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A Round and A Round
Students practice singing rounds in daily warm-ups for 2 weeks prior to beginning this composition lesson. Students incorporate movement to the rhythm of each syllable, discuss syllables of words and their relationship to note values and...
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Black and Blue: Jazz in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
High schoolers analyze the impact of jazz on the novel, "Invisible Man," by Ralph Ellison. They read and discuss excerpts of the novel, write an essay on the influence of jazz on Ralph Ellison as a writer, and view video excerpts on...
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Stand Up and Sing
Students journal and respond to the question," How does society respond to change?" They create original lyrics to their own song that reflects the context of the Progressive Era.
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Music of My Heart
Students view and discuss the movie, Music of the Heart. They compare/contrast two versions of the song, Music of My Heart, identify characteristics of heroes, and sing the song, Music of My Heart.
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Rap Music and Hip-Hop
Students explore rap and hip hop music. In this music and culture lesson, students experience the music of Will Smith in order to work on language and communication skills such as rhyming words, writing, and public speaking.
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Hearts and Partners
Tenth graders explore, examine and study poetry within a variety of different strategies within this lesson. They review and discuss a diagram of the big picture of why it's importance to study, analyze and deconstruct poetry, so that...
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Lesson 3: Behind the Movie Chicago
In small groups and then as a class, young musicians compare and contrast two pieces from the musical film Chicago. They pair up to look at the elements that make each piece similar and define the elements or arrangements that make...
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The Life And Death of Tupac Shakur
For this reading comprehension worksheet about Tupac Shakur, students read a short article about his life and death. Students answer 5 questions. There are mature themes in this article.
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Music Education, The Blues
This lesson examines both the content and form of lyrics in blues songs. In addition to highlighting the basic musical form of a blues song, it also addresses the use of floating verses in blues music, both within the context of the...
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FIVE LITTLE PUMPKINS
Students explore the rhythm instruments as part of a rhythm band to accompany the well-known poem, "Five Little Pumpkins." They study instrument names, playing techniques, and playing at the appropriate time. They study how to perform a...
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Creative Writing
High schoolers determine what grammar is and how they have learned it. In this creative writing activity, students read "Style' Gets New Elements," and respond to the discussion questions. High schoolers then present grammatical rules to...
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The Electric Hearth
Students examine popular media. In this media awareness instructional activity, students keep logs of their interactions with media and then write an essay regarding the data.
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Jazz Talk
Students analyze the origins of jazz music by examining work songs, spirituals, blues, and gospel songs as well as works of poetry from African American artists. They create their own poems from either the narrative, dramatic, or lyric...
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Langston Hughes and the Blues
Learners explore the connections between Langson Hughes and blues music. For this African American culture lesson, students compare and contrast blues music with poetry and short stories by Langston Hughes.
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The Jury's Still Out
Students examine the trials and executions of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. In groups, they use the internet to research the impact of the executions in the shape of political cartoons and writings. They discuss an article to...
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M.C. Bard: Hip Hop and Shakespeare
Students compare lyrics from hip hop songs with monologues from Shakespeare's plays, and perform both for the class.
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Ice -T's Rap School
Students research the history of rap and gain an understanding of the components of rap music. They experience the correlation between Shakespeare's poetry and rap music of today.
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The Element of Color
Eighth graders study and analyze the elements of color by creating an personalized color wheel. Emphasis is placed on constructive criticism of student work by others for assessment. Students create short poems for their color wheel...
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Garage Band
Fifth graders identify a pop rock music form that includes a verse, a chorus, and a bridge in ABABCBB form. They demonstrate basic skills using the "Garage Band" application. Students crate a piece of music using the garage band...
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Stylistic Devices
Students review connotation and denotation and stylistic devices in poetry. They read the lyrics to a song as it is being played and then discuss the meaning of the song. As a class, students read poems, share their thoughts, and...
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You've Got to be Taught to Hate and Fear
Students explore themes of prejudice and acceptance. In this character education instructional activity, students listen and respond to several fiction books, poems, and lyrics with a similar theme. Students locate articles with the main...
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Geo Jammin' - Day 2, Lesson 6: Rhyme and Reason
Learners listen to the poem "Shapes" by Shel Silverstein in order to accurately and specifically describe shapes' rules/traits in their journals. They illustrate the poem and take turns reading during a creative shared reading session.
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"Tongue Tangle"
First graders engage in a study of phonics that focuses on the beginning sounds with an emphasis upon varying types of genres that includes songs, speech, and poetry. They recognize the beginning sounds of words and make physical...
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You Don’t Know What You’ve Got Until It’s Gone: The Changing American Landscape
High schoolers examine the changing American landscape. In this cause and effect lesson, students listen to rock music that exemplifies urban growth in America and the interconnectedness of America today. High schoolers write cause and...