Introduce the basics of Thanksgiving with a language arts instructional activity. As pupils practice observation skills, vocabulary, and reading comprehension, they design paper turkeys by outlining their hands and feet and by...

To continue their study of the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the beginning of the civil rights movement, class members watch the YouTube video of Billie Holiday singing "Strange Fruit" as an introduction to an examination of...

Once the class learns about the hero's journey, they'll find it in every story and movie they see! Take characters from their humble beginnings to their atonement and apotheosis with a set of lessons about the hero's journey...

Students research the Incan civilization. In this Incan civilization lesson, students study the geography of the Andes mountains and play an Andean siku. Students discuss how the sounds of nature influenced their musical piece.

Students analyze musical and topical elements in popular songs and compose song as a classroom effort. They write a short paragraph evaluating the effectiveness of the song in conveying the message of the lyrics.

Students investigate the impact of popular music in 1960's America. In this music and history instructional activity, students listen to several identified songs from the decade and analyze their lyrics. Students discuss their...

Students compose a written music review of one of today's popular bluegrass musicians after they read online essays and journals about the modern bluegrass music scene look over and discuss recent music reviews

Students explore music therapy. For this health journalism lesson, students read the USA Today article titled "Music Strikes a Soothing Cord", respond to discussion questions regarding the article, and complete an activity based on the...

Students read and discuss 'Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra: Mixing Treasures by Duke Ellington and Edvard Grieg,' exploring how jazz transformed European music and the influence jazz has had on modern music. They write musical reviews.

Middle schoolers read about the music and life of Glenn Miller. They listen to Miller's "Jeep Jockey Jump" and analyze the piece for instrumentation, formal structure and stylistic characteristics.

Learners explore the popular culture phenomenon of the musical 'Cats' and the T.S. Eliot poems that were its inspiration. They write original poems about animals, and read them aloud to their peers.

Students examine "serious" choral music written for student choirs and the composers who write it. They reflect upon the notion of "serious" music, and examine the trend of concert composers writing pieces for student chorus

Students closely examine chamber music as it has changed from the Middle Ages to today. They work in small groups to research the composers, instruments and typical presentation in 5 time periods. They write biographies and share their...

Students explore the ways in which the worlds of popular music and opera can work together to complement the other. They work in small groups to analyze plot, characters, setting and themes of a popular opera using a summary of that...

Second graders are exposed to a variety of attributes of melody in seven lessons of this unit. the notation in treble clef, pitch, and the movements of the melody are presented in these lessons.

Latin American culture is deeply embedded in American culture as a whole. From the Latin rock scene in San Francisco to the hip-hop world of New York, Latin American artists have influenced every genre of modern music. Learn about the...

Ninth graders read and analyze the William Shakespeare play "Romeo and Juliet" and compare it to the 1996 modern version of the play and the movie "West Side Story." They write an essay comparing and contrasting the three versions.

Students gain a better understanding of the AIDS worldwide epidemic. They see how music is connected to other aspects of our lives and our world. They listen to and discuss multicultural music.

Students are introduced to the genre of the musical film. They become aware of the music and dance trends of the 1920s. They identify musical motive as a basis for unity in composition.

Students examine the patriotic songs of the 1940's and compare them to those of today. They identify elements that classify a song as patriotic, listen to several examples and complete Venn diagrams contrasting different examples.

Students role play the characters and events which led to the holiday of Cinco de Mayo. For this Cinco de Mayo lesson, students dance the "La Raspa" dance. Students complete a Cinco de Mayo word search.

Students compose a beat in the style of Kanye West. They listen to and analyze the song, "Through the Wire" by Kanye West, compose a beat, and complete a worksheet.

Third graders assess how to read and write rhythmic notation in music. They explore the concepts of whole, half, quarter, eighth, dotted lines, extended pentatonic, diatonic and major/minor modes. Symbols along with additional...

Second graders study Folk Songs and instruments of the orchestra in these lessons. They recognize the difference between folk songs and classical music.