Curated OER
Lesson Plans for 2nd grade Japan Unit
Second graders explore the music and dance of Japan in this five lessons unit. Aspects of Janpanese and American culture are compared. The food, holidays, clothing, and the school day of the two countries are discussed.
Curated OER
Learning to Play Together
Students listen to and discuss American music genres, specifically ragtime, bebop/bop, and swing, and experiment with improvisation on traditional tunes and rhythms.
Curated OER
Storyline Drum Circle
Students perform story songs. In this rhythmic motives activity, students practice melodies, variations, and accompaniments as they read Peter Seeger's Abiyoyo and create compositions to present it as a story-song.
Curated OER
Goldilocks and the Bears Make Their Pitch
First graders listen to the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and identify the pitch of the bears' voices as high, medium, and low. They improvise on xylophones a melody to accompany the bears in the telling of the story.
Curated OER
"Sakura Sakura" and the Kumoijoshi Scale of Japan
Learners listen to a recording of "Sakura" and determine where it is from. In this global sound lesson, students view pictures of cherry blossoms and connect its significance to Japanese culture. Learners sing the score while...
Curated OER
Beat Or No Beat
Students keep a steady beat by body movement exercises, improvise, identify a beat/no beat sequence and sing a nursery rhyme from Portugal in this Kindergarten General Music lesson plan. The use of simple rhythmic instruments is required.
Curated OER
The Name Game
Students are introduced to a song in which they practice echoing. During the song, they sing a song in which they give their name and their classmates say their name back to the original person. They practice singing to each other in...
Curated OER
Indian Music Revolution- Word Search
In this Indian music word search worksheet, students complete 11 sentences using the terms from a word bank. They find the words in a word search at the bottom of the page. They find words which include: India, melody, and tala.
Curated OER
A Wing and a Prayer
Fourth graders improvise missing harmony accompaniment for a soloist performing "The Star Spangled Banner." Groups select several familiar melodies that they can produce while individual students take turns improvising a new harmony part.
Curated OER
Hard Rock - Lesson 1
Students perform any part of a four-part keyboard ensemble with musical sensibility in a "hard rock" style. They improvise a melody over student accompaniment.
Curated OER
ABBA - Lesson 3
Students develop a deeper understanding of the connection between improvisation and inspiration. They choose a partner and take out their original poems. With their partners, have them say the poem with a steady beat.
Curated OER
VH1 Road to Fame: Harry Connick Jr. - Lesson 3
Students sing a vocal improvisation on a 12-bar blues progression. After watching a video on Harry Connick Jr., students try their own scat singing on the two-measure break.
Curated OER
Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music In America - Episode 3: Can I Get A Witness
Students identify many genres of music that influenced gospel and study examples of gospel music. They explain that gospel music is sacred and is usually performed with sincerity, dignity, and passion with vocal improvisation.
Curated OER
Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music in America - Episode 3: Can I Get A Witness: Lesson 2
Students watch a video on spiritual music, then engage in a discussion about the artists and styles mentioned in the video. They discuss vocal improvisation, and engage in a call and response to "This Little Light Of Mine.'
Curated OER
Melodic Rhythms of India
Students listen to and dance to the music of India. After listening to the music again, they identify the different types of instruments playing the melody. They explain the tabla tarang and view photographs of people performing the music.
SoundTree
When The Saints Go Marching In: A Lesson for Middle School Keyboard Lab Students
After listening to a variety of interpretations of "When the Saints Go Marching In," partners compose and then perform their own renditions of this classic before joining a full-class jam session.
Curated OER
"Movies That Rock": Moulin Rouge
Upper graders explore musical film and the Bohemian lifestyle common in Europe during the turn of the century through the musical Moulin Rouge. After listening to (or viewing) songs from the movie, they discuss the Bohemian era and how...
Curated OER
Responding Syllables: Reading and Music
Shell Silverstein’s “Sick” provides an opportunity for kids to demonstrate their understanding of syllables and phonemes. The class creates a list of descriptive words used in the poem that have more than one syllable, and brainstorm how...
Curated OER
This Land is Your Land - Travel Posters
Eleventh graders compile a list of places in the United States where they have either traveled or where their relatives or friends live. They collect travel posters, brochures, postcards, and maps from their region of the United States.
Johnny Mercer Foundation
The American Musical
General music students learn about the history of popular American music by creating and performing a one-act musical. After researching and creating an American Musical timeline, class members write a song with lyrics using Jam Studio,...
VH1
Lesson 3: Behind the Movie Chicago
In small groups and then as a class, young musicians compare and contrast two pieces from the musical film Chicago. They pair up to look at the elements that make each piece similar and define the elements or arrangements that make them...
Curated OER
Subtracting from Ten: Using Math with Music
Young scholars explore basic math functions by singing with their classmates. In this addition and subtraction lesson, students sing the song "5 Green and Speckled Frogs"and complete a list of subtraction problems. Young scholars...
Curated OER
Sam Cooke - Lesson 1
Students identify the impact of the social injustices and Civil Rights movement on Cooke's life and career. They create lyrics to a familiar song that express a personal struggle or concern.