Scholars listen to several pieces of music in preparation for a discussion about how instruments and lyrics convey emotions. With Harriet Tubman as the focus, small groups create an original song or dance. A reflection piece concludes...

A poem carved on Angel Island's walls is the guiding text of a lesson that challenges scholars to put movement into a written piece of art. After warm up-activities, learners play a game of "Pass the Clap" and "Pass the Line," in which...

Mayim, Mayim is an Israeli folk dance done to celebrate the discovery of water. The dance is done in a circle with everyone moving the same way at the same time. If your dancers are shy and do not want to hold hands then perhaps use...

Students identify how they themselves use movement and dance and the many ways that people move and dance in various contexts. They observe and imitate folk movement and dance while decoding their skills and kinesthetic abilities. ...

Each of the three dance lessons included here will get your class moving. The first lesson allows learners to explore how music and movement differ in meaning depending on cultural context. Lesson two gives them an opportunity to create...

Here are three lessons that work together to engage learners in a cultural and musical exploration. In instructional activity one the listen to the Mexican folk song, "La Raspa" and discuss cultural context. In instructional activity two...

Students discover African musical rhythms by performing Ancestral Spirit Dances.  In this musical lesson, students research Willis "Bing" Davis and the abstract work he created.  Students listen to Yoruba drum music and...

Students read the book "Dancing Rainbows," and complete a variety of activities across the curriculum. In this Native Americans lesson plan, students create pottery, discuss Pueblo traditions, discuss the importance of rain, and learn...

Fourth graders dance with inspiration from wild animals. In this creative movement lesson, 4th graders watch a video clip and then move like an animal might move in their natural surroundings.

Learners listen to tango music and research the country it came from. In this music lesson, students find that tango music comes from Argentina. They listen and dance to the music and then write stories. 

Celebrate the beauty of trees with a packet full of activities designed to help kindergarteners get to know about their leafy nature friends. Covering a variety of subjects, scholars go on a nature hike, read Shel Silverstein's The...

Students investigate pantomiming by going on a fictitious bear hunt.  In this performing arts instructional activity, students collaborate in groups to sing songs and perform pantomimes based on a hunting trip.  Students create...

In this Louisiana musical landscape worksheet, students evaluate that they learned about folk movement or dance by scoring themselves using on 18 performance elements.

Students perform a folk dance and discuss its cultural and historical meanings. They review the dance and perform it, beginning with four individuals who dance with confidence right from the start.

Students experience a dance club-like environment one would find in Haring's 1980's. They dress in 80's clothes and learn break dancing moves. They relate the experience to Haring's artwork and explain his influences.

Scholars follow three steps—color, cut, and fasten—to create a mascot for Earth Day. The holiday's mascot is a jolly planet Earth equipped with a big smile, excited eyes, and dancing arms and legs. 

Create classroom community with this Bingo icebreaker, which has the group finding out interesting details about one another. For this version, individuals have a 25-square grid, each square containing one multicultural experience or...

Fourth graders identify the cardinal directions by listening to a song entitled, "Stand," and by reviewing the lyrics to that song. They notice the cardinal directions that are posted around the classroom. They perform the motions as...

Students examine how breakdancing influenced Keith Haring. They translate a flat image into movement. They breakdance along to music of the 1980's to experience the energy and innovation of that decade. They create flipbooks of their own...

Students role play the characters and events which led to the holiday of Cinco de Mayo. In this Cinco de Mayo instructional activity, students dance the "La Raspa" dance. Students complete a Cinco de Mayo word search.

Third graders complete a unit of lessons on the singing, instruments, and dancing of Native Americans. They identify and play various instruments, complete worksheets, define key vocabulary, sing songs, and perform dances.

Third graders create a poster of a travel route. In this discrimination instructional activity, 3rd graders read The Gold Cadillac and use it to discuss the problems African Americans faced while traveling south in the 1950's. Students...

Celebrate Kwanzaa with a game of Kalah, also known as Mankala or Owara. Using an egg carton and a set of beans, players take all of the beans out of one of his or her cups and move to the right, dropping one bean into each of the...

Students study world cultures with an emphasis on languages and cultures. In this world cultures lesson, students study the countries of Spain, China, Italy, and the United States. Students read the story Everybody Cooks Rice and move...