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Time in Jazz
Students examine time and meter in the jazz idiom. They analyze Take the A Train and Take Five. They research websites featuring Ella Fitzgerald and her music.
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Up From the Streets: Hip Hop as a Recognized Art
Students discuss the historical roots of Hip-Hop to the present as an example of an art form that arose from the street into popular culture. Emphasis is placed on in-class discussion and written reflections in this introductory lesson.
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Jazz In America - Lesson Plan 8
Fifth graders explore the current jazz scene and how it reflects American culture. They listen to jazz recordings of current artists and speculate on which direction jazz is likely heading.
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Night On Bald Mountain
Students sing songs, improvise musical responses, maintain steady beats, and move to music in this Halloween Music lesson for the Kindergarten classroom. Emphasis is placed upon meeting State and National Standards in Music.
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Hispanic Rhythmic Patterns and Drums
Students imitate rhythmic patterns created by the teacher or taken from the drum performance of "Oshossi." They study and perform some of the layered and interlocking rhythms of the drum ensembles of Brazil, Haiti, Cuba, Suriname, and...
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Sam Cooke - Lesson 1
Students identify the impact of the social injustices and Civil Rights movement on Cooke's life and career. They create lyrics to a familiar song that express a personal struggle or concern.
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Valentine Heart Game
First graders clap a rhythm pattern notated on a board, and then make up their own patterns on percussion instruments. They answer addition and subtraction problems.
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Drama: Three Words
Seventh graders practice dramatic acting skills, using three words - why, oh, and sorry in different contexts. Working in groups of two or three, they create scenes in which the three words are the only ones spoken and are used to convey...
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VH1 Storytellers for Save the Music Starring Billy Joel
Students examine recordings of Billy Joel.
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Learning to Play Together
Young scholars listen to and discuss American music genres, specifically ragtime, bebop/bop, and swing, and experiment with improvisation on traditional tunes and rhythms.
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Phytochemicals
Young scholars create movement, improvise rhythmic accompaniment, practice, and perform the song "Phytochemicals" in this excellent elementary-level General Music lesson. The lesson includes lesson challenges for more advanced students.
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Vitamin A
Students explore non-locomotor movements and instrument improvisation creating accompaniments to the song "Vitamin A" in this elementary-level General Music lesson. The lesson nutrition messages links and student challenges for advanced...
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"Sakura Sakura" and the Kumoijoshi Scale of Japan
Young scholars listen to a recording of "Sakura" and determine where it is from. In this global sound lesson, students view pictures of cherry blossoms and connect its significance to Japanese culture. Young scholars sing the score while...
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Goldilocks and the Bears Make Their Pitch
First graders listen to the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and identify the pitch of the bears' voices as high, medium, and low. They improvise on xylophones a melody to accompany the bears in the telling of the story.
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Spatial Relationships: an Over/Under Dance
Students explore the relationships of space through movement. Two perform movement improvisation based on over/under. The activity improves hand-eye coordination, cooperation, and communication skills. The timing of the dance also...
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Using Visual Art to Create Scenes
Students review scene structure and the elements beginning, middle and end. They view a piece of art to stimulate an idea for a improvised scene. Students work in small groups, create and then perform their scenes for the rest of the...
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Everybody's Boppin', Lambert, Hendricks and Ross
Students probe the musical style of scat singing with imitation instruments. While listening to the musical pieces, they identify when one singer finishes and another begins. The singing groups' styles are contrasted in this lesson.
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Geometric Shape Dances
Students use movement and dance in order to strengthen mathematical understanding of different geometric shapes. The movements are imitating the drawing of shapes and they pick one to make into a dance. Upon beginning the dance music can...
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Rhythm - "Yankee Doodle Dandy"
First graders practice rhythm and beat. In this music lesson plan, 1st graders sing and clap to the song "Yankee Doodle Dandy". They find the rhythm of the music and practice making rhythm with other instruments.
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Roll Over! (There Were Ten In The Bed)
Students practice math, language, and music skills. In this interdisciplinary lesson, students learn the song "Roll Over!" practicing repeating word patterns and subtraction skills. Students improvise in the song by adding...
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Bob Marley - Legend Episode #3 - Lesson 2
Students perform using rhythm instruments with accurate tempo a given syncopated ostinato pattern to accompany a played audio recording of reggae music. They discuss the use of music to express religious and political beliefs.
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Black American Musicans: Precursors of Jazz
Students trace the course of Black music from the 1900's to the beginning of the jazz age. They realize that when education is defined as enlightened training for a place in society and for individual personal development, it was highly...
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Copyright, Sampling and Mashing
Learners examine copyright laws in regard to sharing, sampling and mashing music. After listening to pieces of music, they create their own music sample by combining musical elements and expression. Students visit a specified website...
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B is for Banana
Students practice and perform the song "B is for Banana" using their knowledge of basic rhythms in 4/4 and student-created rhythm accompaniment based on speech. This excellent lesson is provided by the MENC (National Association for...