Curated OER
Fire Safety
Students review how to exit the school building during a fire drill. They discuss the World Trade Center escape routes and why there was difficulty getting out on September 11, 2001. They compare fire escape routes of the World Trade...
Curated OER
Raising Cane: Building a Cane Flute From Scratch
Eighth graders create their own cane flute. They use a model flute to gain the correct measurements and use the scientific method to construct the flute to have sound quality and pitch accuracy.
PBS
Pbs: Black and Blue: Jazz in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
Ralph Ellison was a musician who later became a writer. His book Invisible Man is written like a jazz composition. In this lesson, students will interpret key themes and concepts in Invisible Man that are also found in jazz music.
PBS
Pbs: The Blues as Poetry
Discover what the relationship is between poetry and the blues. This site features lesson plans and online resources.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: I've Got the Literacy Blues
Contains plans for two lessons that teach about the theme of O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" using blues music, creative writing, and media study. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains links to sites...
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.
PBS
Pbs American Masters: Scientific American: Following Muddy's Trail
This site has a lesson plan on Muddy Waters focused on the American Masters documentary about him. Parallels the Great Migration with the growth of the blues music movement in America. Click on Muddy's name to access a detailed biography...
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 27: The Faust Theme
The Faust theme, that of risking eternal damnation by selling one's soul to the devil in exchange for magical powers, can be found in virtually every genre of music as well as in literature and the visual arts. Examples utilizing this...
Other
Harmonica Info and Tips
Gives basic information about the harmonica in addition to tips for purchasing and playing one
Love To Know Media
Your Dictionary: Adjective Lesson Plans
This article discusses spicing up your lesson plans for teaching adjectives with adjective worksheets, games, and adjective lists all of which can be located online. It suggests the use of Art and Music in your classroom to provide...
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 2: Langston Hughes and the Blues
Explore relationship between music and poetry in this African-American history lesson on Langston Hughes, the Harlem Renaissance, and other artists such as Bessie Smith, John Hammond, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones.
PBS
Pbs: American Roots Music: Lesson Two: Desegregating the Airwaves: Blues on the Radio
This lesson deals with the emergence of the blues as a form of popular music on the radio, beginning in Helena, Arkansas in 1940. Learners will understand and discuss the relationship between technological and social change, discuss how...
Yale University
Yale New Haven Teachers Institute: How to Blues
This site has ten lessons to teach about the blues in which students learn the geography, historical events and performers associated with the blues. The unit has been recognized by the American Music Education Initiative as one of the...
ibiblio
Ibiblio: Web Museum: Vermeer, Jan
This site offers brief biographical information about Vermeer but emphasizes his works. Over 20 paintings are featured as enlargeable images so you can get a close look at each one. Several works have in depth description and analysis...
Yale University
Yale New Haven Teachers Institute: Influence of Folk
This site, which explores the influence of musical folk traditions in the poetry of Langston Hughes and Nicolas Guillen, provides lesson plans, a biography, examples of Hughes' poetry, and details about his meeting with Nicolas Guillen.
PBS
Pbs: Continental Harmony
PBS presents several activities and lesson plans that cover the concepts of identifying different forms of music, learning about musical imagery, writing in response to music, and creating lyrics. The Sound Lounge has many interactive...
ArtsNow
Arts Now Learning: Realizing the Power of Your Own Creativity [Pdf]
In this lesson plan, students interpret a poem called 'The Little Blue Engine' by adding music, movement, visual art, and drama. After performing their creation, they will discuss any mathematical and/or scientific connections that have...