Bring the sounds of the deep South vocal blues to the classroom with a Smithsonian Folkways lesson. In preparation, scholars listen to and count the 12 bar blues patterns in several works and identify the I, II, IV, and V chords as well...

A poem carved on Angel Island's walls is the guiding text of a instructional activity that challenges scholars to put movement into a written piece of art. After warm up-activities, learners play a game of "Pass the Clap" and "Pass the...

Students identify some of Aretha Franklin's vocal qualities and techniques. They have a discussion of styles of music they heard on the video, including gospel, jazz, pop, rhythm and blues, and opera.

Students discuss the vocal styles characteristic of different genres and composers. The explore the use of lyrics, their relation to the music, and the use of the voice to convey emotions and character.

Young readers bring characters to life by working in small groups to script and perform stories that contain a community concept. Detailed questions and activities are outlined for the class. Consider having your groups create...

"Ode to la Tortilla" and "Ode to Joy"? Sure! Use Gary Soto's poem to introduce learners to the ode format. After examining the descriptive words Soto uses, class members study a poster of Ludwig van Beethoven, suggest words that describe...

Upper graders listen to and watch a documentary about an all female group Antigone Rising. They discuss how females are portrayed in the rock world, the type of music they play, their song lyrics, and what they note in the documentary....

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...

Here's a clever way to introduce language learners to noun clauses. After a brief exercise that provides examples of different types of noun clauses, class members listen to the Association's "Never, My Love" and identify the clauses in...

For many people, Barack Obama's presidency was the next step in Martin Luther King, Jr's dream of America's future. Explore the dreams of Americans past and present, as well as the young Americans in your class, with a set of activities...

Students explore how sound affects scene understanding using the Shakespeare play Macbeth. In this audio and play analysis lesson, students respond to Macbeth events as if they were at a sporting event. Students listen to parts of the...

Students become familiar with the musical notify that are associated with the character in Monstel's The Travels of Babar: An Adventure in Scales, so that they can listen attentively to the performance and understand and appreciate ow...

Students the influence of women's music in history and the suffrage movement.

Students discuss musical instruments common to jazz and compare several songs by various artists. They identify musical grooves common to jazz music. They compare a string quartet to a traditional jazz group.

Students study early New Orleans Jazz music and recognize Louis Armstrong as an early jazz artist. They recognize the elements and roots of Jazz.

Students identify integral parts of jazz music by listening to Quincy Jones' We Be Doin' It. They note the bass and drum sounds, scat solos, and also sing parts of the ostinato and chorus.

Young scholars watch a video on spiritual music, then engage in a discussion about the artists and styles mentioned in the video. They discuss vocal improvisation, and engage in a call and response to "This Little Light Of Mine.'

Students explore the concept of status and its use in theater. Using a scene from Shakespeare's play King Richard II, students work in pairs to perform the scene. After the performance, the pairs discuss their use of physical status in...

Learners discuss similarities in various pop songs over the second half of the 20th century and explore how musical management influences the careers and longevity of various artists.

Students listen to the music of the Dave Matthews Band in order to discuss and analyze the lyrics. They examine how the songs are presented and determine if the Dave Matthews Band does a good job of presenting the meaning of the lyrics...

Students study how the music of Dave Matthews Band is based on jazz, blues, bluegrass, rock and roll, and rap.

High schoolers identify many genres of music that influenced gospel and study examples of gospel music. They explain that gospel music is sacred and is usually performed with sincerity, dignity, and passion with vocal improvisation.

An interesting quiz awaits your English Language Learners. In it, they answer ten questions pertaining to why they are learning English, and how they think they can best learn the language. Some thought-provoking discussion should ensue...

Here is an interesting way to teach the present perfect and present perfect continuous. Individuals practice these verb tenses as well as the simple past by asking a partner questions about an imaginary biography. The biography...