Media Smarts
Defining Popular Culture
What part does media play in creating, defining, and perpetuating popular culture? High schoolers chart their encounters with fads, trends, and icons and reflect on the media's influence on popular culture.
San Francisco Symphony
Quilt Making and Copland's Rodeo
Kids make quilts as they learn about pioneer life and the concept of tempo. The Aaron Copland piece, Rodeo is used to convey rhythm and tempo in music. As the children discuss tempo and rhythm, they also discuss what life was like for...
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Bravo!!
Second graders study and experiment with rhythm and sound. In pairs, they practice reading and performing simple melodies from sheet music. Individually, they choose one piece to perform for the class.
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Vitamin A
Learners identify and pat the beat. They move to and play quarter notes, half notes, and eighth notes to create a "factory" movement and instrument improvisation. Students get into groups of three. Each person in the group moves to one...
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Nosferatu Expression and Diminished Chords
Students explore how to construct and play diminished triads and half and whole diminished chords on the keyboard. They create appropriate sounds to accompany sections of the movie "Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horrors." Students discuss the...
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Compose Your Memory
Students notate a short musical composition using the notation software Sibelius. This composition is based on a the student's favorite childhood memory. Based on their emotions felt at this time, they incorporate tempo, range, and...
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Romare Bearden
Students examine and discuss a collage by the artist Romare Bearden. They analyze the impact of jazz on art, listen to jazz, and create an original collage.
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"That's a Musician!"
First graders investigate the function of pattern as it applies to music, dance and visual art, and participate in activities that demonstrate the patterns found in each art form. They then focus on identifying musicians by the "tools"...
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Triple Meter
Students chant "Mabel, Mabel, Set the Table" in beats grouped in 4's using a percussive pattern. They repeat using 3's. Students sing a song in 4's and in 3's. they move to recorded music to practice threes. Students create Orff...
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Storytellers: Coldplay
Students use the music of Coldplay to inspire them to create a visual about their favorite band.
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Malambo
Young scholars use appropriate terms to reflect a working knowledge of the musical elements and use terminology from music and dance to analyze and compare structures of musical and other artistic works. They also identify the purpose of...
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Web Puts Undiscovered Musicians, Listeners In Tune
Students read an article from USA Today about technology and the music business. In this news article lesson, students read an article about failed musicians and their new roles in music and technology. Students discuss the article and...
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Muses of Independence
Eighth graders explore the entertainment options in colonial America. In this colonial life lesson, 8th graders watch a movie about colonial music and arts. Students then respond to questions regarding the movie and also respond to 1...
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Singing And Making Rhythm
First graders engage in a lesson that emphasizes the use of music to form a rhythmic beat that incorporates singing. They create a song in freestyle and some of them create a song. Students are assessed at using hand movement to track...
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Jack and the Beanstalk
Young scholars create a creative interpretation of Jack and the Beanstalk. In this artistic expression lesson, students paint the stages of the beanstalk plant as a storyboard and create song about how the seed is growing.
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Newspaper Writing in Various Genres
In this newspaper writing in various genres worksheet, students create 8 newspaper articles in different genres (list provided), following the examples given, with grading rubric included.
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Wyclef Jean for VH1 Storytellers
Students use different folk songs to learn chords and other musical elements.
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No Title
Third graders explore the role of music in a variety of situations including life experiences, celebrations, functions and special events. They also identify ways in which the principles and disciplines taught in school are interrelated...
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Babar's Travels
Students read the story The Story of Babar and have a class discussion about his travels, discuss their families, design a map, pick music, and more. In this cross curricular musical lesson plan, students create a music map for each of...
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Three-Dimensional Ceramic Sculptural Forms Inspired by the Paintings of Wassily Kandinsky
Students analyze / deconstruct elements of design used in Wassily Kandinsky's paintings in order to synthesize the elements into a three-dimensional form. Works may be functional or non-functional.
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ELA Lesson Plan Focusing on Artists and Composers
Young scholars research a selected composer and artist. They write a biography about each one and include information about at least two works created by the chosen artist or composer. Students note similar characteristics of their...
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Animal Action
Students construct descriptive sentences. In this cross curricular music and descriptive writing activity, students listen to classical music and pantomime actions that correspond to the music. Students write descriptive sentences...
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Understanding Tone
Eighth graders define tone and determine the tone of a particular passage making a web of tone words on Inspiration. They write a journal entry expressing how a piece of music makes them feel and create a PowerPoint to share.