Grades K-4

Jazz Dance and Music
In this lesson, students will be introduced to jazz dance and jazz music. They will explore basic jazz dance movements, and will create a cinquain poem inspired by jazz music. Source: ArtsEdge

Ballet and Classical Music
Students are introduced to the conceptual and practical elements of classical ballet as they learn ballet history, vocabulary, and steps. Source: ArtsEdge

Brass Instruments and Pitch
This lesson introduces students to the instruments of the brass family. Source: ArtsEdge

Chinese Instruments
Explore the similarities and differences between traditional western instruments and Chinese instruments while creating a Chinese instrument. Source: ArtsEdge

Creating AB Patterns
In this lesson, students ok ith B patterns in art nd nature. Source: ArtsEdge

Harriet Tubman: Secret Messages Shared through Song
In this lesson, students are introduced to the African-American spiritual and its use of a secret language to share information within the slave community. Source: ArtsEdge

Melodies and Math
After reviewing basic music theory, students compose their own music for the touch-tone phone. Source: ArtsEdge

Musical Harlem
Students will learn to identify musical styles and musicians associated with Harlem, focusing on jazz. Source: ArtsEdge

Oh, Say Can You See…
Students will learn about the history behind the writing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Source: ArtsEdge

Percussion Instruments and Pitch
This lesson introduces students to the instruments of the percussion family. Source: ArtsEdge

String Instruments and Pitch
In this lesson, students explore how pitch is altered based on the width and length of the string. Source: ArtsEdge

What Does This Song Really Say?
Students listen to, sing, and read the lyrics to various African American spirituals. Source: ArtsEdge

Woodwind Instruments and Pitch
This lesson introduces students to the instruments of the woodwind family. Source: ArtsEdge

Grades 5-8

Civil War Music
Learn how music was used in the Civil War. Source: ArtsEdge

Fairy Tale Variations With Tunes
Students will use a traditional tale, “The Frog Prince,” and Jon Scieszka’s variation of it, "The Frog Prince Continued," to create improvised scenes and then a book for a mini-musical. Source: ArtsEdge

First Rhythmic Composition
This lesson introduces students to rhythm concepts, including the names and symbols associated with music notation. Source: ArtsEdge

Haunting Music
Learn about orchestral “program music” inspired by the spooky and bizarre. Source: ArtsEdge

Rhythm, Math, Rhythm
Students explore the relationship between music and math by dissecting a vocal piece into its notes and rests and viewing these musical components mathematically. Source: ArtsEdge

Set a Poem to Music
After exploring a “singable” picture book as a class, each student examines a personally selected poem for rhythm to determine its musical meter. Source: ArtsEdge

Twelve-Bar Blues
Students learn about the history of blues music and important figures of this genre. Source: ArtsEdge

US Presidential Election Process and the Campaign Trail
Students create an original political campaign song for a fictional presidential candidate. Source: ArtsEdge

Grades 9-12

Form and Theme in the Traditional Mexican Corrido
Students will learn about the traditional Mexican musical form of corridos, which dates back to the 1800s and continues to be very popular. Source: ArtsEdge

Guantanamera: A Poem and a Song
Students listen to and discuss "Guantanamera," a Cuban folk song made famous by Pete Seeger with lyrics from a poem by Jose Marti. Source: ArtsEdge

Learning From Lyrics
Students research contemporary songs (alternative, country, metal, pop, rap, and rock music) to study current social issues. Source: ArtsEdge

Rhythm & Improv: Jazz & Poetry
The musicality of words is an important element of poetry, and many poets carefully consider the sound of the words on the page. Students will listen to and analyze jazz music. Source: ArtsEdge

The Poetics of Hip Hop
Students will analyze form in Shakespearean sonnets and hip hop music to determine common characteristics. Source: ArtsEdge