Curated OER
Rhythm and Improv, Jazz and Poetry
Connect the ideas of jazz improvisation and art to writing poetry. Learners collaborate and write different lines of poetry, imitating the jazz styles of improvisation and freewriting. Take a close look at the poems "Tenebrae" by Yusef...
Queen's Printer for Ontario
Composers in Music History
What do Johann Sebastian Bach and Miles Davis have in common? Much more than class members might imagine. The comparison of these two famous composers is just one lesson in a unit that investigates many facets of the music industry...
Curated OER
Black and Blue: Jazz in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
Students 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 jazz...
Curated OER
A Renaissance of Jazz and Poetry
Young scholars explore, analyze, study and read a variety of poems and listen to jazz that have their roots in the Harlem Renaissance. They then discuss the similarities and differences of themes in the works of different poets and...
Curated OER
Music and Animation: 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons
Music has been used to convey thoughts, feelings, and the human condition for thousands of years. Your class will analyze several songs hear in the animated classic, "Charlie Brown." They will listen to several jazz pieces from the show,...
SoundTree
Teaching Jazz Structure with 2-track Stereo Digital Audio Software
Melody, solo, melody. After a discussion of the structure of a jazz tune and of improvisation as it relates to jazz, young musicians listen to a jazz CD and then, using 2-track stereo digital audio software, place and label markers in an...
Curated OER
Playin' the Blues
Young scholars explore history and sounds of blues music, construct instruments from scrap materials, and compose music to accompany lyrics of songs for kids.
Curated OER
Composers and Their Styles
In this music activity, students find the words that are naming the major composers and the answers are found at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
Duke Ellington: Great American Musician and Composer
Students delve into the life and music of Duke Ellington as a major American musician and composer. The elements that made the sound of his orchestra unique and the talents of his band members are explored in this lesson.
Curated OER
ELA Lesson Plan Focusing on Artists and Composers
Pupils 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 compared...
Curated OER
Black American Musicans: Precursors of Jazz
Students trace the course of Black music from the 1900's to the beginning of the jazz age. They realize that when education is defined as enlightened training for a place in society and for individual personal development, it was highly...
Curated OER
VH1 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll Lesson 3
Learners examine female artists who perform in the genres of rhythm & blues, jazz, soul, and hip-hop/rap. They compose lyrics and melody in one of these genres.
Curated OER
Middle School General Music Unit Plans
Here's a collection of unit plans for middle school musicians. Topics include the mbira, opera, rhythm and culture, music in Africa, music in the movies, music theory and notation, blues and jazz, and the ocarina. Definitely worth a look.
Library of Congress
The Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance brought forth many American art forms including jazz, and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Using a carefully curated set of documents from the Library of Congress, pupils see the cultural...
Curated OER
Jazz: An Expression of Cooperation - Lesson 3
Learners describe ways in which the principles of students or citizens working together are interrelated with those of musicians working together. They demonstrate their knowledge of the concept of "swing" in various jazz styles.
Curated OER
Blue Jazz Scale
Students engage in a study of music that includes the Blue Jazz scale. They listen to pieces of music in the targeted style while becoming familiar with the scale. Students then describe how the scale is built and demonstrate by playing...
Curated OER
Musician Extraordinaire Based on the DC Quarter Reverse
Students develop an understanding of the role of a musician, composer, and conductor. In this musician lesson, students examine the District of Columbia quarter and see that Duke Ellington is on the reverse side. They define performer,...
Curated OER
The History of Rock and Roll: Part 6 - My Generation - Lesson 2
Students identify musical characteristics of baroque, jazz, and psychedelic music. They arrange traditional music into the style of baroque, jazz, and psychedelic music.
Curated OER
In My Dream
Students listen to recordings of early jazz and identify examples of ostinato and syncopation. They discuss important personalities from jazz cultures and take a quiz on aspects of jazz.
Curated OER
"Andante" From Rhapsody in Blue
In this classical music worksheet, students listen to a recording of "Andante" from Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin. Students read a biography of the composer. Students unscramble the names of musical instruments and write an...
Curated OER
Giants of American Music
In this music worksheet, students match a description with the following composers: George Gershwin, Aaron Copland, John Philip Sousa, Leonard Bernstein. Students also reflect on why they are called Giants of American 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.
San Francisco Symphony
Learning Adjectives through the Duke
Duke Ellington, jazz, and jive kick-off a fun and creative lesson on responding emotionally to music. The class will learn about jive talk used in the 1920s and the life and music of Duke Ellington. They'll listen to a selection of his...
Johnny Mercer Foundation
Project-Based Songwriting
Project-based learning in a music theory class? Take note. Young songwriters compose, record, copyright, and promote their original songs. They even design their own CD cover.