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. 
Lesson Plan
VH1

Lesson 3: Marketing of Pop Music

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Pop music and marketing are thrown into the mix to make a fun and engaging lesson. Learners listen to several pop songs and discuss the differences in musical style. They then get into groups and work together to decide how they are...
Activity
Curated OER

A Study Guide for The Phantom of the Opera

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Immerse yourself in the beautiful, twisted world of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. A detailed lesson plan provides important details about the writing, stagecraft, music, and literary elements of the famous musical,...
Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Center

Harriet Tubman: Secret Messages Through Song

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
A instructional activity 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...
Lesson Plan
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PJ Library

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

For Teachers Pre-K - 2nd Standards
Teach children that just because something is old, doesn't mean you have to throw it away with a reading of Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback. Engaging children with an arts and crafts activity in which they patch the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Applying Music to Literature

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Kids explore music, history, culture, and literature in a multi-faceted lesson plan. They discuss how both historical and cultural contexts shape music, art, and literature, and then apply these concepts as they engage in a listening...
Lesson Plan
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Museum of Tolerance

Music Evokes Memories and Emotions

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Dim the lights, take a deep breath, and press play to explore the emotions and memories that music elicits. Class members begin using relaxation techniques designed to create a positive listening experience. As music plays, learners...
Lesson Plan2:52
Bierbaum Elementary School

Practicing Patience

For Teachers K - 5th Standards
As teachers, we have a lot of patience. Our scholars, on the other hand, may need some support. Give your pupils the emotional intelligence instruction they desire with a lesson designed to teach patience through grand conversation,...
Lesson Plan
ESL Kid Stuff

Christmas Lesson 1

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st Standards
Little ones sing Christmas carols, complete craft projects, and play word games while learning new vocabulary in part one of two-part ESL lesson plan series.
Unit Plan
Washington University in St. Louis

Teaching Jazz as American Culture

For Students 6th - 12th
Jazz and the City, Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement, Jazz and Gender, Jazz and Literature, Jazz and the Arts, Jazz and Film. Here's a packet of unit plans organized around themes that reflect American culture. Each unit examines how...
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,...
Activity
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre

The Nutcracker Teacher Resource Guide

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Clara becomes Marie, The Mouse King becomes a rat, and the Shadyside section of Pittsburgh becomes the setting for a modern interpretation of Tchaikovsky's famous ballet. Intended as a resource guide for a 2012 performance, the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Singing a round

For Teachers 4th
Kids use their hands, bodies, and voices to explore the musical concept of a round. They say vegetable words while stomping and clapping out a rhythm in unison and then in a round. They then sing a round while maintaining a steady beat....
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...
Lesson Plan
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Star Wars in the Classroom

"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Days 13 and 14

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
How important are sound effects in films? In stage plays? In radio programs? To gain an understanding of the impact of these special effects, class members watch a short video spoof of the sound in a scene from Star...
Activity
Music Class

Sound Habits

For Teachers K - 5th
Hear ye! Hear ye! Encourage your young keyboard/piano players to develop sound habits with a resource packet that introduces a dynamic learning method. The free sample lessons, part of a for-purchase program, are designed to be used in a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Look in the Mythic Mirror: I've Got Rhythm!

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Learners explore the relationships between music, poetry, and visual art. Using the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, pupils develop an awareness of the compositional elements of the Classical style, and the aesthetic effects of those...
Lesson Plan
Teach With Movies

The Glenn Miller Story (Film) - Teacher's Guide

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Anthony Mann's 1953 film biography, The Glenn Miller Story, is the focus of a series of activities that introduce class members to Miller's life and music. Of particular interest to music high schoolers will be the cameos by many famous...
Lesson Plan
ESL Kid Stuff

Toys

For Teachers Pre-K - 2nd
The world is a rainbow of colors in a set of lessons for English learners. Kids review colors with matching games and hide-and-seek, before singing songs about colors and reading a class story.
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Waves, Sinusoids, and Identities

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
What is the net effect when two waves interfere with each other? The lesson plan answers this question by helping the class visualize waves through graphing. Pupils graph individual waves and determine the effect of the interference...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Concept Formation Lesson Plan: Understanding "Protest"

For Teachers 7th - 10th Standards
After analyzing both examples and non-examples of a variety of protests conducted by ethnic groups in Seattle and the state of Washington during the twentieth century, your class members will work to identify the key ideas and...
Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

The Poetics of Hip Hop

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Bard, Nikki Giovanni, Mos Def? “Sonnet 18,” Ego Tripping,” and “Black on Both Sides”? Sure! It’s the poetics. Class members compare the lyrics, rhythm, and rhyme in classic poetry to hip-hop in a richly detailed resource that...
Lesson Plan
Azar Grammar

Song Lessons: I Wanna Be Like You

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's swing rendition of Robert and Richard Sherman's "I Wanna Be Like You" offers young grammarians an opportunity to examine verb tenses, noun clauses, gerunds, and prepositions.
Lesson Plan
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Texas Heart Institute

Anatomy: How Does the Cardiovascular System Work?

For Teachers 6th Standards
How can the circulatory system compare to a city map? Pupils distinguish the "roadways" and "vehicles" of the cardiovascular system, compare the anatomy and function of veins and arteries, and review different types of blood cells with...