Curated OER
The blues highway: An integration of music with geography
Students analyze the movement of the blues from rural Mississippi to urban Chicago and how place and the environment affected the development of the blues. They define the blues, where it originated and how and why it moved to Chicago....
Curated OER
VH1 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll Lesson 1
Students the influence of women's music in history and the suffrage movement.
Curated OER
Time for All Ages
Fourth graders discover time keeping by analyzing technological advances in history. In this time lesson, 4th graders create and complete a KWL chart based on their research of a famous timekeeping invention, such as a sundial....
Curated OER
A New Twist on Race Relations
Learners analyze the impact of American Bandstand on race relations. In this race relations instructional activity, learners use the music and dance show American Bandstand to learn about race relations. Learners categorize pivotal...
Curated OER
Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, The Minstrels
Students explore "Stairway to Heaven". In this music history lesson, students examine the music and lyrics of the Led Zeppelin song. Students compare the song to Renaissance madrigal music.
Core Knowledge Foundation
Ray Charles
Introduce young learners to the read-aloud process with a short biographical passage about Ray Charles. After listening to the passage, class members respond to factual, inferential, and evaluative questions, and then create a timeline...
Curated OER
And You Don't Stop - 30 Years of Hip-Hop, Episode 2, Lesson 3
High schoolers discuss how Run-D.M.C. brought Hip Hop into mainstream popularity. They discuss why melding two styles of music is popular and what the results have been through history. They take two songs and combine elements to make a...
Curated OER
Langston Hughes and the Blues
Students explore the connections between Langson Hughes and blues music. For this African American culture lesson, students compare and contrast blues music with poetry and short stories by Langston Hughes.
Curated OER
Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum
Students explore the American dream. In this contemporary music lesson plan, students analyze the lyrics of songs by Neil Diamond, Bruce Springsteen, and David Massengill. Students create 3-D representations of the American dream and...
Curated OER
VH1 Storytellers for Save the Music Starring Billy Joel
Students pretend they are taking a certain job in the music industry and respond to questions.
Curated OER
True Music
Eleventh graders research a given decade in US History. In this American History lesson, 11th graders interview a person who lived during the decade to gain a personal perspective on it. Students rehearse and present their composition.
Curated OER
The Blues . Music Education
In this lesson students will learn about finding the blues in a variety of musical styles. They will investigate instances of the blues form heard in mainstream pop music, along with exploring the musical styles of two new artists who...
Curated OER
VH1 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll Lesson 6
Young scholars study vocal style and techniques in various genres. They critique vocal performances by completing critique charts.
Curated OER
Storytellers: Bruce Springsteen
Students study rock and roll with the music of Bruce Springsteen.
Curated OER
African American Music
Students investigate a variety of sites to gather relevant information for a
presentation about African American musical forms in this general Music activity for middle school and high school. Resource links are provided to aid...
Curated OER
VH1 Fan Club Dave Matthews Band
Students study how the music of Dave Matthews Band is based on jazz, blues, bluegrass, rock and roll, and rap.
Curated OER
Using Cross-Genre Comparisons to Find the Message in Hip-Hop
Students analyze two cross -genre songs written in the early 1980s for lyrical content and social commentary. They consider the artistic merit of hip hop music in today's culture.
Curated OER
Scops, Rappers and You: Historians with Style!
Students examine the epic poem Beowulf. In this analyzing poetry lesson, student compare listen to the Will Smith song "Wild, Wild West" and read Beowulf. Students analyze the song and the poem. Students then research an influential...
Curated OER
Keep on Pushing: Popular Music and the Civil Rights Movement
Students explore music that exemplified the Civil Rights Movement. For this music and history lesson, students research 1960's protest songs, Motown recorded music, and rap of the 1990's to consider the power of music and its reflection...
Curated OER
I Went to the Crossroads: The Faust Theme in Music, Film and Literature
Students analyze song lyrics and discuss Faust theme in musical history. In this thematic lesson, students view a film clip and create a song lyric, poem or short story developed around the Faust theme. Students perform or present their...
Curated OER
Shake, Rattle and Roll
Sixth graders explore the causes and effects of earthquakes. They also collect and analyze data in graphs. They also use the Internet to research earthquakes
Curated OER
“And Still I Rise” Proud Black Women
High schoolers examine the experiences of African American women. In this poetry lesson, students use their literary analysis skills to compare the poetry of Maya Angelou to rap music performed by Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill.
Curated OER
The John Travolta Syndrome
Students examine the influence of music and film on contemporary fashion. In this popular culture lesson, students research select films featuring John Travolta. Students research selected time periods in American history as well....
Curated OER
ABBA - Lesson 4
Students discover a connection between the genres of popular music and musical theater. They find and discuss musicals written in many different musical styles.