Learners read a Japanese Noh play and discuss its structure and traditional characters. They choose a short myth and write a Noh play based on it.

Students choose a minority culture or an event and research the musical influences of that culture or event on American popular music. They discuss how minority cultures and events in American society influenced the Disco era.

Learners read the novel, Fallen Angels, and examine the theme of coming of age during the Vietnam War. They create timelines of the 1960s, highlighting important issues of the era. They write research papers focusing on one particular...

Pupils discuss development of music videos. They identify elements that make a successful music video. Groups are assigned to do a research project on the development of music videos.

Young scholars discuss how a musician's message can influence society and government. They debate if political viewpoints should be publicized in music.

Young scholars examine the reasons and controversy regarding Sam Cooke's transition from gospel to pop.

Students perform any part of a four-part keyboard ensemble with musical sensibility in a "hard rock" style. They improvise a melody over student accompaniment.

Pupils identify popular songs from 1968 and make connections with the year's current events. They pretend that they are producing a new CD. The CD includes four songs that comment on today's social issues. They write the liner notes.

Students create their own ratings systems with which to classify current pop cultural fare as suitable or unsuitable for Students.

Students view a video that presents the musical career of vocalist Josh Groban and pay special attention to his performance anxiety and how he has dealt with these fears. They identify ways in which they can combat other types of anxiety.

Students identify and notate the musical device known as a "hook". They notate and perform rhythmic and melodic patterns in the ABBA song "Mamma Mia".

Young scholars examine how Louis Armstrong's fame spread from the African American community to the whole world. They examine how his singing style influenced both popular and jazz musicians by participating in guided listening of his...

Students analyze social activism messages in music. For this feminism lesson, students explore selected music that expresses sentiments voiced in the women liberation movement in the United States. Students compare the lyrics of the...

In this Bob Dylan activity, students read about the life of the performer, then complete a variety of comprehension activities. An answer key is included.

Students investigate the history of early Hispanic workers in the U.S. They complete an online Webquest, explore various websites, read about Latinos in the U.S. today, view a mural, and answer discussion questions.

Students identify the steps involved in starting a band and promoting an album. They work in small groups to create a band and market it to their designated audience.

Students are presented with five items found in a suitcase to reflect upon the experience of a Mexican vacation. They use realia to produce a journal entry about one of the objects and its uses. The item is then brought to the front of...

Students use Internet links to plan a 3-day tour of France. They role-play a typical encounter that may be experienced during their trip.

Students make connections with events of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960's with songs made popular by Aretha Franklin.

The major rock festivals have been viewed as seminal mileposts of the counterculture era. Not only were there significant musical performances from the festivals themselves, but music was created before and after these concerts to...

This lesson deals with the emergence of the blues as a form of popular music on the radio, beginning in Helena, Arkansas in 1940. Young scholars will understand and discuss the relationship between technological and social change,...

A wonderful collection of sheet music from the Library of Congress. Search this site to find the primary source documents of music published in America from 1870 through 1885. The site is separated into many different topics with an...

3rd Ear Music is a comprehensive resource of South African music, past and present. The organization started its collection in 1964 and it now offers links to several South African artists, history of SA music and recordings.