Whether new to the Kodály Method of music instruction or an experienced veteran, you'll find much to make your heart sing in a teacher guide that was designed for a music appreciation project. 

Young readers travel back to the time of the dinosaurs in this literature unit based on the story Dinosaurs Before Dark. Intended for use with upper-elementary special education students, this resource provides reading...

Oh I love the blues! Here is a wonderful four page reading passage that focuses on the Delta Blues. It covers topics such as, the music's cultural influences, origin, form, terminology, and significance. A great way to integrate...

Young scholars focus on reading musical notations. They see, hear, practice and write notations in the lessons to become more independent readers of music. They complete a Rubric for Pitch Worksheet.

Independent harmonies, homophonic music, intervals, and melody are all part of music theory and practice. Prepare your budding musicians for the big time with these activities focused on playing with accompaniment. This lesson plan is...

Students examine how African Americans escaping slavery used storytelling to communicate. They listen to and read the lyrics for the song, Follow the Drinking Gourd, view the Reading Rainbow video, and write and illustrate their own story.

So what about those Beastie Boys? Kids read a New York Times article relating the history of hip-hop and rap icons the Beastie Boys. They then answer eleven who, what, when, where, and why questions about the text they read.

Upper graders listen to the blues. They discuss blues scale, read a description of the blues, and work together to write an original piece. A lesson like this ties into American history and African-American musical contributions very...

Chopin was a lovely composer who played the piano masterfully. Third graders are introduced to Chopin, his piano sounds, triple meter, music patterns, movement, and the waltz. They listen to his music while hearing the story Butterflies...

Young literary analysts compare two poems by the same author. Readers look for slant rhyme, observe the beat and rhythm of each, and search for repeated vowel sounds. After re-reading, they observe the lack of punctuation and the stanza...

The elements of music and journalistic integrity in one lesson; What could be better? The class discusses journalistic approaches to better understand responsible reporting versus sensationalism. They watch the Act One from the film...

A New York Time article on a major music and arts event can be a good way to get kids interested in the daily news. They read an article about Coachella, and then answer eight comprehension questions, in either blog or print form. Note:...

This was written for ESOL learners, but could work for any elementary class. Learners read about the American dance style known as Square Dancing. They explore its use in literature, write a friendly letter about it, and then use their...

Explore expressive reading through the read-aloud Summertime: From Porgy and Bess. Readers will make predictions about the text and listen to the song Summertime. They will also identify how the story relates to the song lyrics.

Primary graders are introduced to the concepts of pitch and volume with a reading comprehension worksheet that focuses on the physics of sound.

A carefully crafted three-day lesson integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The lesson activates...

Everyone loves a good prank! With this reading passage, Perla and her grandmother play some fun innocent pranks on one another. Kids focus on new vocabulary words, questions about the information they have read, and responding with their...

Present your class with an overview of poetry-related information. The slides are clearly organized by topic, starting with reading poetry, ending with myths, and touching on everything from the five senses to open and closed forms of...

For this vocabulary recognition worksheet, students read examples of using the terms beat, earn and win, apply them to fill in the blanks completing sentences, and create additional sentences. Students write 18 answers.

In this rain forest rap worksheet, students read rap facts about the rain forest and then complete the rap with their own additional facts. Students fill in three lines of the rap.

Students create unique sounds using different instruments.  In this energy activity, students read and define several vocabulary terms such as heat, energy transfer and thermal equilibrium.  Students utilize several household...

In this reading assessment worksheet, students complete a 42 question, four story passages test. Students read about Stephen Spielberg, Lois Lowry, a shy boy in high school, and Haleakala volcano. Students answer the multiple choice...

How did jazz influence Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man? Class members read some of Ellison's non-fiction writings about blues and jazz, listen to records, watch videos, and engage in student-centered discussions. They then produce podcasts...

Create musical myths in this West African tales lesson. Middle schoolers read myths from African Myths and Legends as well as West African Trickster Tales. They note when music could be used to enhance the tales, and then write their own...