members might imagine. The comparison of these two famous composers is just one lesson in a unit that investigates many facets of the music industry...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creating an Original Opera

For Teachers 9th - 12th
This may be a lot to ask of a high schooler, but then again, who knows? Pupils work in groups to explore, write, and then perform an original opera. They view versions of The Magic Flute and La Traviata, then compose a plot, characters,...
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Unit Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian In Your Classroom: The Music in Poetry

For Teachers K - 12th
Take poetry off the page and put it into terms of movement, physical space and, finally, music with this series of three lessons from the Smithsonian Institution. This resource introduces students to two poetic forms that originated as...
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Interactive
Curated OER

Outstanding African Americans Activity

For Students 5th - 10th
Challenge historians to investigate influential African-Americans through this online research activity. Learners undertake this task using online links, some of which require investigative searching. Print the worksheet out first, so...
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Unit Plan
Johnny Mercer Foundation

The American Musical

For Teachers 7th
General music students learn about the history of popular American music by creating and performing a one-act musical. After researching and creating an American Musical timeline, class members write a song with lyrics using Jam Studio,...
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Lesson Plan
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Center for Civic Education

The Power of Nonviolence: Music Can Change the World

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Here is a fantastic activity through which class members discover how music has the ability to influence others in a meaningful way. After reviewing selected pieces and modern-day protest songs, learners will research other songs that...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African-American Gospel Music

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine gospel music including the lyrics and instrumentation. They explain the meaning of the lyrics and how they are related to the cultural values associated with the music. They differentiate between gospel and spiritual music.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Giants of American Music

For Students 2nd - 3rd
In this music worksheet, students match a description with the following composers: George Gershwin, Aaron Copland, John Philip Sousa, Leonard Bernstein. Students also reflect on why they are called Giants of American Music.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Giants of American Music

For Students 5th - 6th
In this music worksheet, students answer questions about composers George Gershwin, Aaron Copland, John Philip Sousa, and Leonard Bernstein. Students also reflect on why they are called the Giants of American Music.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Folk Music

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners explore Folk Music in Iowa. For this folk music lesson, students discuss different types of folk music and how it relates to life in Iowa. They take the tune of a song and write their own lyrics to describe their life. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Roots And Styles Of Black Music - Lesson 1

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers identify many genres of Black music. They identify Black music as a reflection of the culture. They study many historically influential Black music artists, producers, and other contributors.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

From Page to Stage

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students, utilizing video clips and Web sites, compare specific passages from original texts to moments in Broadway musicals on which they were based, analyzing similarities and differences between them. They adapt literature into a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning the Blues

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students take a virtual field trip to Memphis, Tennessee in their study of the blues, its characterisitics, founding fathers, and histororical influence on modern music. They compose blues lyrics that reflect present-day attitudes and...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Harvey Andrews - The Man and the Music

For Students 9th - 12th
High schoolers can hone their research skills by using the Internet to find the answers to the trivia questions presented in this on-line worksheet. This particular worksheet focuses on questions that have to do with the British...
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Activity
Library of Congress

The Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Harlem Renaissance brought forth many American art forms including jazz, and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Using a carefully curated set of documents from the Library of Congress, pupils see the cultural...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African-American Musicians

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Learners research three African-American musicians and compose a report based upon their research in this Music Appreciation instructional activity for the middle level classroom. The instructional activity could be adapted for various...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Composers and Their Styles

For Students 9th - 12th
In this music worksheet, high schoolers find the words that are naming the major composers and the answers are found at the bottom of the page.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music of the Great Depression

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders take a closer look at the music of the Great Depression. In this 1930's America lesson, 11th graders read and analyze the provided lyrics of 6 songs from the era. Students then compose their own lyrics for songs that...