Upper graders take a critical look at art criticism, music, and politics. They watch one segment of "True Spin," produced by VH1 music television and then discuss myths that relate to art and music. Several modern songs are analyzed...

Need a musical lesson for your drama or performing arts class? VH1 has put together a really neat lesson, in which learners use biographical information about Alicia Keys to write and perform a one-act musical related to her life. This...

Students reflect on the popular culture of their own country and explore the "Korean Wave" of popular culture in East Asia. They research the popular cultures of various countries around the world and present their findings in an...

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.

Learners explore historical youth culture events. In this youth culture activity, students discover details regarding the Altamont, Woodstock, and Monterey concerts. Learners conduct research that regarding the rock festivals and...

Students examine the history of blues music and discover how it relates to the music of today. As a class, they listen to the drum songs of Africa and compare it to the use of drums in pop music today. Using the internet, they research...

Students explore popular music of West Africa. In this musicians lesson, students complete listening tasks that challenge them to analyze the music of Oumou Sangare, Angelique Kidjo, and Baaba Maal.

Eleventh graders examine political, cultural, and social movements through music. In this 1960s American history lesson plan, 11th graders explore the music of the decade in order to better understand the complexity of the time period....

Sixth graders investigate the impact of popular culture on Americans. In this 1950's America instructional activity, 6th graders view television clips, listen to audio clips, and  look over fashion photographs from the decade....

James Jamerson. You probably heard him but may not have heard of him. But fans of Motown Records will certainly recognize his contributions to the sound that desegregated popular music during the 1960s. Challenge young history...

Students listen to different types of music, such as bluegrass, rap and blues. They identify different styles of music and musical instruments. They discuss how the music reflects culture.

Hey Macarena! Third graders keep time while they sing a Latin Folk Song. To practice keeping a steady rhythm and singing in pitch, the class sings the Folk Song together and in a round while keeping a beat. They then learn to do the...

Learners gain an understanding of concepts of marketing and promotion in popular music. They pretend as if they are in the position of employee in a recording label's promotion department and determine what type of promotion is needed...

Pupils examine the musical concepts of timbre, melody, and rhythm. They listen to and identify characteristics of music from other cultures.

Young scholars analyze music videos as a study on teen culture. In this teen culture lesson, students view music videos and track a different aspect of the videos for male representation, female representation, racial representation,...

Students explore the effect that a particular culture can have on popular music. They develop their own music groups, each representing a style of music and a historical culture and perform their group's concert for the class.

Students describe some of the distinguishing characteristics of rock, folk, blues, and country music. They identify two main musical roots of today's American popular music.

The student will explore free jazz, fusion, and contemporary jazz. They will listen to avant garde, fusion, and pop recordings. In addition, they participate in a class discussion regarding jazz's contribution to and reflection of...

Learners examine messages in popular music, and observe the musical elements of the Rhythm and Blues and Rap genres.

For this handout, students examine the lyrics of popular music from the counter-culture era. Songs included are: Crimson and Clover, Turn, Turn, Turn, Have you Been to Jail for Justice, Uncle Sam, Ohio, Give Peace a Chance, Eve of...

Students research the evolution and cultural significance of the Arabic ghazal form of poetry. They, in groups, compose an original ghazal poem and read it aloud to the class.

Music reflects culture and culture is reflected in popular music. Reading an article on how hip-hop has affected the lives of two young men of different races launches an investigation of the development and influences of various musical...

VH1 Music Studio has put out another great lesson that incorporates analysis, compare/contrast, and musical terminology. Kids will listen to the song "Habanera" considering the use of specific instruments in evoking a sense of location....

Upper graders explore musical film and the Bohemian lifestyle common in Europe during the turn of the century through the musical Moulin Rouge. After listening to (or viewing) songs from the movie, they discuss the Bohemian era and how...