US Institute of Peace
Responding to Conflict: Active Listening
Did I hear you right? You need a great lesson on active listening? Through large- and small-group activities, learners differentiate between poor and excellent listening skills. The resource, 7th in a series of 15, focuses on active...
Fun Music Company
Substitute Lesson Ideas For The Music Teacher
Have to sub for a music class on short notice? Or have some extra time to play with? Never fear! Help is here in the form of 20 sure-fire music activities and worksheets tested and submitted by music teachers. A great resource to add to...
Curated OER
Critical Listening: Music Vocabulary
The school band or orchestra analyzes their own performance after exploring musical terminology. They listen to a classical piece and describe it using only words. They look up musical terminology and then use those words to compare and...
Curated OER
Sexual Exploitation, Day 1: Communication
Learn about the two main components of good communication - being assertive and active listening - as well as passive, aggressive, and manipulative communication. There are skits to read out loud as well as scenarios to practice with a...
Curated OER
Producing Beats
Turn your classroom into a music studio as groups work together to determine why music sounds different when performed live versus a recording. After listening to some different music, each group picks a poem, creates a recording, and...
Curated OER
Consonance and Dissonance Activities
Hone those musical ears to identify consonance and dissonance in music being played live or on a recording. Learners will work through four activities where they will listen to consonant and dissonant notes being played first by the...
Curated OER
Teaching the Instruments of the Orchestra to Young Students using the San Francisco Symphony Kids’ Website
Using the San Francisco Children's Orchestra web site, first graders build listening and instrument identification skills. Each child wears head phones, listens to ID, and finds various instruments on the included worksheet.
Curated OER
Carnival of the Animals and Aquarium and Magic Fish
Engage little learners in this moderately developed three-lesson unit on the composer Camille Saint-Saens and his piece "The Carnival of Animals." Each lesson includes a listening, discussion, and an art project to engage your class in...
Curated OER
Listening Logs
Students hone their listening skills. They develop tools for approaching research into their own musical traditions and those of community and state and examine different ways of recording data. They design different types of research...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Informational Text: Music and the Brain
Even if you've never picked up a musical instrument, chances are that music has directly impacted your mental and emotional development. Sixth graders engage in a reading activity in which they read two articles on the impact of music on...
Curated OER
Jay-Z: Famous People, ELL Assignment
This lengthy assignment was designed for English language learners. It includes a 1-page reading on the rapper, Jay-Z, and 10 activities/exercises that focus on listening and reading comprehension, speaking, vocabulary acquisition,...
Curated OER
Jay Chou: Famous People (ELL Assignment)
This 13-page assignment was designed for English language learners and includes a one-page reading on the Taiwanese entertainer, Jay Chou, and 10 activities/exercises that address listening and reading comprehension, speaking, vocabulary...
Curated OER
Popular Music and Music Videos
This resource is part of a three-activity unit that introduces your class to the concept of popular culture and the role that it plays in their lives. Here, learners examine the importance of the music industry and music videos in pop...
Curated OER
Teaching the Musical Concept of Tempo
Intended for an Autism class, this lesson teaches self-expression through music while facilitating an understanding of the concept of tempo. Pupils engage in a call-and-response song, clap, discuss, and sing keeping feelings and tempo...
Curated OER
Alcatraz: Reading and Listening Comprehension
In this listening comprehension interactive worksheet, students listen to a clip about Alcatraz and complete the cloze activity. There are twelve fill-in's to complete.
Curated OER
Romantic and 20th Century Period Music
Upper graders explore the similarities, differences, and depth of pop music from the Romantic era and the 20th century. They listen to selections that exemplify the Baroque, Romantic, and 20th century periods, then create presentations...
Illinois Music Education Conference
Taking the “General” Out of Middle School General Music!
Middle schoolers will sing the praises of this music program. The resource, designed as an overview for music instructors, is loaded with ideas, activities, and links. Not a sour note in the packet.
Live Oak Media
Activity Guide: Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
Enhance a reading of the Caldecott Medal-winning children's book Joseph had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback with this collection of learning activities. Starting with general background information about the book and author, this...
Education Closet
Equal Rhythms
Engage young mathematicians in learning about fractions with this cross-curricular math and music lesson. After listening to and repeating different beat patterns, children realize that musical notes are just another way of representing...
Curated OER
Music Patterns
Little ones can listen and follow along with the images to practice making rhythmic patterns. They clap and play to a variety of simple beats. This is a great way to build coordination, listening skills, pattern recognition, and music...
Curated OER
"Movies That Rock": Moulin Rouge
Upper graders explore musical film and the Bohemian lifestyle common in Europe during the turn of the century through the musical Moulin Rouge. After listening to (or viewing) songs from the movie, they discuss the Bohemian era and how...
Curated OER
MUSICAL MYSTERIES
Students explore the concept of steady beat and develop listening skills.
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Music
Music is the focus of the reading adventure pack. After reading, pupils complete hands-on activities. Scholars use household items to make shakers and cymbals. They listen to eclectic music by turning on the radio, borrowing music from...
Classics for Kids
Listen to the Music
Different pieces of music can elicit different emotions from audience members. A quick tempo can make you feel happy, while a largo piece may bring out a melancholy temperament. Elementary musicians learn more about the instruments and...