Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rhythm and Improv, Jazz and Poetry

For Teachers 11th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz and Math: Rhythmic Innovations

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students compare and contrast the rhythms of marches and jazz. They watch an excerpt about Buddy Bolden from the PBS Ken Burns Jazz documentary, compare/contrast march and jazz rhythms, complete a worksheet, and notate and perform jazz...
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

The Birth of an Icon: Learning and Performing the Origins of the Drum Set and Early Jazz Drumming in New Orleans, Louisiana

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Bass drum, snare drum, tom-toms, cymbals. Perched behind their drum sets, wielding their drum sticks and wire brushes, drummers lay the grove and are the heartbeat of a band's performance. A dynamic lesson introduces young musicians to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz In America - Lesson Plan 8

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explore the current jazz scene and how it reflects American culture. They listen to jazz recordings of current artists and speculate on which direction jazz is likely heading.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rhythm & Improv: Jazz & Poetry

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers analyze the elements of poetry and jazz. In this critical thinking skills lesson, students take a closer look at the rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, form, free verse, lyricism, and imagery that exist is jazz as well as...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz and Math: Improvisation Permutations

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners observe that there are myriad combinations of rhythms to choose from when improvising jazz and blues music, and recognize that while the variations seem infinite, they are in fact finite. They notate a 12 bar blues progression...
Lesson Plan
Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford

Similes Activity using Jazz (featuring Duke Ellington)

For Students 4th
Language learners get into the swing of things with a jazzy lesson about similes. They read an article about Duke Ellington, listen to samples of his music, and then try their hand at crafting similes to describe his improvisational and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz Dance and Music

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders write a poem. In this jazz music lesson, 4th graders learn about the basics of jazz dance and practice basic movements. Students learn common terminology and listen to several recordings of jazz music. Students create a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Improvising in the Birthplace of Jazz

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students recognize significant developments in New Orleans jazz music. They improvise blues licks using notes from a minor pentatonic scale.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Influence of Jazz Music in Twentieth Century Art

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Young scholars examine the effect of music on society. While listening to music, they identify the beat, rhythm and write down their reaction to it. Listening to longer selections, they assign a color to the music and share it with the...
Lesson Plan5:53
TED-Ed

A-rhythm-etic. The Math Behind the Beats

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Your learners will dance in their seats as this talented drummer connects math to music in a short video clip. Clayton Cameron shows how math puts the "cool" in various genres of music, including jazz, hip-hop, pop,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I See The Rhythm : The Study of Blues and Jazz

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students gain an appreciation for various types of music. Using the music of the past, they compare it with the music of today. In groups, they research periods in which blues and jazz were most popular and write their own piece of music...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Country's Music

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Jazz, Blue Grass, Hip Hop, Swing. Gospel, R&B, Ragtime, Disco. So many music genres born in the USA. After reading an article about the fate of New Orlean's Jazz after Hurricane Katrina, class members investigate the life cycles of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music and Animation: 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons

For Teachers 7th - 12th
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,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fats Waller, Handful of Keys

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Playing piano is great fun and playing jazz is even better. Kids watch a video of Fats Waller playing the song, "Handful of Keys," they then use either a piano key print out or Orff instruments to practice his signature stride piano...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz and Math: Improvisation Permutations

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students explore the various rhythmic combinations in jazz and blues music. They watch a video segment, apply a mathematical formula to calculate the number of possible rhythmic combinations, and perform a combination of notes and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz and Math: Rhythmic Innovations

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Students watch a segment of the PBS Ken Burns JAZZ documentary about Buddy Bolden creating the "Big Four." They compare and contrast the rhythms of marches and jazz based on the examples in the film, and explore notation, subdivision of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

VH1 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll Lesson 3

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars 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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz and Math: The Beat Goes On

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students collect real data through listening, counting and timing jazz pieces.They use ratios, rates, and proportions to report collected data and demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of rhythm and tempo in music.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Improvise a Short Story through Jazz

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students evaluate jazz music and a jazz music performance. They collaborate and create an improvised group short story. They improvise a musical piece on found objects.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hearing the Poetry of Langston Hughes Through the Sounds of Jazz

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students have an appreciation of Langston Hughe's poetry and his use of jazz rhythms, have the ability to read poetry closely, and freewrite to gain a fresh perspective on music and literature.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz In America

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Learners explore the Jazz Era in America not only by answering questions but listening to music as well.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Musical Traditions of Southern Louisiana

For Teachers 9th - 12th
This units gives young scholars opportunities to * Research the history and patterns of French settlement in Louisiana * Discover three types of music (New Orleans jazz, Cajun, Zydeco) which are representative of the Francophone presence...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African American Community and Culture

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders explore the rise of jazz music. In this Duke Ellington lesson, 4th graders watch video segments regarding Ellington's life and showcasing a performance of Ellington and his band. Students discuss the rhythm...

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