The Kennedy Center: ARTSEDGE — the National Arts and Education Network

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

Lesson: What Does This Song Really Say?
Students listen to, sing, and read the lyrics to various African American spirituals. They discuss the coded messages in the songs, and the purpose of these codes.

Lesson: We Are The Freedom Riders
Students will learn about the courageous efforts of the Freedom Riders while embracing the bold theme, "We Will Overcome!" as a theme surrounding the civil rights movement.

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

Lesson: Twelve-Bar Blues
Learn about the history, key players and musical qualities of the blues

Lesson: Twain: Steamboat's a-Comin'
Examining the mystique of rivers as inspiration for creative expression it shows us the powerful influence the Mississippi River had on Mark Twain’s writings.

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

Lesson: 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.

Lesson: Searching For Cinderella
There are more than 300 versions and variations of the tale known as "Cinderella."

Lesson: Rhythm and Art: Gesture Drawing
In this lesson, students will explore connections between music and visual art.

Lesson: Rhythm and Art: Elements of Art
Learn about the three elements of art (line, shape, and color) through a study of Torres-García's symbolism, Picasso's emotional use of color and Abstract Expressionism.

Lesson: 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

Lesson: The Poetics of Hip Hop
Students will analyze form in Shakespearean sonnets and hip hop music

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

Lesson: One Story, Many Tales
Through the study of various literary and fine arts versions of Cinderella, ESL students will practice their reading, writing, oral, and technology skills.

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

Lesson: Nureyev: The Unconquerable Will
This lesson provides an overview of how creative expression developed in the West, particularly in the development of dance.

Lesson: Nureyev: Bringer of Light
This lesson focuses on the alignment of Nureyev’s artistic endeavors and achievements in the dance world of the West.

Lesson: Nureyev: After Petipa
Nureyev’s early life and work were affected by changing social, political, and cultural forces in Russia. His artistic genius was influenced by the work of Marius Petipa.

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

Lesson: Monsters
This lesson is intended to have students investigate the idea of "monsters" in society.

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

Lesson: Making Rain
In this lesson, students experience rain through several activities, experiments, reading, and performing.

Lesson: Lift Every Voice and Sing
Explore and analyze Lift Every Voice and Sing, a poem by James Weldon Johnson.

Lesson: Life of a Navajo Weaver
Students experiment with interpretative dance as they recreate the weaving process to Native American music.

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

Lesson: Jazz Music, Dance, and Poetry
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.

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

Lesson: 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.

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

Lesson: 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.

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

Lesson: Finding Your Own Frog Prince
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.

Lesson: Creating AB Patterns
Patterns exists both in the natural and manmade world. It is an element in art, as well as math and science.

Lesson: Corridos About the Mexican Revolution
In this lesson, students will be introduced to causes of the Mexican Revolution and key revolutionary figures.

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

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

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

Lesson: Animal Habitats
Pre-readers are introduced to animal habitats through story, song, and dramatic play using children’s books

Lesson: America, A Home for Every Culture
Students will discuss and explore the cultures that have contributed to making the United States the unique and diverse country it is today.

Lesson: Amazing Fibonacci
Using the Fibonacci sequence of numbers, your students study math concepts of pattern, recursion, Pi and the Golden Ratio, developing their ability to analyze the structure of music.

Lesson: All Around the Baseball Field
Students construct a mock baseball field and from there explore the sport of baseball through art, movement, and sound.