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Weaving Traditions - Activity 1
Students practice the techniques of weaving and braiding in this introductory lesson on family traditions and visual art. The lesson includes a video and other resource links.
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Ferde Grofe
Students participate in three different activities centered around Ferde Grofe. The different lessons are used to introduce music and the artist to the class. They listen to stories that music tells, and create their own sand painting...
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Songs
Second graders practice singing the chorus of a Scottish ballad. They also sing two American folk songs in class. They are encouraged to use the correct pitch while singing.
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A Cultural Palette
Students examine pieces of music and art that represent who they are. They study Haitian culture and traditions by performing the musical production "Once on the Island." They watch and discuss the film "The Nature of Music."
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Barn Dance
Students will read historical realistic fiction, examine and recount the cultural similarities and diffferences between life and times of those characters in the story and their own life. Listen to music and learn a dance to accompany...
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Rhythm
Fifth graders listen to a song from a compact disc called "Talking Spirits" and discuss whether they have ever heard music like that before and who might be playing the instruments and the music. They try to identify the instruments...
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Inter-City Jazz Songbook Project
Students choose a city with famous musical highlights and create a tourist brochure.
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Robert Henri, the Harlem Renaissance and You
Students examine the artwork of Robert Henri. Using his pieces, they compare and contrast it to the works during the Harlem Renaissance. They create a HyperStudio project showing the Ashcan School of Art with music accompanying the...
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Spark Activity: Louisiana Line Dance
Students learn and practice 1 step at a time of the Louisiana Line Dance, then put all steps together and practice the dance to music.
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Pottery
Young scholars create an original piece of pottery. They produce a repeating pattern on their pottery piece and reproduce their pattern either linguistically or musically. They determine the meaning of various idioms about mud and ...
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Songs
Second graders study four American songs that they will sing during the month of February. They discuss the origins and meanings of the songs.
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Three Pieces for Chamber Orchestra, Movements 1 & 2 By Arnold Schoenberg
Students study composer, Arnold Schoenberg. They compare landscapes to soundscapes and study abstract art and abstract music. They answer questions and write about both in their journals. They identify abstract artist and composers...
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Laundry Basket Fun
Students entertain themselves in a laundry basket. In this performing arts lesson, students sit in a basket with small items and then throw the items out repeating the procss over an over again.
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Compositional Techniques: Are There Similarities Between
Students recognize how chromatic scales create tension and pentatonic scales create relaxation as compositional techniques used to create tonality. Also, students aurally recognize the use of mixed or alternating meter as a means of...
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Under Joni Mitchell's Influence
High schoolers view the AMERICAN MASTERS entitled Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind, examine the concept of influence, and explore how Joni Mitchell and her work have influenced others. Students read, interpret, and analyze her...
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Breaking the Code: Actions and Songs of Protest
Students listen to and discuss the purpose of protest music. They analyze an editorial cartoon related to Jim Crow and read questions from the literacy tests given to African-Americans. They work together to write a song about the...
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Cultural and Historical Meaning: Little Johnny Brown
Students perform a folk dance and discuss its cultural and historical meanings. They review the dance and perform it, beginning with four individuals who dance with confidence right from the start.
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THE PEN VS. THE SWORD: LYRICAL RESPONSES TO A NATION AT WAR
Students brainstorm lists of songs that were written in response to American wars; consider the patterns in the lists they create.
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Passing Down Family History Through Oral Tradition: Corridos
Students create and perform Corridos which are oral tradition ballads. In this Passing Down Family History Through Oral Tradition lesson, students interview family members using a predetermined list of questions. In addition, students...
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Lift Every Voice and Sing
Students analyze sculpture, poetry, and music to gain an understanding of historical events. In this critical thinking skills lesson, students take a closer look at African-American history as they examine "Lift Every Voice and Sing'"...
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The Sounds of Samba
High schoolers research the origins of Samba in Brazil using the internet. After defining new vocabulary, they locate the cities in Brazil using latitude and longitude which practice the Samba. In groups, they compare and contrast the...
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The Many Faces of Paul Robeson
Young scholars discuss and construct timelines based on the life of author/performer/Civil Right's activist, Paul Robeson. They view photographs of him at various times in his life and discuss the roles he may have been playing at those...
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The Gullah People of the Sea Islands
Eighth graders examine the lives of the Gullah-Geechee people. In this unique cultures lesson plan, 8th graders explore music, language, and slavery of the Gullah-Geechee people from the southern low-country in the United States....
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Rock
Students play "Fly Away" and "All Along the Watchtower" and then use different voicings of guitar chords and compare them.