Third graders examine items that make sounds. When given craft sticks, 3rd graders practice making different sounds with them. Sticks are rubbed together or placed partially on a desk and plucked. Afterward, students discuss the types of...

Students listen to a reading about fossils and go on a hunt for items with fossil characteristics.  In this cross curricular fossil lesson, students will examine their fossil finds and create a graphic organizer.  Students...

Students work cooperatively to compose a twenty measure song using the computer program GarageBand. Guidelines for the student compositions are available and include instrumentation and specific length.

Students observe and identify various waves. For this wave motion lesson, student use a Slinky, noise, people, and musical instruments to create waves and observe how each type of wave moves.

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...

Fifth graders examine musical instruments used by the indigenous people of the rainforest, and analyze how music is used in their daily lives. They create a model, using natural materials, of a musical instrument used by indigenous...

Young scholars play instruments that reflect sounds in the story: hoots, toots, creaking, shrieks, clacking, crunching, whooshing, etc. They make vocal sounds from the story: whispered, sniffled, sigh, giggled, croaked, laughed. ...

Young scholars demonstrate knowledge of musical instruments and the families of the orchestra. They acknowledge different voice types found in opera. Students interpret emotional expressions through listening. They compose sounds to...

Learners play string instruments to discover how the pitch changes on various string instruments.  In this pitch instructional activity, students listen to video clips and play an online music game.  Learners become familiar...

Students discover how engineers use sound energy. They participate in hands-on activities in which they discover how we know sound exists. They identify different pitches and frequencies as well.

To celebrate diversity and the purpose of Harmony Day, the class examines culturally diverse music and expression through line drawing. They discuss that all cultures produce music and that music can convey mood just like art can. As the...

Chopin was a lovely composer who played the piano masterfully. Third graders are introduced to Chopin, his piano sounds, triple meter, music patterns, movement, and the waltz. They listen to his music while hearing the story Butterflies...

First graders listen to prerecorded sounds and put them into categories. They discus the sounds that would be heard outdoors, and indoors. They go outside for a few minutes and take a "hearing walk." Then they come inside and close their...

What do Ben Franklin and Wolfgang Mozart have in common? Find out about the musical invention, the armonica or glassy-chord. Learners will read about how Ben Franklin invented this new instrument and how Wolfgang Mozart came to play it....

The second and third movements of the Eroica, Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, provides listeners with an opportunity to connect to French Revolution and to Napoleon Bonaparte. As they listen to the music, individuals draw what their ears...

Create musical myths in this West African tales lesson. Middle schoolers read myths from African Myths and Legends as well as West African Trickster Tales. They note when music could be used to enhance the tales, and then write their own...

Students complete a unit of lessons on a variety of types of American music. They record their impressions of music samples on a worksheet, identify types of instruments, and choose a musical selection for their family to respond to.

Different animals live in distinct and specialized environments. Learners will discuss organisms and environments, and then create some using their dramatic art skills. They all act like animals in a marine environment. When they are...

Learning how to describe an object or a person is a great way to develop verbal and written expression. Learners with special needs improve their verbal expressive skills and concept development skills while playing a guessing game. The...

Students identify their five senses and how the are used everyday. As a class, they develop a list of sounds they hear at a zoo and compare them with a list of sounds they hear at a park or school. They create an instrument on their...

Middle schoolers examine the percussion sounds used to create percussive sounds and identify the instruments that Bobby McFerrin imitates in his scat vocals. A scat version of the musical piece "So What" is improvised in this lesson.

Students listen to a recording of "Sakura" and determine where it is from. In this global sound instructional activity, students view pictures of cherry blossoms and connect its significance to Japanese culture. Students sing the score...

Students research the origins of Samba in Brazil using the internet. After defining new vocabulary, they locate the cities in Brazil using latitude and longitude which practice the Samba. In groups, they compare and contrast the...

Get the songwriters in your class started early with an engaging music composition activity. After experimenting with an existing melody, class members improvise in a given range of notes and create their own melodies.