Berklee College of Music
Create Your Own Afro-Latin Groove
The backbone of Latin American music is the beat! Young musicians work on blending Afro-Latin rhythms and beat patterns before incorporating the major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, and blues scales in their own compositions.
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Compare and Contrast Composers
Young scholars identify various pieces of music that are familiar to them and define how the music made them feel. Then they select their favorite piece of music heard and the activities in which they like to do. Students also attend a...
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Notable American Composers
Young scholars visit web sites for each of the composersand listen to selections of each composer's music and place important dates of the composers into a pre-printed time line.
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Tradition through storytelling and music
Students discover how storytelling can shape a person's tradition.Students examine different methods of storytelling such as music, biographies, and African folktales. They then demonstrate their knowledge of storytelling by writing...
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American Music Styles: Blues - Lesson 2
Students describe some of the distinguishing characteristics of blues music. They compare and analyze two versions of the same 12-bar blues song. They read and identify notation symbols for rhythm and tempo.
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Grandparents' Day: Family History
Pupils explore Grandparents' Day. They interview their grandparents and select an activity to highlight their interview. They select a project including writing an essay, composing a song, creating a poem or scrapbook, or writing a...
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Travel Agent to the Ancient World
Learners persuade others to visit ancient times. In this ancient civilizations lesson, students participate in a webquest that requires them to encourage others to visit ancient Greece, ancient Israel, Ancient Rome, ancient China,...
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Epic Improvisation
Really? Rapping The Odyssey? Really. A discussion of the oral tradition of story telling and its links to Epic poetry sets the stage for a series of activities that encourage improvisation to integrate music into other classrooms....
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Baroque Composer Presentations
Students create an understanding of contemporary artistic styles and genres through an overview of the connection of the arts throughout modern history. Students discussed visual, written and aural artistic mediums, as well as their...
Ballet Austin
The History of Modern Dance
The evolution of modern dance, and the dance history of many of the key figures in the development of this uniquely American form, are the focus of a 13-page packet that includes photos of revolutionaries.
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Adventures in Music History
Seventh graders participate in a variety of experiences to investigate the tie between music and history. It combines music history with historical events and includes information about composers and the music that they composed....
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The History of Rock and Roll: Part 6 - My Generation Social an Cultural Influence on Music Composition
Students examine influences on the creation and development of music.
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The History of Rock and Roll: Part 6 - My Generation - Lesson 2
Students identify musical characteristics of baroque, jazz, and psychedelic music. They arrange traditional music into the style of baroque, jazz, and psychedelic music.
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History of Christmas Carols
Students write the lyrics to their own Christmas carol. Through discussion and lecture, students become aware of the history of two Christmas carols. They memorize the lyrics to carols and perform them in class. Students use their...
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Ice -T's Rap School
Students research the history of rap and gain an understanding of the components of rap music. They experience the correlation between Shakespeare's poetry and rap music of today.
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VH1 AIDS: A Pop Culture History Lesson 3
Young scholars investigate the relationship between music and culture, and how music conveys thoughts and emotions. They write their own song.
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Gospel Music
In this music worksheet, students read about the origin of gospel music. Students answer ten essay questions related to their reading.
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Gospel Music
In this gospel music worksheet, students read a brief introduction to gospel music and respond to 10 short answer questions regarding it.
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Grouping Musical Instruments
Students study about musical instruments and group them into these categories: percussion, strings, woodwinds, and brass. After discussing these instruments, they independently complete the worksheet.
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What is a Concerto? Who is Alban Berg?
In this music history instructional activity, 1st graders learn about the concerto as a form of instrumental composition by reading an informative paragraph. Students then read a biography of composer Alban Berg and answer 10 questions....
San Francisco Symphony
Heritage Song
Learning how to compare and contrast is a core skill. Learners compare two music selections that showcase a specific heritage. They draw and discuss how each song and the composers of each song used their personal heritage as...
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Classical Period: Understanding Four-Bar Sequences
Her is an interesting topic, as well as a great way to teach it! You'll find two worksheets on this link, one for the teacher, and one for the learner. Worksheet one describes how classical composers used musical repetition to make their...
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Global Music Lesson Plans: Britten and Japan – Japan and the UK
Students explore the links between Japanese and British culture. In this Japanese music instructional activity, students listen to their instructor present a lecture regarding Gagaku music and then perform "Te Lucis Ante Terminum" with...
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Musical Roles
Students watch a videotape on the musical career of Aretha Franklin and explore the different careers in the music industry.