One of the most famous and well-crafted speeches of all time, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, consists of rich metaphors and rhetorical language. Using a provided graphic organizer, students analyze five quotes...

West Side Story and Romeo & Juliet—two classics in their own rights that help young literature lovers better analyze different works. Learners research and compare the characters and story elements of West Side Story and Romeo...

As Nick wanders the grounds of Gatsby's mansion, he observes the behaviors of the rowdy guests and listens to the music pouring over the lawn. Bring the music of the jazz age into the classroom with Louis Armstrong's "West End Blues,"...

What do Beethoven, Bob Dylan, and Pharrell all have in common? Works by these three musicians are used to launch a study of poetry. Class members listen to passages from the music and craft a quick write about how the music makes them...

This versatile resource from The New York Times website provides a short opinion piece on smart phones and the amount of time we spend playing games on them as well as several possible writing prompts pupils could consider in response to...

Was Napoleon a tyrant or a hero? Answers could vary depending on the political point of view. Learners listen to Beethoven's Symphony #3 while considering Napoleon's undemocratic tyranny. They listen to the piece in five parts, each time...

Use Aaron Copland's symphonic piece, "Lincoln Portrait" to engage learners in a cross-curricular experience. They'll listen to the piece, watch a video, read the Gettysburg Address, and write a series of fact or opinion sentences. An...

By The Great Horn Spoon is a fantastic novel for introducing learners to life during the California Gold Rush. First, kids research and analyze American folk songs, then they connect to the text as they listen to symphonic pieces written...

Students create movements to music that reflect focused listening, write story using complete, coherent sentences, design and perform class play speaking clearly and at an appropriate pace, and retell Peter and the Wolf story, including...

Students explore philanthropy. In this character education lesson, students define and give examples of philanthropy. Students listen to the story A Symphony of Whales and describe how the characters helped the whales. Students discuss...

Students investigate the families of instruments. In this instrument instructional activity, students discuss how each instrument family makes their sound. Students then make their own instruments. Students write a paragraph about their...

Students read the story, The True Story Of The 3 Little Pigs and discuss the voting process. In this public opinion lesson plan, students review the original story of the three little pigs and then read the wolf's version of the...

Students identify and demonstrate a positive learning attitude. They also demonstrate responsible emotional and cognitive behaviors and identify how to communicate clearly in oral, artistic, written, and nonverbal form. Finally, students...

Students view video segments which reveal the parts of sound and what factors control sound. The viewing and post-viewing activities serve to reinforce the video segments using worksheets and hands-out experiments.

Students explore the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright through literature and analyze photographs. In this photography analysis instructional activity, students read aloud Frank Lloyd Wright and answer questions for the text. Students...

In this things people couldn't do instructional activity, students read context clues about famous people to determine which words in a word blank complete sentences. Students choose four answers to fill in the blanks.

Students experience and discuss the different musical periods such as Baroque, Classical and Romantic. In this music lesson, students discover musical theory and apply it to the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods. Students will...

In this future time reading comprehension activity, students read an excerpt from "I Have a Dream" and then respond to 3 multiple choice questions.

The string section of your school orchestra can get a proper form make-over by incorporating this instructional activity. They reestablish proper playing form, posture, and sound as they compose an essay on how to maintain good playing...

Inspire creative writing by studying similes. This sheet provides learners with 10 different topics, and they must create a simile for each topic. Example topics include: favorite teacher, the waterfall, a parrot, the first day of...

After a teacher-led demonstration on the lives and music of Aaron Copland and Duke Ellington, learners write a letter to them which shows their understanding of how a person's life experiences can be reflected in a composer's music. They...

These words are tough! Very advanced English language learners or native speakers will still be befuddled by some of these vocabulary words. For each of the six sentences provided, learners must choose the correct word to complete the...

Elementary schoolers are given an overview of the baroque, classical, romantic, and modern periods of music. They focus on the lives of Beethoven and Mozart; two of the greatest composers of all time. After listening to samples their...

Biographies can be a fun topic for any history project. Learners choose one famous person that lived between 1865 and 1930 to research. They gather information, work on reading comprehension, and use what they find to create slide shows...