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...

Students read and discuss 'Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra: Mixing Treasures by Duke Ellington and Edvard Grieg,' exploring how jazz transformed European music and the influence jazz has had on modern music. They write musical reviews.

Art and music have been vehicles for statements of civil unrest for hundreds of years. Upper graders critically analyze several pop songs or music movements from the 1980s that exemplify politically charged motives. They...

The phrase, "You sold out" has been thrown around among musicians that have lent their talents to the corporate world. Here, the class engages in an interesting discussion on how musicians make a living and the influence of commercialism...

Upper graders explore pop culture and pop music as a forum for female role models. They explore women who have currently contributed to our pop world and why they could be considered role models. They each interview a woman in their...

For this lesson students will learn about finding the blues in a variety of musical styles. They will investigate instances of the blues form heard in mainstream pop music, along with exploring the musical styles of two new artists who...

In this gospel music worksheet, students read a brief introduction to gospel music and respond to 10 short answer questions regarding it.

Students identify the characteristics and elements of large scale rock productions. They examine the similarities between the American Vaudeville shows and the large-scale rock theater productions of the 1970's.

Students discuss copyright issues and how technological advancements have affected music.

Students observe that music can communicate positive social messages. They create a theme concert with a positive social message after watching a video of famous artists playing on Sesame Street.

Students explore protest songs. In this interdisciplinary instructional activity, students examine issues-based music by summarizing lyrics and revealing inferences, generalizations, conclusions, and points of view found in the songs.

Students discover a connection between the genres of popular music and musical theater. They find and discuss musicals written in many different musical styles.

High schoolers identify the musical genre of Hip-Hop and make a connection with other styles of music. A time line of musical styles is developed and discussed.

Learners identify many careers within the music industry such as producer, A&R representative and recording studio engineer. They connect achievements of noted artists with their roles in the music industry.

Students commemorate black history month. Using the Internet, information books and printed web pages, students research the events of Mary Seacole's life. Students role play Mary Seacole being interviewed for a job.

Students create paintings of ice cream treats using Pop Art as an inspiration while developing skills in painting in this 4th through 6th grade Art activity. Included with the activity are possible extensions and suggested evaluation...

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.

Students watch a video about the life of Latin singer/pop star, Shakira. They identify the elements of Latin Pop-style music and identify the elements that make the singer Shakira unique.

Students analyze and perform an American social protest song. They describe its historical setting, consider the effectiveness of the music and recognize that popular music is a reflection of American culture.

Eighth graders examine the linguistic and cultural impact of the Arabic language and Islamic culture on the Spanish language. They analyze and label maps, listen to and differentiate between Spanish and Arabic music, and compare and...

The pop movie Moulin Rouge was based on the opera La Boheme. Learners watch the last 30 minutes of each musical to compare and contrast social opposites. They'll first discuss the social differences of the main characters and how those...

Students design and create pop-up greeting cards for a special occasion in this art lesson for Kindergarten through 8th grade classrooms. The lesson includes resource links for pop-up "arm" ideas and can be accomplished in one day.

Young scholars examine the experiences of African American women. In this poetry lesson, students use their literary analysis skills to compare the poetry of Maya Angelou to rap music performed by Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill.

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.