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.
Sports, Geometry, Physical Activity

Everyday Arts Challenge: Music Muscles
Walk like you’re the drum majorette, or leader, of a marching band. Is it easy or hard? Remember to stand up straight, lift your knees, and strike up the band.
Music, Sports, Physical Activity

Everyday Arts Challenge: Chow Call
Create a cheer about your favorite dessert. Add some dance steps and arm movements. How many different dessert cheers can you compose?
Theater, Sports, Physical Activity

Everyday Arts Challenge: Jock Jams
Choose a song and use moves or actions from a sport to dance along? What sport did you choose? Now try another. Can you teach someone else the dance?
Sports, Dance, Physical Activity

Everyday Arts Challenge: Long Legs
Perform a grand jeté, or leap, like a ballet dancer. Measure the distance you go. Does it help to have a running start?
Ballet, Sports, Physical Activity, Dance

Arts Days: January 01, 404 C.E.: The Day the Crowd Went Silent

Believe it or not, the ancient Roman practice of pitting professional fighters against one another, wild animals, or condemned criminals for the viewing pleasure of a live audience, is considered one of civilization's earliest forms of social entertainment.

The first known gladiatorial competitions were held in Italy in 310 C.E. to impress the public with reenactments of exciting military battles and demonstrations of individual soldiers' strengths.

Over time, the games evolved into a much more elaborate spectacle. The games were popular with members of all social classes, prompting the construction of a new, larger kind of venue--the amphitheatre, or open air arena--a design still used today.

But hold on, not everyone appreciated the gore-filled competitions. Christians objected to the immorality of the viewers who happily observed the violence. Nearing the fall of the Empire, when numerous wars led to an economic recession and Christianity continued to spread, gladiatorial games began to decline.

After the last known gladiatorial competition was held on this day in Rome, Italy, audiences turned their attention to theater performances.
Controversial, Sports, Theater, World Cultures

Interactive: Perfect Pitch
Batter up! This multimedia exploration introduces students to the most enduring all-stars of the orchestra: the instruments.
Musical Instruments, Music, Orchestra, Sports

Arts Days: November 02, 1898: Gimme a U! Gimme an M!
Back in 1898, a student at the University of Minnesota named Johnny Campbell led a crowd in a fervent chant meant to fire up their football team, the Gophers. This then, believe it or not, was the birth of organized cheerleading, which has evolved significantly over the years to become a sort of combination of sports and art that includes complex dance routines and physcial stunts.

It's technically considered a sport, and is heavily dominated by female participants. But back in Campbell’s day, the first “yell leader” squad was comprised of six young men, who encouraged the crowd to support the athletes on the field. For decades, in fact, cheerleaders were almost always male. And guess what? The cheer Campbell made up that day—“Rah, Rah, Rah! Sku-u-mar, Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Varsity, Minn-e-so-tah!”—is still a favorite used today by the Gophers’ cheerleaders.
Innovators & Pioneers, America, Sports, Physical Activity, Choreographers

Audio Series: Touchdown Songs: Music & Football
Music and football are intertwined as we'll hear in this series, narrated by NFL Films composer Tom Hedden.
Music, Sports, Composers, Popular Culture, Television