Curated OER
Under Joni Mitchell's Influence
High schoolers view the AMERICAN MASTERS entitled Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind, examine the concept of influence, and explore how Joni Mitchell and her work have influenced others. Students read, interpret, and analyze her...
Curated OER
Asian and Other Cultures
Students view and discuss a video showing different festivals celebrated in Asian cultures. They participate in a class survey of the different festivals celebrated in their own families and brainstorm the purposes for festivals. In...
Curated OER
The Secret Society and FitzGerald's The Great Gatsby
High schoolers formulate what tensions about wealth and status are revealed in The Great Gatsby. Apply how these tensions are reflected in Nick Carraway's struggle to belong. Write a "credo" for the "secret society" implied in The Great...
Curated OER
The Sound and Feel of the 1920s
Eleventh graders comprehend the 1920's. They analyze examples of art from 1920's to build an comprehension of the times. They are asked if art reflect or transcend the time in which it was created? Students discuss the common element...
Curated OER
Crazy Crazy Bones
Learners practice labeling the bones of a human skeleton. Students reword the song "Dry Bones" with the accurate names of the bones listed.
Curated OER
The Places We Love
Students examine how they and others express themselves. Using various writings and art, they discover the places they like to go in the world and share them with their classmates. They paint their favorite place and share their...
Curated OER
Swing Your Partner! It's A Virtual Square Dance
Students explore the Wessels Living History Farm website and research how to do a square dance. They read a story, listen to an explanation of barn dances, and participate in various square dances.
Curated OER
Los Angeles Tourist Brochures
Students study the history of Los Angeles and make a tourist brochure for the city.
Curated OER
Los Angeles Tourist Brochures
Learners investigate the history of Los Angeles. They conduct Internet research, select a specific topic, and create a tourist brochure that includes information, pictures, and maps.
Curated OER
VH1 Road to Fame: Harry Connick Jr.
Students examine the life of Harry Connick Jr. and keep a journal on how they could be more successful.
Curated OER
George Gershwin
Students explore the life and accomplishments of George Gershwin. They listen to Latin rhythms and practice the rhythmic parts. Students identify Latin instruments George Gershwin added to the orchestra. After practice, they perform a...
Curated OER
Dance Team/ Collaborative Fitness Routines
Students experience the process of creating a "dance team" type routine by following a set procedure.
Curated OER
Meet Louis Prima!
Young scholars discover the difference in major and minor tonality after a brief introduction to Louis Prima. They discuss swing dancing and Louis Prima's role in the "Jungle Book" as the character King Louis. Students listen to the...
Curated OER
"The Block": Romare Bearden's and Mine
Students study Bearden's style of collage and create their own collage that reflects their neighborhood. They are read "The Block" and poems about neighborhoods and write one about theirs.
Curated OER
Making the Changes
Students investigate the two chords of G/F in the 4/4 meter within the acceptable boundaries. They practice listening and performing the chords using the method of improvisation. Students also recognize the relationship of notes and...
PBS
Pbs: Defining Jazz Music
In this lesson, students will develop a definition of jazz. Through biographies and interviews of jazz musicians, students will learn what jazz music is about.
PBS
Pbs: Jazz Music and the Crisis Over School Desegregation
Working in cooperative groups, your students will learn how jazz musicians expressed the Civil Rights era in their music. This lesson focuses on the Civil Rights movement in Little Rock, Arkansas. Also, they will learn to about the...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: A Brief History of Jazz!
A lesson plan that helps students explore the roots of jazz music and some of the important jazz musicians in history.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Jazz and Ww Ii: A Rally to Resistance, a Catalyst for Victory
Lesson plan that teaches the roles that jazz music and jazz musicians played in the war effort and that demonstrates the effect that the war had on jazz in America.
PBS
Pbs: Jazz Is About Collaboration: Jim Crow Laws: Segregation
Engage your students in discussion about segregation and the Jim Crow laws with this in-depth lesson plan. Using jazz music, you will contrast the ways in which America's most significant contribution to the arts depended on...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Learning the Blues
This lesson plan introduces young scholars to the blues. The origin and development of the blues is explored as well as its distinctive structure.
John F. Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center: Musical Harlem
The Kennedy Center's ArtsEdge offers a great unit for introducing jazz to students. Its use of Harlem as the "glue" which binds together elements such as jazz history and jazz terminology, makes it particularly effective for the...
PBS
Pbs: Transcending Poetry, Jazz, Rap & Hip Hop
The objectives in this lesson will have students describing the characteristics of poetry, jazz, rap and hip hop music. Students will also analyze how poetry, jazz, hip hop and poetry reflect the culture of the time.
PBS
Pbs: Jazz and Math: The Beat Goes On
This lesson will require students to collect data through listening, counting and timing. They will use ratios, rates, and proportions to report data. They will also demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of rhythm and tempo in music.