Curated OER
Lady Sings the Blues
Young scholars explore women and music in the 20th century. In this music lesson, students study the relationship between literature and music through The Color Purple and music by Ethel Waters, MA Rainey, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday,...
Curated OER
Low and High with Ives
First graders read the Poem "The Elephant" by Shel Silverstein and create a descriptive web in the shape of an animal. In this cross curricular music lesson plan, 1st graders recite a poem with rhythm, then listen to the song...
Curated OER
Off the Record
Music reflects culture and culture is reflected in popular music. Reading an article on how hip-hop has affected the lives of two young men of different races launches an investigation of the development and influences of various musical...
Curated OER
Developing Story Ideas
Students complete activities to learn how to develop story ideas in journalistic writing. In this story ideas lesson, students learn news value judging criteria, identify language to ask beat sources for story ideas, distinguish story...
Curated OER
Dali & Desnos
Learners explore surreal art and poetry. In this visual arts lesson plan, students examine works by André Breton, Robert Desnos, Salvador Dalí, and Joan Miro. Learners then apply the techniques in the works they analyze to their own poetry.
Curated OER
Requiem "The Song of the Murdered Jewish People"
Music and poetry are vehicles that can tell many stories. Learners read the poem "The Song of the Murdered Jewish People" by Itzhak Katzenelson, then listen to the requiem it inspired; composed by Zlata Razdolina. Excellent...
Curated OER
Visual Aural Impressions
Students view a piece of impressionist art, listen to a piece of jazz music and then write a piece about the picture in the style of beat poets. They compare their writing and look for differences in their perceptions.
Curated OER
Dance: Discovering the Culture of Gullah
It's wonderful to see a lesson that incorporates art, movement, and writing. These three forms of creative expression are explored as learners dance to music from the Gullah people of West Africa. They analyze several paintings, listen...
Curated OER
The Talking Stick
Young scholars examine the lives of the Aboriginal peoples of Saskatchewan. For this talking stick lesson, students discover dance, art, music, and traditions of the First Nations people. Young scholars design and create a talking...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan for C.S Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew
Here is a instructional activity that incorporates music writing, and reading literature. The class reads chapter eight from the C.S. Lewis classic The Magician's Nephew. Then, just like in the story, they use music as inspiration...
Curated OER
Mozart vs. Beethoven - Real Classical Composers
Elementary schoolers are given an overview of the baroque, classical, romantic, and modern periods of music. They focus on the lives of Beethoven and Mozart; two of the greatest composers of all time. After listening to samples their...
Curated OER
I Spy Poetry
Explore the components of rhythm and form through a reading of Jean Marzollo's I Spy books. After discussing Marzollo’s format, the class agrees upon a theme for a class book and topics that fit with that theme. Pupils write a poem,...
Curated OER
A Poem About Sadness
In this emotional health worksheet, learners explore the feelings of sadness, grief and loss by first reading and decorating a poem which states that it is all right to feel sad. Students color emotion pictures and discuss as a group why...
Curated OER
The Importance of Storytelling
Students examine how African Americans escaping slavery used storytelling to communicate. They listen to and read the lyrics for the song, Follow the Drinking Gourd, view the Reading Rainbow video, and write and illustrate their own story.
Curated OER
Handel
After reading a selection on the life of Handel, learners utilize worksheets embedded in the packet in order to write a synopsis of his life's story. There is also a quiz on his life with questions such as: What kinds of music did Handel...
Curated OER
Bud, Not Buddy: Guided Imagery Exercise
Develop readers’ awareness of the visual power of language with a guided imagery exercise. Set the stage and create the mood with dim lights, soft music and potpourri. Then read the provided section of Bud, Not Buddy. Next, invite...
Curated OER
A Season for Chapters
Art, music, poetry, and the beauty of the seasons is what you'll find in this very nice unit idea. You can use any of the suggested books and activities to engage your second graders in an exploration of the changes that take place...
Curated OER
Movie Maker: Retelling a Story
Using Movie Maker, sixth graders make an eight frame movie based on a story they have written. They choose music clips, select pictures from PowerPoint, and make their movie. The lesson should take about ten days to complete.
Curated OER
Not Just the Facts
Encourage your learners to explore the differences between hard news and news analysis. They outline a complex news analysis about the upcoming presidential election, then endeavor to write an analysis of the same topic, using local...
English Grammar
Gerund or Infinitive – Fill in the Correct Form
Middle schoolers love listening to music, and they also love to listen to music. So what's the difference? Spell out the nuanced ways to use gerunds and infinitives with a 50-question grammar exercise. Given short sentences and verbs,...
K12 Reader
Synonyms or Antonyms?
To demonstrate their understanding of synonyms and antonyms, kids label pairs of words as either the same or opposite in meaning.
Curated OER
The Harlem Renaissance
Did you know that the Harlem Renaissance was also known as the New Negro Movement? This presentation is fully of interesting facts and pictures to help your class understand the literary movement and how these changes also affected music...
Curated OER
Roger Robot
Read the story of Roger Robot included in the instructional activity and have kids move creatively by interpreting how a robot might move. Read a part of the story, then stop and let the class act it out. Read some more, and let them...