Lesson Plan
Boston Symphony Orchestra

The Elements of Music—How do Composers Plan?

For Teachers 5th - 8th
The introduction to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and the finale of his Symphony No. 4 provide young musicians with an opportunity to investigate the music elements composers employ to develop the themes they want to create. They compare the...
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

African American Music: Let’s Sing and Play Clapping Games

For Teachers K - 2nd
Two lessons focus on making a beat. Using popular African American music of its time, scholars listen and analyze the rhythm then recreate it with hands drums, and cups. 
PPT
CHPCS

The United States in the 1920s: The New Negro Movement and the Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Music, writing, and activism all tell the story of history! The resource uses these elements and more in a presentation to discuss the Jazz Age and Harlem Renaissance. Your class views biographies, discusses important events, and...
Unit Plan
Pearson

Musical Theater Performance

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Musical theater is a trifecta, requiring cast members to be actors, singers, and dancers. Help theater arts students develop these skills with a unit designed to prepare them for a staging of a musical.
Activity
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre

West Side Story Suite and In The Night Fancy Free

For Teachers 8th - 12th
West Side Story and Romeo & Juliet—two classics in their own rights that help young literature lovers better analyze different works. Learners research and compare the characters and story elements of West Side Story and Romeo...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Protest Music Video

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use iMovie to express the meaning and context of a protest song from the '60s or '70s. They explore different views of the protest movement and gain an understanding of the emotional and political overtones of the times.
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

The Freedom Riders and the Popular Music of the Civil Rights Movement

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s marched to its own beat—literally. Using songs from the era, as well as other primary sources such as King's "I Have a Dream" speech, class members analyze lyrics to discover how music and protest...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ballet and Classical Music

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders explore ballet. In this dance and music humanities lesson plan, 4th graders practice ballet positions and play a card game using French ballet vocabulary. Students count beats in rhythm patterns and listen to classical...
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Jamaican Song, Dance, and Play: Experiences with Jamaican Musical Traditions

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young musicians experience song, dance, and play of the Jamaican culture. Scholars listen for and recreate beats, they play tunes, make up original dances, and play a game that challenges pupils to pass stones to a specific beat.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rap Your Way Through Integers

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Your resource or special education class will have fun with this interesting approach to learning about integers. They use rap, movement, and an interactive online game to reinforce the rules of integers. A well-rounded activity that...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music Lesson Plan for Teaching Children with (Severe) Autism

For Teachers Pre-K - 12th
Here's a packet of music activities designed specifically for children with autism. Kids learn greeting, echo, and repertory songs, as well as rhythmic patterns to play rhythm instruments.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Theater Arts/Creative Movement Lesson Plan

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Here is a series of five exercises intended to bring movement, dance, and theater into the classroom. Intended for special ed classes, but appropriate for any grade, learners will pantomime, play pretend, dance, move, and create...
Activity
Curated OER

Musical Activities for Early Childhood Inclusion

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st Standards
Get your movers and shakers grooving to the beat with this series of musical activities designed to meet everyone's needs! Ten games, using an assortment of instruments, bring awareness to one's body, brain, and social interactions in a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Form and Observation

For Teachers K - 2nd
Use a familiar song and adorable baby animal pictures to teach youngsters about genetic variation. Begin by listening to "Twelve Variations on 'Ah vous dirai-je Maman,'" which you will need to find online (there are several versions...
Lesson Plan
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Center for Civic Education

The Power of Nonviolence: Music Can Change the World

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Here is a fantastic activity through which class members discover how music has the ability to influence others in a meaningful way. After reviewing selected pieces and modern-day protest songs, learners will research other songs that...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Kindergarten Music Lesson

For Teachers K
Singing, clapping, moving up and down with the melody, it all sounds like a great music lesson. Kinder-musicians sing three different songs to practice memory, speaking, and movement skills. They'll move to the melody, build memory with...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Magic Words, Magic Brush: The Art of William Butler and Jack Yeats

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students explore the influence of the landscape of Ireland on shaping the poetry of William Butler Yeats. They work in groups researching the growth of the Irish Nationalist Movement, Celtic origins, invasions, and the impact on the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Looking at different cultures and how music from differing cultures changes movements, meaning and mood

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Each of the three dance lessons included here will get your class moving. The first lesson allows learners to explore how music and movement differ in meaning depending on cultural context. Lesson two gives them an opportunity to create...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Multicultural Music: Israel

For Teachers 2nd
Do a grapevine to the left, lift your hands in the air, and sing out, "Hey!" These are the steps second graders will do when they sing and dance the Israeli folk song, "Achshav.”  They will explore the concept of multicultural music...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comparing Values: Comparisons Between Musical Notation and Money

For Teachers K - 6th
Students identify ways in which the principles and subject matter of other disciplines taught in school, specifically math, are interrelated with those of music.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Same and Different Through Music and Art

For Teachers K
This lesson is intended for a music class but would be a great way to teach compare and contrast to any class. Kindergarteners dance the Hokey Pokey to four different styles of music and examine two paintings of Humpty Dumpty, then...
Unit Plan
Trinity University Digital Commons

Romanticism: Past and Present

For Teachers 10th Standards
With its focus on nature, individualism, imagination, and rejection of traditional authority, Romanticism has great appeal to young high schoolers. After examining classic paintings and poems as well as current works, class members...
Printables
Jolly Learning Ltd

Jolly Music Posters

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Perfect for music class or a dance lesson, these Jolly Music posters are charming for young learners of any age. They each feature a children's song with applicable illustrations and motion, prompting your young musicians to move to...
Lesson Plan
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education

Theme and Variation

For Teachers 5th
The dance elements of body, energy, space, and time are the focus of a lesson on movement and theme. The class follows along as the teacher shows them a new dance that has a theme. They practice the dance, and then change one element in...

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