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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

The Birth of an Icon: Learning and Performing the Origins of the Drum Set and Early Jazz Drumming in New Orleans, Louisiana

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Bass drum, snare drum, tom-toms, cymbals. Perched behind their drum sets, wielding their drum sticks and wire brushes, drummers lay the grove and are the heartbeat of a band's performance. A dynamic lesson introduces young musicians to...
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Unit Plan
Charanga

Sing!

For Teachers K - 12th
Whether new to the Kodály Method of music instruction or an experienced veteran, you'll find much to make your heart sing in a teacher guide that was designed for a music appreciation project. 
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Activity
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1
Fun Music Company

Lifesavers for the Music Teacher

For Teachers K - 8th
A symphony of ideas are contained in this eBook designed by music teachers for music teachers. The 40 activities have all proven to be lifesavers. A must-have for your curriculum library.
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Handout
Music Fun

Time Signatures

For Students 2nd - 12th
You'll never miss a beat with a resource packet filled with puzzles, quizzes, and activity worksheets that focus on time signatures. Don't quaver or rest until you score this packet.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Syncopated Duet

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students work in pairs to compose a duet (with percussion instruments) that contains syncopated rhythm sequences. Each student will research a piece of music that they feel uses syncopation and will give a persuasive speech to the class.
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Lesson Plan
1
1
California Department of Education

Waves and Music

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Strike the right chord with a musical activity! Instructors provide a lecture on the mechanics of a pan flute. Pupils build their own pan flutes by using straws and calculating the lengths to create a scale. After cutting the straws to...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
California Department of Education

Slap Tubes, Flutes, and Xylophones: The Physics of Pipe-Based Instruments

For Teachers 9th - 12th
It's the encore to a wave unit. Individuals build either a slap tube, flute, or xylophone as a culminating activity for a physics unit on waves. Scholars calculate the lengths of pipes needed to produce the specific notes for their...
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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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Activity5:34
PBS

Math with Jake: Ratios and Fractions

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
And the beat goes on. The installment of the Math at the Core: Ratios series introduces time signatures in music. A musician shows the relationship between different types of musical beats. Working in pairs, classmates create beat...
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Instructional Video4:00
PBS

Math with Jake: Transposition Using Ratios

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
The star of the show is ratios. The informative resource explains how to transpose music using ratios. Individuals transpose the song "Twinkle, Twinkle" in the activity by applying their ratio skills. The activity challenges class...
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Activity
Kansas Music Educators Association

Games for the Elementary Music Classroom

For Teachers K - 6th
Perfect for music specialists, classroom teachers, and substitutes, a packet of 18 games includes complete lessons as well as short activities for when you have some extra time at the end of class.
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Worksheet
1
1
Fun Music Company

Treasure Island Clues: Intervals

For Students 2nd - 12th
You may know about A, B, and C, but now you can include "arrrrr" to the list of music notes to practice! Here is a fun pirate-themed activity in which young musicians determine the intervals of various notes in the treble clef to work...
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Worksheet
Music Teaching Resources

Identifying Major and Minor Triads 1

For Students 3rd - 6th
Here's a major and minor triads learning exercise that asks young musicians to name the root, third, and fifth notes and the chord the notes produce.
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Worksheet
Music Teaching Resources

Note Naming Worksheet 1

For Students 3rd - 6th
Can you name this note? Young musicians are asked to name each of the notes pictured on a music worksheet and then to place these notes on a staff.
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Worksheet
Fun Music Company

Note Drawing

For Students 2nd - 8th
Name that note. Every good boy (and girl) will find it easy to draw notes on these worksheets. The packet includes templates for note drawing, naming, etc.
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Worksheet
Fun Music Company

Bat Trails: Music Symbols

For Students 2nd - 8th
Whether written for Therese, Elisabeth, or for Juliane, young music theory students will enjoy pursuing the clues hidden in music symbols that indicate who wrote "Fur Elise."
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Worksheet
Fun Music Company

Treasure Island Clues

For Students 2nd - 12th
In order to answer a music trivia question, young musicians must count the number of ties in a melody, name the final note, and use these clues to spell out Charlie Parker's nickname. This activity is not for the birds.
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Handout
Fun Music Company

Completing Measures with Rests

For Students 2nd - 12th
Rests. Eighth rests, quarter rests, and half rests are the focus of a one-page instructional activity that asks music theory students to complete a series of measures with rests and bar lines.
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Worksheet
Fun Music Company

Treasure Island Clues: Scales

For Students 2nd - 12th
Which Beatle received the most fan mail? To answer this music trivia question, young musicians must employ their knowledge of scales, key signatures, and leading notes to find the letters that spell out the name of one of the famous mop...
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Worksheet
Fun Music Company

Code Breaking with Music Symbols Representing Letters

For Students 2nd - 12th
Navajo code talkers beware! These kids use music symbols to break the codes and find both the question and the answer to a music trivia question.
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Worksheet
Fun Music Company

Treasure Island Clues: Rhythm

For Students 2nd - 12th
Designed for rhythm level 1, the two games in this packet ask young musicians to identify the number of beats represented by a series of notes and notations, and then to use those numbers to answer a music trivia question.
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Handout
Fun Music Company

Note Values

For Students 2nd - 12th
Note values are the focus of a short worksheet that asks young musicians to respond to short-answer questions and to complete a measure with notes of the appropriate value.
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Handout
Fun Music Company

Compound Time

For Students 2nd - 12th
To demonstrate their understanding of simple and compound time signatures, young musicians complete a chart by drawing quarter or dotted quarter notes equal in value to the note groups shown.
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Handout
Fun Music Company

Intervals

For Students 2nd - 12th
As part of their study of intervals, musicians are asked to draw the interval indicated above the notes provided on the worksheet.