Curated OER
Sakura
Students create, notate, and perform the melody of and a rhythmic accompaniment to the traditional Japanese folk song, Sakura. This lesson requires a networked computer lab with headphones.
Curated OER
Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, Dance of the Floreadores, Waltz of the Flowers in the Meter of Duke
Students contrast the meter and style of two different versions of the musical piece, "Waltz of the Flowers." Duke Ellington's meter in the "Dance of the Floreadores" is compared to Tchaikovsky's version in the "Nutcracker."
Curated OER
Kitty Tunes
Students compare cat calls. In this wildlife lesson, students listen to cat calls and compose their own raps that feature the calls of Florida panthers.
Curated OER
Percussion Family Lesson Plan
Students gain an appreciation for percussion instruments. They can identify the instruments by sight and sound and associate them with different musical styles. Using Microsoft Musical Instruments, students hear other percussion...
Curated OER
Blues Improvisation
Students practice playing and improvising while playing the 12 bar blues. They practice compositional skills, evaluate and perform musical pieces focused on the blues.
Curated OER
Bollywood, Philadelphia
Students conceive a simple boy-meets-girl story. They write a screenplay, compose a storyboard, and produce the story with music and dancing in the style of a modern Indian operetta, using digital filming and editing. They screen the...
Curated OER
A Night in Tunisia
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.
Curated OER
Make a Commercial
Students develop and produce a commercial. In small groups they select a book or upcoming event, create a storyboard, and develop a commercial to advertise their book or event in the form of a computer slideshow using KidPix computer...
Curated OER
Black and Blue: Jazz in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
High schoolers analyze the impact of jazz on the novel, "Invisible Man," by Ralph Ellison. They read and discuss excerpts of the novel, write an essay on the influence of jazz on Ralph Ellison as a writer, and view video excerpts on...
Curated OER
WebQuests
Students work together or individually to complete a WebQuest. They gather information on topics related to music. They also practice their piano lessons in class.
Curated OER
Sing What You Mean, Mean What You Sing
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.
Curated OER
Polyrhthm
Fourth graders compose and perform polyrhythms in small groups using non-pitched percussion instruments. They enter the classroom with the recording of "The Rite of Spring" playing on the CD player. Students are asked to describe the...
Curated OER
THE TRAVELS OF BABAR: An Adventure in Scale : The Instruments of the Orchestra
Students classify the classes of instruments of the orchestra: strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion. They aurally and visually identify the instruments of the orchestra. Students become actively engaged in live performances by...
Curated OER
Electricity Lesson Plan
Learners conduct experiments on static electricity using the Internet. They compose a 30 second electricity safety jingle to be aired on a local radio station.
Curated OER
Barnyard Riddles - A Class Project
Students choose and animal about which to research or compose a riddle. They organize and develop a slide show in which they create a background, import graphics, clip art, kid pix stamps, photos, and type their riddle.
Curated OER
A Journey Through France
Fourth graders examine France and its culture. They create a passport, convert collars to francs, listen to French music, research Impressionism and Monet, and compare/contrast the French version of Cinderella.
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Outstanding African Americans Activity
Challenge historians to investigate influential African-Americans through this online research activity. Learners undertake this task using online links, some of which require investigative searching. Print the worksheet out first, so...
Curated OER
Government
Second graders run for various offices. They dress up like a politician, pretend to be running for an office, and tell the students why they should vote for him/her. They explain why it is necessary for a community to have a government
Curated OER
Immigration Unit
Third graders develop an appreciate for the various cultures that are present in their local community. Through reading and research, they explain how various culture came to live in their area. At the conclusion of the unit, 3rd...
Curated OER
Singing The Blues with Garage Band
Students demonstrate writing lyrics for a twelve-bar blues pattern by writing two verses of a blues song and then recording themselves singing over a stock blues pattern using Apple's Garage Band. Requires a networked keyboard lab.
Curated OER
DIGITAL WATERWORKS
Students add digitally-produced, water sound effects to a song, using electronic keyboards.
Curated OER
Here's the Pitch
Young scholars define pitch, measure varying amounts of water into containers, make predictions about the sounds made when striking the containers, put containers in order from highest to lowest pitch, and create their own sound patterns...
Curated OER
Solar System Tourist Bureau
Students, working in teams, role-play as advertising agents creating ad campaigns for a planet in the solar system. They design commercials for video, Hyperstudio, or Web pages. The activity includes research, all the production stages,...