Young scholars define the term "exoticism" and identify musical elements used by 19th and 20th century composers and modern pop icons to convey exoticism.

Students complete a graphic organizer reviewing Barb Hoffman's prior lesson," Slave Songs (1840-1876)" as well as listen to and discuss Delta Blues music samples. Students research one Delta Blues singer and write a "color coded"...

High schoolers identify popular songs from 1968 and make connections with the year's current events They recognize popular music as a reflection of the culture. They focus on songs of the Vietnam War era.

Students watch a video about the life of Latin singer/pop star, Shakira and identify the elements that make her music unique. They explore Latin music and dance and research the music and dance of a specific Latin American country.

Students identify some of Aretha Franklin's vocal qualities and techniques. They have a discussion of styles of music they heard on the video, including gospel, jazz, pop, rhythm and blues, and opera.

Students examine the influence of music and film on contemporary fashion. For this popular culture lesson, students research select films featuring John Travolta. Students research selected time periods in American history as well....

Cell phones are likely made of gold—at least part of them! An interesting lesson explains the conventional and not-so-conventional uses of the popular element gold. From the Inca empire to modern-day technology, learners discover gold...

Students explore Europe's comples cultural identity. Students consider if one song could represent all pop music tastes of Europe. In groups, students plan an evening of entertainment. They design posters to promote the event.

Young scholars explore basic human rights as they explore music by black artists. For this human rights lesson, students examine music as a cultural reflection of the justice issues. Young scholars analyze Jamaican roots reggae of the...

Students compare two versions of song done as an original and as a cover. They attempt to arrange a pop song to show a different musical style.

Students compare two versions of a song by two different artists and define "covering." students examine the longevity of recording artists.

Students identify three of the essential elements of music: rhythm, melody and harmony. They discover a simple song which will illustrate these three elements separately and bring them together in a final form. They analyze and critique...

Young scholars recognize how chromatic scales create tension and pentatonic scales create relaxation as compositional techniques used to create tonality. Also, students aurally recognize the use of mixed or alternating meter as a means...

In this Queen Elizabeth worksheet, students read the article, answer true and false questions, complete synonym matching, complete phrase matching, complete a gap fill, answer short answer questions, answer discussion questions, write,...

Stuck for a journal topic? Download CAHSEE’s 21 “Expository Journal Prompts” as a pdf handout for yourself or class. A great resource for your writing program, print it up and add it your curriculum library.

Students watch a video about the life of Latin singer/pop star, Shakira. They research various foreign music styles and discuss how they influence American pop music today.

Students read the story The Story of Babar and have a class discussion about his travels, discuss their families, design a map, pick music, and more. In this cross curricular musical lesson plan, students create a music map for each of...

Young scholars identify different genres of music popular in the 1980s. They study musicians of the 1980s examples of the songs that they made popular. They utilize a worksheet imbedded in this plan to categorize the music.

This 13-page assignment was designed for English language learners and includes a one-page reading on the Taiwanese entertainer, Jay Chou, and 10 activities/exercises that address listening and reading comprehension, speaking, vocabulary...

Students compare Reggae to other musical genres and identify rhythms. They study the history and musical significance of Reggae as a musical genre.

Students write whatever comes into their minds quickly and extend that strategy to art. They draw whatever ideas come to mind and students create in a stream of consciousness style. They listen to different types of music while drawing.

Students examine the life of Harry Connick Jr. and keep a journal on how they could be more successful.

High schoolers discuss and analyze the range of beliefs over what is good art, how art benefits a society, and the different ways artistic activity can be encouraged.

Young scholars participated in guided listening lessons of Louis Armstrong's jazz music while interpreting his lyrics. They study his life as an entertainer and goodwill ambassador for the US.