Students portray the mood of a piece of music in a drawing.  In this mood in music instructional activity, students discuss how music creates a mood.  Students listen to Vivaldi's "Four Seasons," "The Wreck of The Wreck of...

Young scholars analyze instrumental music.  In this instrumental music lesson, students investigate musical works of art.  Young scholars describe the instruments they hear and discover the relationship between music and other...

Students explore vocal music techniques.  In this vocal music lesson, students follow a series of warmup exercises modeled by the teacher, then participate in specific breathing and vocalizing exercises.

Students evaluate the messages in music. In this communication through music lesson plan, students listen to various musical selections and determine the message being conveyed in the song. Then, students create their own message as they...

The fifth activity in the Amani Project series, another Harmony Break, has participants demonstrate a mood shift. They begin by drumming in a way that indicates their current feelings. They then model a change in mood by transitioning...

Eighth graders investigate how to compose music for a detective program. The goal is for them to discover the method needed. The idea was simple, they were told to compose the music with emotional tension that climaxed and then relaxed...

And the beat goes on! Finding a way to connect during the isolation imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic can be challenging. This activity from the Amani Project offers a way to stay close during a time of physical distancing....

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...

Students examine how breakdancing influenced Keith Haring. They translate a flat image into movement. They breakdance along to music of the 1980's to experience the energy and innovation of that decade. They create flipbooks of their own...

Students practice their reading comprehension while listening to a classic folktale from India.  In this cultural storytelling lesson, students read the book The Cleverest Thief and complete word identification worksheets based on...

Students explore their five senses. In this human biology lesson, students participate in various learning centers that include activities such as creating a Q-tip skeleton, feeling play dough, creating "goop" and listening to drum beats.

Learners view a video that presents the musical career of vocalist Josh Groban and pay special attention to his performance anxiety and how he has dealt with these fears. They identify ways in which they can combat other types of anxiety.

In this music worksheet, students read a short explanation of the symphony as a musical form for a large body of instruments before reading about the four major sections. They use a chart at the bottom of the second page but there are no...

Students listen to a book, "Meet the Orchestra." They observe a PowerPoint presentation, listen to the sounds in "Peter and the Wolf" and then match illustrations of instruments to their specific sound. Students identify instrument...

Students choose a minority culture or an event and research the musical influences of that culture or event on American popular music. They discuss how minority cultures and events in American society influenced the Disco era.

The process may be difficult, but the end product will be worth it. Kids will love creating these plaster masks made from their own faces. If they can sit still long enough, they can become the model for their own masks. All the steps,...

“Be glad that all things sort so well.” To make text-to-self connections to Shakespeare’s play, class members engage in a guided imagery exercise prior to reading Act IV, scene i of Much Ado About Nothing (the wedding of Claudio and...

Middle schoolers demonstrate correct body posture for proper singing technique, and accurately perform correct breathing technique in preparation for singing.

Students analyze a classic children's story by discussing it with their peers.  In this reading comprehension activity, students read The Little Red Hen, and discuss ways the hen takes care of his responsibilities.  Students...

Ninth graders explore the power of media in culture and Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence. In this nonviolence and media lesson, 9th graders analyze Gandhi's nonviolent methods for social change and discuss the media's power to create...

Middle schoolers explore performing arts by participating in a role-play activity. In this storytelling lesson, students utilize their physical expressions to particpate in a pantomime performance. Middle schoolers evaluate performances...

Students act like the changes in the four seasons by moving like water in each season.