Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music Styles

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Young scholars identify many genres of music and connect styles of music with various cultures. They watch "The Greatest TV Moments: Sesame Street Music A to Z" and list music styles: folk, jazz, rock, etc.
Lesson Plan
National First Ladies' Library

Ragtime: The First "American" Music?

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Learners investigate the concept of ragtime music and the times associated with it in American history. They conduct research using a variety of resources and listen to a sample before writing down some of the results of the information...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African Popular Music

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students explore popular music of West Africa. In this musicians instructional activity, students complete listening tasks that challenge them to analyze the music of Oumou Sangare, Angelique Kidjo, and Baaba Maal.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music in South India-Kerala

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students identify various instruments and styles of music from South India-Kerala. In this music instructional activity, students discover main languages of South India and the Kathakali dance drama. Students discuss the types of singers...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Beat the Beat!

For Teachers Pre-K - 2nd
Young scholars develop a sense of pulse by listening to music with strong beats. In this music beats instructional activity, students listen to marching band music examples. Young scholars then practice showing the beat while listening...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music Notes

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Learners identify music notes. In this music notes lesson, students toss bean bags between partners the number of times of a note (quarter, half, dotted half, etc) value.  Learners also practice underhand tosses. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Native American Music and Dance Activity

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students demonstrate keeping steady beat through practice exercises and stepping to the beat using instruments such as conga drums, tambourines and rhythm sticks.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music In America - Lesson 1

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners identify many careers within the music industry such as producer, A&R representative and recording studio engineer. They connect achievements of noted artists with their roles in the music industry.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Musical Chair Review

For Teachers K - 1st
Learners play a simple game designed to reinforce letter names, sounds or sight words. They walk in a circle as music plays, and stop in front of a chair when the music stops. Each chair has a letter or sight word that the child must...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Musical Alphabet-Stepping Up

For Teachers K - 5th
Students explore the music alphabet. They step up from any letter of the musical alphabet. Students practice stepping up or skipping from various letters within the musical alphabet.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cover the Music

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore U.S. history by listening to musical pieces in class. In this Civil War era lesson, students discuss the types of musical instruments that were available to soldiers during the war and the themes of their songs. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cave Paintings: Leaving a Message

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders create cave paintings to leave behind a message for the future civilizations about how they live today.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Musical Tapestry

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars explore the terms and structure of a bluegrass tune. They participate in a listening exercise that will challenge them to identify specific elements within a bluegrass musical arrangement.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African Art: Ntan Drum

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Learners study African history, anthropology and culture using the lens of the art object, Ntan Drum. Lesson and instruction is differentiated for elementary, middle and high school students.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Letter Sound Accuracy, Musical Chairs

For Teachers K
Students explore word structure by participating in a game of musical chairs. In this phonics lesson, students discuss the letters of the alphabet and identify words that begin with each letter and the sounds they make. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music in America - Lesson 3

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students listen to many examples of Motown music and explain the relationship between the word "Motown" and the city of Detroit. They examine and identify distinctive musical elements of the early "Motown Sound."
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music In America Music In America

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study early New Orleans Jazz music and recognize Louis Armstrong as an early jazz artist. They recognize the elements and roots of Jazz.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Viennese Musical Clock"

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders learn about musical patterns as they play a game called fudge. Students are assessed based on whether they were able to identify and play a steady beat, use the appropriate form, and clap the rythmic patterns.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning Musical Terms

For Teachers 1st - 4th
Students observe and discuss the following musical terms and their symbols: staff, measure, bar line, double bar line, treble clef, bass clef, time signature, common time, cut time, quarter note, half note, dotted half note, whole note,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Signin' the Blues with Rock, Rap 'n Roll

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders listen to recordings and study jazz and the blues music. They identify the instrumentation and explore the 12-bar blues progression. After experimenting with different sound, 6th graders create their own arrangement, with...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Music and Message of Lauryn Hill

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Students explore the music of artist Lauryn Hill and analyze the way she uses her music in a socially responsible manner. In this music artist lesson, students read the lyrics to Hill's songs and listen to some example songs. Students...
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Curated OER

Spelling Bee/Musical Chairs

For Teachers 1st - 4th
Pupils spell and recognize vocabulary words and/or spelling words by playing musical chairs with spelling words.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Performance into Art

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Students explore two works of art of performance art. In this performance art lesson, students analyze performance art in the examples of Yves Klein and Joseph Beuys. Students complete image based discussion activities. Students research...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Music Be the Food Of Love": Found Poetry with Shakespeare and Hip Hop

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students create found poetry using lines from hip hop songs and Shakespeare's plays. They try to rewrite the words to music so that more people can explain Shakespeare's plays. They discuss the results of the activity.