Students portray the mood of a piece of music in a drawing.  In this mood in music lesson, students discuss how music creates a mood.  Students listen to Vivaldi's "Four Seasons," "The Wreck of The Wreck of the Edmund...

Students explore development of jazz music in the 1930s by forming imaginary jazz bands which tour several cities in Depression-era America. Jazz band members create imaginary identities for themselves, develop publicity for their tour,...

Students examine African life during slavery on the Internet. In this slavery lesson, students use the Internet to research slavery and create a scrapbook. Students review pictures of slavery and label them as primary or secondary sources.

Eleventh graders discover the poetry of Langston Hughes. In this social issues lesson plan, 11th graders experience the views of Langston Hughes. Students read Hughes' poetry and discuss the basic theme. Students evaluate the political,...

Students analyze the life of Jack Johnson and his relationship with other boxers. They write about his life by using the same style as Muhammad Ali, his taunts and boasts using rhyming.

Students explore power and the symbols of power in West African music. They discuss the music of West Africa and compare it to African American music of today. In addition, they investigate musical instruments of Africa, identify the...

Students identify many genres of music and connect styles of music with various cultures. They watch "The Greatest TV Moments: Sesame Street Music A to Z" and list music styles: folk, jazz, rock, etc.

Eleventh graders explore the World Wide Web for information concerning the period known as "The Harlem Renaissance." They study the contributions made by African Americans in the areas of literature, art, and music during this period in...

Students explore jazz and its origins by focusing on the people in which Jazz came from.

Students gain an understanding of early jazz. They study Dixieland and the Roaring Twenties. They examine the American historical significance and cultural implications of early jazz.

Third graders relate dance movements to chants. They tap out the rhythm of poetry on different body parts.

Young scholars explore the rich, varied, and full artistic culture of each of these three minority groups, Native Americans, Chicanos, and African Americans. They explore art through dance, music, literature, and many other different...

Accompany a reading of First Come the Zebra written and illustrated by Lynne Barasch with a teacher's guide equipped with before reading, vocabulary, and after reading activities. Additional social studies,...

After brainstorming the various aspects of cultural identity, class members interview each other, examine video clips, and read stories to discover how these aspects reveal one's cultural identity. Individuals then craft a quilt square...

Students explore popular music of West Africa. In this musicians lesson, students complete listening tasks that challenge them to analyze the music of Oumou Sangare, Angelique Kidjo, and Baaba Maal.

Young scholars learn about Latin American dance and rhythm in different forms and participate in dancing. In this Latin American lesson plan, students also analyze Latin American paintings.

Young scholars recognize and clap the syncopated rhythmic beat of a rap song and identify recurring rhythmic pattern in the excerpt of "Dance of the Adolescents" from Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.

Learners identify many careers within the music industry such as producer, A&R representative and recording studio engineer. They connect achievements of noted artists with their roles in the music industry.

Students listen to many examples of Motown music and explain the relationship between the word "Motown" and the city of Detroit. They examine and identify distinctive musical elements of the early "Motown Sound."

Learners are able to create their own collages using some of the same kinds of images and materials Bearden used. They put to use some of the Bearden techniques they observed in the reproduction/slide lecture and explore to...

Young scholars accompany music to the story Bringing the Rain to the Kapiti Plain - Kenya to show how sound and music can accompany story description. In this music instructional activity, students learn how to show sound during a story.

Students read OGBO: Sharing Life in an African Village by Ifcoma Onyefulu. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the study of Nigerian culture. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing, social...

Students read and discuss a selection of news clippings, sermons, and narratives that depict the continued struggle for equality and mistreatment of African American citizens. They present a "60 Minutes"-style news program with the...

Learners explore women and music in the 20th century. In this music instructional activity, students study the relationship between literature and music through The Color Purple and music by Ethel Waters, MA Rainey, Bessie Smith, Billie...