Curated OER
The History of Rock and Roll: Part 1 - Rock and Roll Explodes Music Reflects The Times
Students examine technological advancements in music and broadcast over the decades.
Curated OER
Signin' the Blues with Rock, Rap 'n Roll
Sixth graders listen to recordings and study jazz and the blues music. They identify the instrumentation and explore the 12-bar blues progression. After experimenting with different sound, 6th graders create their own arrangement, with...
Curated OER
VH1 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll Lesson 1
Students the influence of women's music in history and the suffrage movement.
Curated OER
Time for All Ages
Fourth graders discover time keeping by analyzing technological advances in history. In this time lesson, 4th graders create and complete a KWL chart based on their research of a famous timekeeping invention, such as a sundial....
Curated OER
Teaching Economics and Rock and Roll: Unemployment
Young scholars explore the consequences of unemployment. In this macroeconomics lesson, students listen to the songs “Johnny 99” and “Worried Man.” Young scholars discuss the socioeconomic costs of unemployment as they analyze the songs.
National First Ladies' Library
Hey, Hey, It's the Beatles!
Young scholars study the Beatles and the contributions their music made to much of the pop music that came afterward. They synthesize complex information and the skills of "compare and contrast" in writing. They research some aspect of...
Curated OER
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Eleventh graders discover the thematic connections between classical literary and popular song lyrics. In this English lesson, 11th graders research a specific topic to be presented to the class. Students analyze song lyrics in their...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Ray Charles
Introduce young learners to the read-aloud process with a short biographical passage about Ray Charles. After listening to the passage, class members respond to factual, inferential, and evaluative questions, and then create a timeline...
Prestwick House
The Poetry of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan's selection as the 2016 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, the first songwriter ever to receive the honor, has focused the attention of a new generation on the work of the legendary artist. Class members analyze the...
Curated OER
Who Rocks Your World?
Students develop their writing skills. In this business letter lesson, students write a letter of nomination to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame regarding a music artist of their choice. Students read their finished letters to their peers.
Curated OER
Langston Hughes and the Blues
Learners explore the connections between Langson Hughes and blues music. In this African American culture lesson, students compare and contrast blues music with poetry and short stories by Langston Hughes.
Curated OER
And You Don't Stop - 30 Years of Hip-Hop, Episode 2, Lesson 3
Students discuss how Run-D.M.C. brought Hip Hop into mainstream popularity. They discuss why melding two styles of music is popular and what the results have been through history. They take two songs and combine elements to make a new...
Curated OER
Words/Music/Images: Interpretation and Meaning A Motivational Activity
High schoolers explore popular music in its historical context. In this music instructional activity, students examine the lyrics, musicical arrangement, and video imagery of selected songs to interpret the messages and themes of the songs.
Curated OER
Responses To Twentieth Century Music: A High School Art Curriculum
Students explore their own responses to sound by hearing the music as a regular part of the class structure. They develop an awareness that certain art evokes certain sounds and moods and develop an intuitive responses to the music.
Curated OER
Screening Coleridge’s Fantasies: Using Popular Music as a Bridge to Literacy
Twelfth graders use music to aid them in interpreting poetry. In this poetry lesson, 12th graders analyze the lyrics, figurative language, and literary devices of selected music. Students compare the music to the poetry of Samuel...
Curated OER
Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum
Students explore the American dream. In this contemporary music activity, students analyze the lyrics of songs by Neil Diamond, Bruce Springsteen, and David Massengill. Students create 3-D representations of the American dream and write...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Music of African American History
High schoolers examine role spirituals have played in African American history and religion, examine Harriet Tubman's use of spirituals in her work, explore power of spirituals in Civil Rights Movement, and work with oral tradition,...
Curated OER
Hip-Hop History and the Beastie Boys
So what about those Beastie Boys? Kids read a New York Times article relating the history of hip-hop and rap icons the Beastie Boys. They then answer eleven who, what, when, where, and why questions about the text they read.
New York State Education Department
English Language Arts Examination: June 2017
Plants prefer classical music to rock and roll. That's one of the claims in an informational passage that makes up part of a set of standardized assessment questions. The set is part of a larger collection of English language arts tests...
Curated OER
Rock
Students play "Fly Away" and "All Along the Watchtower" and then use different voicings of guitar chords and compare them.
Curated OER
VH1 Storytellers for Save the Music Starring Billy Joel
Students pretend they are taking a certain job in the music industry and respond to questions.
Curated OER
The Blues . Music Education
In this instructional activity 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...
Curated OER
The Quiet Beatle
Students investigate the life and music of George Harrison. They complete a Webquest, read an online biography, watch a video, listen to audio clips, answer discussion questions, and organize a simulated benefit concert.
Curated OER
History of the Beatles
In this Beatles music instructional activity, students read about the origins the musical group and their style in an article and graphic organizers. Students then respond to 8 short answer questions regarding the Beatles.