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Worksheet
Curated OER

Composing Your Melody

For Students 6th - 7th
In this music worksheet, students perform a given melody of four phrases. Students also improvise their own melodies using notes G, A, C, D, and E.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz: Expression through Improvisation

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students watch a video on improvisation. They improvise original melodies over given chord progressions. They develop criteria to evaluate the merits of improvisational performances and apply the criteria in their personal listening and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz Forms and Improvisation

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
Students listen to an original recording of Louis Armstrong and discuss instrumentation. They identify an AABA song form as they listen. They list similarities between the following: traditional meets modern and small group vs. big band.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Progress: From Chords to Melody

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students review chord progression while listening to tracks of music. They write melodies to fit a given chord progression. They sing their melodies and analyze how it compares to the original melody.
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Unit Plan
Johnny Mercer Foundation

The American Musical

For Teachers 7th
General music students learn about the history of popular American music by creating and performing a one-act musical. After researching and creating an American Musical timeline, class members write a song with lyrics using Jam Studio,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

My Way

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students culminate a humanities project by improvising music to accompany a video of a particular era in US history.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

VH1 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll Lesson 3

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine female artists who perform in the genres of rhythm & blues, jazz, soul, and hip-hop/rap. They compose lyrics and melody in one of these genres.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Viennese Music Clock

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students explore the music concepts of ryhthm, melody, form, and harmony in a three-lesson unit. They listen to the Viennese Music Clock and demonstrate moving to the beat, create improvised melodies, and play percussion accompaniment.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Name Game

For Teachers K - 1st
Students are introduced to a song in which they practice echoing. During the song, they sing a song in which they give their name and their classmates say their name back to the original person. They practice singing to each other in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Conveying Message Through Musical Composition

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students listen to and discuss various protest songs from the 1960's, and write original lyrics for a song addressing global or societal issues. They write a paragraph evaluating the efficacy of the song to convey a message.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Melodic Rhythms of India

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students listen to and dance to the music of India. After listening to the music again, they identify the different types of instruments playing the melody. They explain the tabla tarang and view photographs of people performing the music.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

ABBA - Lesson 3

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students develop a deeper understanding of the connection between improvisation and inspiration. They choose a partner and take out their original poems. With their partners, have them say the poem with a steady beat.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The History of Rock and Roll: Part 6 - My Generation - Lesson 2

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students identify musical characteristics of baroque, jazz, and psychedelic music. They arrange traditional music into the style of baroque, jazz, and psychedelic music.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Composing Project

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students design, compose, and present short musical compositions for keyboard in this lesson plan meant for the high school choir class. This lesson can be adapted to any time frame, but the author suggests a considerable amount of time...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Write a Rap Song

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners compose lyrics for a rap song. In this music instructional activity, students choose a topic, such as "Our School," and use rhyming words to compose a rap song. Learners perform the song for their classmates.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

VH1 Storytellers for Save the Music Starring Billy Joel

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine recordings of Billy Joel.