Smithsonian Institution
African American Music: Let’s Sing and Play Clapping Games
Two lessons focus on making a beat. Using popular African American music of its time, scholars listen and analyze the rhythm then recreate it with hands drums, and cups.
Curated OER
Christmas Music Lesson Plans
Christmas music lesson plans add a little spice to the season.
ESL Kid Stuff
Christmas Lesson 2
Wrapping presents, singing Christmas carols, writing Christmas cards and learning holiday vocabulary are all wrapped into this one exciting ESL lesson.
ESL Kid Stuff
Christmas Lesson 1
Little ones sing Christmas carols, complete craft projects, and play word games while learning new vocabulary in part one of two-part ESL lesson series.
Curated OER
Jazz Music and the Crisis Over School Desegregation
High schoolers will learn to appreciate the civil rights movement with a focus on Little Rock, Arkansas. They will also acknowledge Louis Armstrong's unparalleled contributions to American music.
Ziptales
The Pied Piper of Hamelin: The Mystery of the Children of Hamelin
Which is more likely: 130 children followed a magical piper out of Hamelin and disappeared forever, or that they died of the plague? Or could they have escaped from Hamelin via a secret tunnel to Transylvania? Learners investigate...
Curated OER
Musical Sounds
Students investigate music appreciation by completing worksheets. In this musical arts lesson, students complete worksheets in which they identify different musical instruments, the sounds they make and the family of instruments they...
Curated OER
Grand Canyon Suite
Take a trip to the Grand Canyon! Lesson one explores how Ferde Grofe painted a musical landscape of America when he wrote the Grand Canyon Suite. Learners then examine art that shows the Grand Canyon in lesson two. Finally, lesson three...
Curated OER
English and Literacy: Children's Rights - Expanded Paragraphs
Students write expanded paragraphs about children's rights. In this writing and children's rights lesson, students listen to Caroline Castle's, For Every Child, noting the points about children's rights on each page. They discuss each of...
Syracuse University
Harlem Renaissance
The music and literature of the Harlem Renaissance defined American culture, including its poetry. Using a poem from the period, individuals explore its musical qualities and how it is reflective of the period. Then, they use what they...
Curated OER
General Music: Star Spangled Banner
"The Star Spangled Banner" became our country's national anthem, but why? Second and third grade musicians read about the song, analyze the lyrics, and discuss patriotism. They then complete a related word search.
Curated OER
Applying Music to Literature
Kids explore music, history, culture, and literature in a multi-faceted lesson plan. They discuss how both historical and cultural contexts shape music, art, and literature, and then apply these concepts as they engage in a listening...
Curated OER
Rap Music and Hip-Hop
Learners explore rap and hip hop music. In this music and culture lesson, students experience the music of Will Smith in order to work on language and communication skills such as rhyming words, writing, and public speaking.
Curated OER
The Love and Safety Club for Children
Child safety and bullying is the focus of this sociology lesson plan. The Love and Safety Club is a program for children which is designed to help reinforce important information regarding how to stay safe at home, at school, and when...
Curated OER
Music for Alice
Third graders explore Japanese culture. They read the story Music for Alice. Students write a paragraph defining what happiness means to them. They discuss Alice's culture and their own cultures. Students create a brochure about Japanese...
Curated OER
Global Music Lesson Plans: Singing Games - UK and Botswana
Students perform and compare two singing games from Botswana and from the United Kingdom. In this singing games lesson, students identify and respond to singing games and their changes in meter. Students compare the two singing games...
Curated OER
Dancing Hands, Abstract Drawings
Learners discover African musical rhythms by performing Ancestral Spirit Dances. In this musical lesson, students research Willis "Bing" Davis and the abstract work he created. Learners listen to Yoruba drum music and experiment...
Curated OER
Exploring African Music
Learners appreciate African Music and the rich culture it represents. They identify two characteristics of African Music in their journals.
Penguin Books
An Educator's Guide to Al Capone Does My Shirts
It's hard to imagine that life on Alcatraz could be dull. A series of intriguing lessons take readers through the novel Al Capone Does my Shirts. Pre-reading questions introduce the text and a range of suggestions, from comic strips to...
Curated OER
I am Special and You are Special Too - Project Children L.E.A.D.
Eighth graders recognize what makes them special through class participation and discussion of rap music, writing a poem about themselves, and designing their own special hat while working in groups.
Curated OER
Jews and Blues
Students examine how American Jews affect music and entertainment. They identify problems between immigrants and their children. They relate the Jewish American issue to those of African Americans.
Curated OER
Learning the Beat
Students identify gifts found in folktales. In this folktale lesson plan, students read the Hindi folktale "The Drum" and discuss the value of gifts such as time, talent, treasure, etc. Students also create drum beats.
Curated OER
Christmas Lesson Plans
Students learn about the Christmas season through music, research, and other activities.
University of Kansas
Newspaper in the Classroom
Newspapers aren't only for reading—they're for learning skills, too! A journalism unit provides three lessons each for primary, intermediate, and secondary grades. Lessons include objectives, materials, vocabulary, and procedure, and...