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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 plan introduces young musicians...
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Activity
Amani Project

Make an Instrument

For Students 3rd - 8th
Create a little harmony with Amani Project! Young musicians create their instruments using found or recycled objects. As an introduction, class members first experiment with sounds they can make with their bodies (clapping, stomping...
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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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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....
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Braiding Rhythms: The Role of Bell Patterns in West African and Afro-Caribbean Music

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Africans transported to the Caribbean as part of the transatlantic slave trade brought with them a rich tradition of music and dance. Four lessons teach young musicians the rumba clave rhythm, cascara rhythm, and the 6/8 bell patterns...
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Lesson Plan
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Purdue University

Design of Music Instruments for a Rock Band

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Can you create a rock band? Scholars learn about the creation and transmission of sound in a hands-on STEM activity. First, they explore the transmission of sound using a tuning fork. Then, they must solve the problem of missing...
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Instructional Video3:48
PBS

Math with Jake: Frequencies and Pitch

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Be an octave above the rest. A musician explains how to write music in different time signatures. An interesting resource continues to demonstrate ratios using the pitch of musical notes and hertz. Pupils use a pitch table and determine...
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Lesson Plan
Berklee College of Music

Create Your Own Afro-Latin Groove

For Teachers 9th - 12th
The backbone of Latin American music is the beat! Young musicians work on blending Afro-Latin rhythms and beat patterns before incorporating the major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, and blues scales in their own compositions.
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Handout
Midwest Clinic

Latin Rhythms: Mystery Unraveled

For Students 6th - 12th
There is an indescrible energy to Latin American music—but if you know your music theory, it's not so indescrible after all. A thorough packet provides definitions for terms like bolero, charanga, shekere, and tumbao before listing...
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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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Unit Plan
Classics for Kids

Introduction to Music: Symphony

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
Expose young elementary students to the works of one of the greatest musical composers, Ludwig van Beethoven. Using three progressive lesson plans to complete the unit, class members are able to distinguish low and high sounds, count the...
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Lesson Plan
Classics for Kids

"Mars" from The Planets

For Teachers 5th - 6th Standards
Gustav Holst's The Planets provide young musicians an opportunity to examine how composers can create a suite: a collection of smaller pieces grouped to explore a single topic. After listening to "Jupiter," they examine "Mars" in detail,...
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PPT
Urbana School District

Sound

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed Standards
Beautiful music doesn't just write itself, but if you ever feel bad about procrastinating, remember that Mozart wrote the overture to Don Giovanni the morning it premiered. Introduce young scientists to the elements of sound including...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music Lesson Plan for Teaching Children with (Severe) Autism

For Teachers Pre-K - 12th
Here's a packet of music activities designed specifically for children with autism. Kids learn greeting, echo, and repertory songs, as well as rhythmic patterns to play rhythm instruments.
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Lesson Plan
Education Closet

Equal Rhythms

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Engage young mathematicians in learning about fractions with this cross-curricular math and music lesson. After listening to and repeating different beat patterns, children realize that musical notes are just another way of representing...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Theater Arts/Creative Movement Lesson Plan

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Here is a series of five exercises intended to bring movement, dance, and theater into the classroom. Intended for special ed classes, but appropriate for any grade, learners will pantomime, play pretend, dance, move, and create...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Tango

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders explore the music of Buenos Aires as they hear and then dance the Tango. They practice basic Tango rhythm, learn to sing the song, "Any Turkey can Tango," then practice a few Tango-riffic dance steps with a partner. What a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Kindergarten Music Time

For Teachers K
Little ones are led through a series of rhythmic songs and chants while they march, clap, and use their tummies as percussive instruments. They work on singing in pitch, chunking, and keeping a steady beat. 
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PPT
Curated OER

Exploring Pulse & Rhythm

For Teachers K - 2nd
When we play music, we count beats both high and low. This introductory music activity explores tempo and rhythm. Learners will follow along as they clap to the beat, they clap high in the air and low. A very good introductory lesson.
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Worksheet
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Curated OER

Comparing Poems

For Students 4th - 6th Standards
Young literary analysts compare two poems by the same author. Readers look for slant rhyme, observe the beat and rhythm of each, and search for repeated vowel sounds. After re-reading, they observe the lack of punctuation and the stanza...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Catch the Beat

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Use this rhythm and pattern activity during transition times or on it own. Start by introducing a rhythm with 2, 3, or 4 beats; use your feet, hands, or entire body to demonstrate. Once learners have figured out the pattern, they join...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Singing: "I Mailed Myself to You"

For Teachers 1st
Keeping a steady beat, singing soft, loud, and in unison - sounds like music class to me! First graders practice these skills while listening to the song, "I Mailed Myself to You" for Valentine's Day. This is a simple and age appropriate...