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...

As Nick wanders the grounds of Gatsby's mansion, he observes the behaviors of the rowdy guests and listens to the music pouring over the lawn. Bring the music of the jazz age into the classroom with Louis Armstrong's "West End Blues,"...

Young scholars examine artwork by Keith Haring, and listen to music popular in the 1980s that influenced him. They develop storyboards, and film music videos for their favorite song.

Young scholars examine blues music. In this music genres lesson, students discover details about the history of the musical genre and compositional techniques. Young scholars then compose melodies of their own with 12-bar blues chord...

“Who’s This Guy Dylan Who’s Borrowing Lines From Henry Timrod?” The basic question in this lesson from the New York Time’s Learning Network is whether artists and authors who use the words of others are stealing from that artist or...

After reading Acts III and IV of Othello, give your class a fun, interactive, music-related activity. Begin by asking high schoolers about songs they have heard in movies or plays. Let them look up the lyrics online and ruminate about...

Students discuss physical places in which had good or bad acoustics. After reading an article, they discover the relationship between the physics of sound and concert hall acoustics. They calculate the speed of sound and compare their...

Ninth graders read and analyze the William Shakespeare play "Romeo and Juliet" and compare it to the 1996 modern version of the play and the movie "West Side Story." They write an essay comparing and contrasting the three versions.

Students conduct research on a famous country music singer. In small groups, they conduct research, and construct and decorate a paper cutout of their selected country music singer.

Students explore African spirituals. In this slavery lesson, students listen to and analyze the spiritual song "Wade in the Water" line by line. Students share their interpretations with their classmates.

Young scholars explore language arts by writing their own poems. In this haiku lesson, students investigate the Japanese culture and their beautiful music, poetry and art. Young scholars count the syllables in every line of a haiku poem...

Young scholars examine the copyright lines in the books they use in class. They discover how to complete and send in their own copyright request to Washington D.C. They work on their composition as well.

Students read Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing to learn about epitaphs. In this Shakespeare lesson plan, students read sections from the play and piece together Shakespeare's epitaph using index cards. Students create a 4 line...

Eighth graders analyze primary source documents emphasizing young people in factory labor (mill workers during 1840-1860). They study hours of labor, ages of laborers, reasons for working, and working conditions. They write a poem or song.

Jump back into the 90s with Alannis Morissette's song "You Learn." After hearing the song, small groups analyze the lyrics and write an essay about a mistake they've learned from. Use the example sentences to identify the denotative and...

Students listen to the song :King of Pain" by the Police. They identify different instrumentation and different rhythmic accompaniments to the opening vocal phrase and explore the text in-depth, discussing the various poetic images of...

Students take a closer look at Cinderella stories. In this literature lesson plan, students discuss the attributes of Cinderella stories from around the world and conduct research to find where the "Aschenputtel" story originated....

Students discover the multicultural contributions to New Orleans gumbo through participation in cross curriculum activities. In this multicultural diversity and New Orleans history instructional activity, students shade regions of a map...

Learners recognize the harmful effects people have on the environment. For this environmental lesson, students simulate water pollution clean-up by using tangled objects and untangling them in a cooperative group. Learners identify why...

Students reflect on a personally meaningful live performance and the circumstances necessary to create art. They study about the current leadership crisis facing the Met, Carnegie Hall, and the Public theater. In groups, students...

Students write a funny story and illustrate it in a comic strip. In this comic strip lesson, students study comic strips and determine the plot of each story. Students then write a short story and illustrate it using a comic strip...

young scholars read the Ghost of Caesar scene and use prompt books to stage the scene. In this Shakespeare lesson, students read the scene and then stage the scene. Young scholars make prompt books for the staging activity and then...