TeachersFirst's Music Appreciation

Music appreciation involves introducing students to the history and various genres of music. There are many different musicians to discover and genres to enjoy. Peruse this collection to learn about musicians from different periods. This collection covers blues, jazz, classical, and other genres. Share these resources during Music In the Schools Month or any time throughout the year. This list includes resources for all grades. See our complete collection of jazz and blues resources.

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The Freedom Riders and the Popular Music of the Civil Rights Movement - EDSITEment!

Grades
8 to 12
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This fascinating lesson plan includes six teaching activities that focus on how civil rights activists used the power of song to share their message of equal justice under the law ...more
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This fascinating lesson plan includes six teaching activities that focus on how civil rights activists used the power of song to share their message of equal justice under the law for all. The lesson begins with guiding questions and stated learning objectives aligned to Social Studies and Common Core literacy standards. Then, students listen to several songs from the 1960s and analyze the lyrics to understand the civil rights messages during their study of the materials. This lesson includes links to all media and music referenced within the activities.

tag(s): 1960s (28), black history (109), civil rights (181), martin luther king (41), oral history (15)

In the Classroom

Integrate this lesson into your teaching about civil rights, Freedom Fighters, or the 1960s to engage students in learning about this period through music. Enhance learning by dividing students into groups to analyze different songs, then ask them to share their findings with the class by sharing a presentation created using one of the tools found at Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here. After viewing the presentations, encourage students to look for similarities within each message. Use Answer Garden, reviewed here, to post a question and ask students to post responses to create a word cloud. For example, ask each group to share important words or concepts from their song, then view the word cloud to understand overlapping content. As a final activity, extend learning by asking students to create interactive timelines that include important civil rights events, 1960s music, and highlights of civil rights leaders' activities. Use a timeline creation tool such as Time Graphics Timeline Maker, reviewed here, or the timeline feature found in Padlet, reviewed here. Using either option, ask students to include links to videos, recordings, and discussions of the civil rights events.
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Jazz - BrainPOP

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3 to 8
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BrainPOP offers this interactive site with several resources for learning about jazz. First, view the introductory five-minute video to learn the basics of jazz. Then, see the lesson...more
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BrainPOP offers this interactive site with several resources for learning about jazz. First, view the introductory five-minute video to learn the basics of jazz. Then, see the lesson ideas and activities that provide opportunities to listen to different types of jazz, learn about famous jazz artists, and understand the roots of jazz from its start in New Orleans.

tag(s): 1920s (8), commoncore (79), jazz (16), Teacher Utilities (134)

In the Classroom

Use resources on this site as part of any lesson on music, musicians, and the early 1900s. Create a link to the site on classroom computers for students to explore independently. Replace pen and paper and have students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Telegra.ph, reviewed here. With Telegra.ph you just click on an icon to upload images from your computer, add a YouTube or Vimeo video, or Twitter links. This blog creator requires no registration. Ask students to research a jazz musician, share their favorite songs, or explore a neighborhood famous for jazz. You could enhance learning and challenge older students to create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here.. Activities are correlated to Common Core Standards.
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Benny Goodman and his Orchestra, concert Carnegie Hall 1938 restored - Itapirkanmaa2

Grades
6 to 12
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Go back in time and listen to a Benny Goodman concert from 1938. Spend over an hour and a half listening to Goodman's music featuring clarinet renditions of his greatest ...more
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Go back in time and listen to a Benny Goodman concert from 1938. Spend over an hour and a half listening to Goodman's music featuring clarinet renditions of his greatest hits. This concert features a list of twenty-three songs; go directly to any song using the list in the video's description.

tag(s): musical instruments (42), video (247)

In the Classroom

Include this video during music classes when teaching about different instruments or music genres. Share with students as you teach about historical events during the 1930s. In addition to sharing Benny Goodman's music, this site complements Black history lessons due to Mr. Goodman's leadership in featuring Black musicians. Engage students in learning by creating and sharing mind maps as a class or within groups. mindmaps, reviewed here, features easy to use tools for creating and sharing concept maps. Enhance learning using Blendspace, reviewed here, to create an interactive lesson that includes portions of this video, articles about Benny Goodman, and other activities that guide students in learning. Extend learning further by asking students to create multimedia presentations using Sway, reviewed here. Offer students flexibility in the topic of their presentations - ideas include further research on Benny Goodman, a presentation on clarinets, or an in-depth look at the 1930s. Include images, links, videos, and much more on Sway presentations.

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Benny Goodman: The Official Website of The King of Swing - CMG Worldwide

Grades
6 to 12
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Benny Goodman is remembered as one of the greatest clarinetists, but there is much more to his story. Lesser-known, but equally important, Mr. Goodman was the first to have an ...more
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Benny Goodman is remembered as one of the greatest clarinetists, but there is much more to his story. Lesser-known, but equally important, Mr. Goodman was the first to have an interracial band and promoted many African-American musicians throughout his career. Visit this official website to learn much more about Benny Goodman, including a biography, a list of achievements, quotes, and a timeline of his life events. This site also includes a gallery of historic images featuring Mr. Goodman.

tag(s): biographies (96), black history (109), music theory (43), musical instruments (42)

In the Classroom

Introduce your students to Benny Goodman using the information found on this website. The site does not include recordings of Benny Goodman, find those on YouTube at Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, concert Carnegie Hall 1934, reviewed here, or on Spotify at Benny Goodman. Engage students in learning about Benny Goodman using Padlet, reviewed here, to share and organize resources. On Padlet create columns with links to books and articles, videos, audio recordings, and interviews for students to explore. Have students experiment with music using Chrome Music Maker, reviewed here. Select the Song Maker, then change the instrument type to woodwind and start creating! Enhance student learning by asking them to research and share information on favorite musicians or different types of instruments. Use Genially, reviewed here, to create interactive presentations and images that include links to audio and videos related to their topic.

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BlackPast - BlackPast.org

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6 to 12
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BlackPast is an incredibly robust resource for learning about Black history around the world. Begin your search by locating information classified by African American History or Global...more
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BlackPast is an incredibly robust resource for learning about Black history around the world. Begin your search by locating information classified by African American History or Global African History. Within each of those topics are several categories: people, places, speeches, newspapers, and much more. Another category includes the Main Features page with multimedia, timelines, historic landmarks, and a mentoring page. The Special Topics section focuses on specifics such as COVID-19, Negro League Baseball, and racial violence.

tag(s): african american (105), biographies (96), branches of government (59), civil rights (181), inventors and inventions (70), journalism (72), racism (73), sports (76), STEM (236)

In the Classroom

BlackPast is a must-have for any social studies classroom. Bookmark this resource to use when learning about Black history, African-American biographies, important events, and more. Consider creating a Padlet, reviewed here, to save different articles from BlackPast for students to easily access specific information. Use the shelf option to divide your Padlet into sections by date, topic, or events. Padlet also has a timeline feature when creating biographies or highlighting important dates within a specific time. Ask students to create blogs using Edublogs, reviewed here, to share information learned from this site. As students prepare to "show what they know," modify their technology use by asking them to use Sway, reviewed here, as a presentation tool and include images, videos, and student writing to share their learning.
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Carnegie Hall - Education - Carnegie Hall

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K to 12
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This Carnegie Hall site provides free and low-cost educational programs that support music learning worldwide. Free offerings include recordings of live stream concerts from Carnegie...more
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This Carnegie Hall site provides free and low-cost educational programs that support music learning worldwide. Free offerings include recordings of live stream concerts from Carnegie Hall, family resources including activities and videos for all ages, and resources for music educators. Browse through the educator resources divided into three sections - grades K-5, grades 6-12, and professional development. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): black history (109), cross cultural understanding (148), cultures (123), music theory (43), musical instruments (42)

In the Classroom

Use the Carnegie Hall free resources to provide music education to students as part of your music education curriculum or within your role as a classroom teacher. For example, as part of social studies lessons about countries worldwide, be sure to see the activity for learning about countries through song. Many resources feature videos; engage and enhance instruction by adding questions and comments to videos using MoocNote, reviewed here. If your district blocks YouTube, flip your classroom and have students watch the MoocNote/Youtube videos at home. Include activities as part of a larger learning unit that includes online information, quizzes, and additional videos using a learning delivery platform such as Blendspace, reviewed here. Blendspace provides simple to use tools that make it easy to share a variety of resources with students and differentiate instruction.
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Google Arts and Culture - Google

Grades
6 to 12
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This unique collaboration between Google and many of the world's most respected art museums enables viewers to discover the museum's thousand of artworks in extraordinary detail. All...more
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This unique collaboration between Google and many of the world's most respected art museums enables viewers to discover the museum's thousand of artworks in extraordinary detail. All content pertaining to individual artworks was provided by the museums. Visit over 2,000 museums without leaving home through the lens of Google Arts & Culture's presentations. Explore the studios of famous artists, take a selfie to find a piece of art that looks like you, or take tours of historical cities through virtual trips. Use the menu (the three lines at the top-left of your screen) to choose from the different collections, themes, and experiments. Collections include resources to learn about art, music, and drama through many different options. Other choices include searches by artists, historical events, and art movements. You won't want to leave the profusion of engaging content at this site!

tag(s): art history (79), artists (74), museums (42), virtual field trips (73)

In the Classroom

Share this site with students and allow them time to explore on their own. Encourage students to find and share interesting art and activities with their peers. Use Padlet, reviewed here, as a collaborative tool for students to share items from this site. Ask them to include a link to a favorite portion, then add a comment on why they found it interesting. Include information from Arts & Culture when studying historical events to provide interest and perspective on that period. Have students use a map storytelling tool such as Google My Maps, reviewed here, to add information found on this site and others to tell the story of art around the world throughout history.

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Famous African Americans - Famous African Americans.org

Grades
6 to 12
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From the little known to the very famous, these people all have something in common: they have all made significant contributions to American history. Though far from complete, the...more
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From the little known to the very famous, these people all have something in common: they have all made significant contributions to American history. Though far from complete, the list has hundreds of names (listed alphabetically by their first names) and a wealth of categories from sports, singers, actors, writers, activists, scientists, politicians, and everything in between. Every person has a picture and a biography. If that isn't enough, investigate this site's engaging blog topics like 6 Must-See Malcolm X Posters, Top 10 Most Famous Black Actors of All Time, Top 10 Richest African Americans, and plenty more.
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tag(s): african american (105), biographies (96), black history (109), cultures (123)

In the Classroom

This is an excellent site to use as part of a biography unit to match biographies to individual student interests. Allow students to choose a category. Have them read several biographies from that category, then research an African American that hasn't been included on this site. Have students use these biographies as a model to write about the person they researched. Instead of using paper and pen to write down information, ask students to use Google Docs or Microsoft Word to begin research. Using these online documents affords many benefits, including the ability to add comments, highlight information, and add links to online information. Once research is underway, suggest that students use a bookmarking tool like Raindrop.io, reviewed here, to organize information. Raindrop.io includes the ability to add notes to bookmarks, making it easy for students to label and add information for later use. As a final project and to extend student learning, ask students to create their own book using OurBoox, reviewed here, that includes images, videos, and text. Math teachers could have students figure out which category has the most people in it, or what percentage of the site is dedicated to the category they are interested in.

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Perfect Blues:1920s, 30s and 40s Vintage Blues; Duke Ellington; Leadbelly (Past Perfect) - Past Perfect Vintage Music

Grades
K to 12
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Are you having trouble finding Blues sites with the music? Listen to handpicked classic, popular Blues sounds of the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s on this YouTube playlist. You'll find ...more
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Are you having trouble finding Blues sites with the music? Listen to handpicked classic, popular Blues sounds of the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s on this YouTube playlist. You'll find Leadbelly, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Jelly Roll Morton, Joe Venuti, Bessie Smith and many, many more. The music is crystal clear with none of the scratchy sounds you hear with many old songs that were recorded from old technology. If your district blocks YouTube, you may not be able to enjoy this music.

tag(s): 1920s (8), 1930s (18), 1940s (11), 1950s (7), blues (21), harlem (7), jazz (16)

In the Classroom

Play musical selections for students to talk about musical elements and styles in music class. Scroll down the page to find links to other Past Perfect sites, or use the search bar and type in Past Perfect Vintage Music to get only that selection. Have partners explore the sites to find examples of different rhythms or styles they prefer. Enhance learning by having a class Padlet, reviewed here, where students share their favorites and listen to others' favorites. In social studies or history classes, use this Perfect Blues music as an introduction to any unit of study from the 1920s - 1950s in your classroom. Share with students for use in multimedia presentations (with proper attribution, of course). Try sharing this resource with students when they are creating podcasts, slideshows, and other media projects. Make sure students realize that "royalty-free" does not dismiss the need to give proper credit for their source!

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BeeLine Reader Collection - Reading is Fundamental

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K to 12
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Improve reading and comprehension skills for all students and adults with this BeeLine Reader Collection on Literacy Central. Find over 100 books and stories as downloadable PDFs, all...more
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Improve reading and comprehension skills for all students and adults with this BeeLine Reader Collection on Literacy Central. Find over 100 books and stories as downloadable PDFs, all using BeeLine Reader technology to highlight and wrap text to improve focusing and tracking while reading. Use the leveled reading passages within Reading is Fundamental for multiple grade levels and books. Find additional support materials for each book, including author interviews, lesson plans, crosswords, and word searches all as downloadable PDFs. Though Beeline Reader is not usually a free tool, Literacy Central is providing it to its members for free through these PDFs. You do not need to create a free membership to use these materials, only to save them as a favorite. Learn more about the Beeline Reader tool and how it improves reading comprehension by watching the YouTube video introduction on this page.
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tag(s): independent reading (81), reading comprehension (132), reading strategies (87), Special Needs (45), Teacher Utilities (134)

In the Classroom

These BeeLine Reader PDFs are an excellent addition to the already valuable reading materials found at Reading is Fundamental - Literacy Central, reviewed here. Be sure to bookmark this site to find leveled reading passages with the enhanced function of BeeLine Reader. These PDFs are wonderful to share with ENL/ELL and Special Education specialists to use with their students. Remember, all teachers are reading teachers. Share this tool with your science, social studies, and math teachers, too!
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National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection Stories - National Museum of African American History and Culture

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4 to 12
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These Collection Stories look at the personal feelings and interpretation of the objects staff members have cataloged in the Museum. These stunning short stories focus on items from...more
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These Collection Stories look at the personal feelings and interpretation of the objects staff members have cataloged in the Museum. These stunning short stories focus on items from historical events and famous people. Click the Explorers tab from the top menu and select either Search the Collections or Stories. Example story categories are Our American Story, Five Things, Power of Place, and others. Use the search bar to find title like Dress for the Occasion; view the first day of school dress worn by Carlotta Walls as she entered Little Rock Central High School in 1957 as part of the Little Rock Nine's integration efforts. Other stories take a look at Muhammed Ali, Carl Lewis, The Wiz: The Super soul Musical 'Wizard of Oz,' and the watches that survived a brutal assassination of an NAACP leader and his wife (Moments Captured in Time). The Story Collections are updated constantly so be sure to click Learn and Explore from the top menu. The National Museum of African American History and Culture is part of The Smithsonian Institution. These stories reside on a Smithsonian URL site, so don't be confused when you get there.

tag(s): african american (105), black history (109), cross cultural understanding (148), cultures (123)

In the Classroom

Share stories from this collection to provide a personal look at events from African-American history in the United States. Use stories as an example, and ask students to find additional artifacts from the National Museum and research to discover the story behind the item. Have younger students use Kiddle, reviewed here, a kid-friendly search engine to find documents about their particular object. Younger students could bring an item from their home to tell the story of its history. For either of these ideas, enhance student learning by encouraging them to create online books for sharing the stories using a tool such as Ourboox, reviewed here. Ask students to find local residents with knowledge of historical events to come talk to your class about the "behind the scenes" story, or set up a Zoom meeting with an African-American leader. Use these stories for informational reading in your Language Arts classroom, and as a wonderful resource to use for covering the informational reading standards required with the CCSS.

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The Music of Hamilton: The Musical - Genius.com

Grades
6 to 12
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This site offers full lyrics to all songs in the Broadway play, Hamilton. Choose any song title to view complete lyrics and hear the audio. Most song lyrics include a ...more
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This site offers full lyrics to all songs in the Broadway play, Hamilton. Choose any song title to view complete lyrics and hear the audio. Most song lyrics include a link to listen to a preview of the original Broadway cast perform the song.
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tag(s): 1700s (36), constitution (85)

In the Classroom

Use lyrics from Hamilton to introduce your unit on the Constitution. Have students explore the site on their own, ask them to take the time to through the annotations that provide historical context to the music. Challenge cooperative learning groups to create their own music related to the Consitution and record their music videos. Share them on a site such as TeacherTube, reviewed here. Have students make a multimedia presentation about events leading to the writing of the Constitution using a tool like Sway, reviewed here.

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The Library of Congress Celebrates the Songs of America - Library of Congress

Grades
5 to 12
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Explore American history through music with this extensive collection of digitized recordings, sheet music, artist commentaries, and videos. Use the keyword search to find specific...more
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Explore American history through music with this extensive collection of digitized recordings, sheet music, artist commentaries, and videos. Use the keyword search to find specific information. Narrow the search by date, subject, language, and more. Be sure to visit the About this Collection tab to find links to interactive maps and timelines as well as educator resources including several lessons correlated to standards.

tag(s): 1800s (65), 1900s (59), 20th century (50), poetry (185), songs (44)

In the Classroom

This site is a goldmine for finding music to accompany any American history unit! Use resources from the site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Play music from the period you are studying during reading or research time. Allow students to explore the site on their own, and then share their findings with classmates. Have students create timelines (it can include text, images and collaboration) using Sutori, reviewed here.
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Classic Cat - Classic Cat

Grades
4 to 12
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Classic Cat is a free classical music catalogue. Search for music by composer, performer, instrument, and more. Browse through the Top 100 or view Visitor's Favorites for ideas of popular...more
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Classic Cat is a free classical music catalogue. Search for music by composer, performer, instrument, and more. Browse through the Top 100 or view Visitor's Favorites for ideas of popular music. Follow links for each page to view information such as the length of the piece, download size, and if it is complete or a just portion of the work. Click the download (disk) icon to go to the webpage that offers the download. Pay attention next to the download icon for an "R" in bold letters; this indicates that you need to register for free at that site before downloading music. Free registration on Classic Cat allows users to save items to a personal play list. Read the description carefully as a few of the downloads are not free.
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tag(s): composers (15), musical instruments (42)

In the Classroom

Incorporate this resource into your classroom music program. Use this site to introduce music eras (baroque, classical, romantic), lives of composers, or families of musical instruments. The comprehensive content can be used to supplement a music appreciation class, to augment a social studies or world language lesson on a particular historical/cultural era, or to serve as a guide for building a CD library.

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CurriConnects Book List - Music and Musicians - TeachersFirst

Grades
K to 12
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Dance to the beat with books about musicians, composers, and the way they make music. This list includes fiction and nonfiction books, as well as books about instruments and how ...more
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Dance to the beat with books about musicians, composers, and the way they make music. This list includes fiction and nonfiction books, as well as books about instruments and how they are made. Take note of music and the people who make it -- from long ago until today. This list includes books for ALL levels. CurriConnects thematic book lists include ISBN numbers for ordering or searching, interest grade levels, ESL levels and Lexiles'''® to match with student independent reading levels to challenge, not frustrate. Don't miss other CurriConnects themes being added regularly.

tag(s): composers (15), music theory (43)

In the Classroom

Share this list with students (and parents) during Music in Your Schools Month (March) or even during a unit on sound in your science classes. Bring the Arts into STEM to make STEAM!

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TelevisionTunes - jayzoo.com

Grades
5 to 12
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Stroll down memory lane with this huge archive of over 29,000 television theme songs! Scroll through the latest additions or browse by alphabetically. Use the download link to save...more
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Stroll down memory lane with this huge archive of over 29,000 television theme songs! Scroll through the latest additions or browse by alphabetically. Use the download link to save a song clip to your computer or share using social networking links. In addition to finding clips, challenge yourself to Name That Theme Song with a lively one or two player game. Be sure to read the "Legal" tab to know what is and is not legal use of these copyrighted songs.
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tag(s): songs (44)

In the Classroom

Add a little interest to classroom games by downloading and including game show clips (music) as part of your activity. Play a sound clip as a classroom management cue, such as for circle reading time with young ones (turn up the speakers). Share with students as a resource for audio clips to add to offline podcasts and multimedia presentations for educational purposes.

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Daria -World Music for Children - World Music by Daria

Grades
K to 5
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World Music for Children, though a commercial site, shares some simple treasures of music: song lyrics, audio files, and music-related craft projects to engage children with music at...more
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World Music for Children, though a commercial site, shares some simple treasures of music: song lyrics, audio files, and music-related craft projects to engage children with music at school or at home. Steer clear of the items for sale, and you will find songs to play for Martin Luther King Day, Hispanic Heritage Month, Native American Heritage month, Cinco de Mayo and more. This review directs you to the Teacher section where you can also find directions and photos to make simple percussion instruments from all over the world. The site is simple, but the options for making music are many. PDF files of song lyrics are available.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): hispanic (28), martin luther king (41), musical instruments (42), native americans (85), songs (44), sound (70)

In the Classroom

Turn up your speakers and try the limbo. Make simple instruments as part of your cultural heritage celebrations. Enhance learning by recording your class (or with older children - small groups) singing one of the simple songs using a simple tool such as Acast, reviewed here, or your computer's own recording software; then share the link to the recording on your class web page for younger students to sing along at home. During units on sound in elementary science class, make some of the instruments to explore how sound is created and transmitted. PE teachers can teach lessons using the song/dance options, such as the limbo. World language classes and world cultures classes may even find some of the ethnic instruments from other parts of the world interesting, despite the more juvenile appearance of this site.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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Africa Focus: Sights and Sounds of a Continent - University of Wisconsin Digital Collections

Grades
3 to 12
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Africa Focus offers a wealth of digital images and sound recordings from contemporary Africa. This collection from the University of Wisconsin contains more than 3000 slides, 500 photographs,...more
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Africa Focus offers a wealth of digital images and sound recordings from contemporary Africa. This collection from the University of Wisconsin contains more than 3000 slides, 500 photographs, and 50 hours of sounds from 45 different countries. Click Search the Collection to see image categories which include artisans, buildings and structures, cities and towns, education, landscape, religion, and women. Sound recordings include drums, greetings, rites and ceremonies, songs, and signing. The site is easily searched by keyword or by subject heading.

tag(s): africa (134), air (106), architecture (62), black history (109)

In the Classroom

Teachers will find this site rich in resources for units on science, social studies, geography, architecture, music, art, and culture. Make Africa a "real" place by sharing on a projector as you share stories or learn about homes ("Structures") and habitats or landforms ("Landscape") with younger students. Use the sound recordings for lessons on oral history, myths, languages, and music. Assign student groups a topic area, which they can research and present to the class as a PowerPoint or another multi-media format using an interactive whiteboard or projector.

Images, text, or other content downloaded from the collection may be freely used for non-profit educational and research purposes under Fair Use. That means that you may NOT put them on the web in a public site, blog, or wiki, since you would not be limiting access to class members. If you want students to create blog or wiki pages, create passworded access for class members only to areas displaying these images and resources. Check the website for instructions on how students can cite this source in their bibliographies.

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Smithsonian Global Sound - Smithsonian Institution

Grades
1 to 12
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Listen to and learn about traditional music from cultures around the world and through the ages. Browse this amazing collection of downloadable tunes to find musical enrichment to enhance...more
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Listen to and learn about traditional music from cultures around the world and through the ages. Browse this amazing collection of downloadable tunes to find musical enrichment to enhance a unit of study. Full downloads in MP3 or FLAC format are available for purchase but each offering is accompanied by a free audio sample. Note: this site opens rather slowly.Be patient, especially if you are on a dial-up connection.

tag(s): songs (44)

In the Classroom

Search this site for songs to supplement your unit in a US or World history class. This teacher was able to find a song about the suffrage movement, and was able to teach the beliefs of suffrage through student analysis of the lyrics and tone. Be sure to search - there are literally tons of songs that can be used for a variety of curriculum.

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Gullah Net - South Carolina ETV

Grades
4 to 8
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Gullah is the unique culture of African Americans living on and along the coastal waters of South Carolina and Georgia. This site offers a look at the traditions, customs, and ...more
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Gullah is the unique culture of African Americans living on and along the coastal waters of South Carolina and Georgia. This site offers a look at the traditions, customs, and folk tales of the Gullah people in a treatment that students will find both respectful and entertaining. Try it as an example of a regional American culture, or as part of a study of African American history. Find Gullah lesson plans, music and tales in video format.

tag(s): africa (134), african american (105), black history (109), georgia (3)

In the Classroom

Use the stories and materials on this site as a writing prompt. Open the site and introduce it on the interactive whiteboard or projector before allowing students to explore it individually. Allow students to listen to the stories in groups or individually on classroom computers. Once students have explored the Gullah Tales, have them create their own stories on the website. The stories students can create on the site have pre-determined story titles and themes, making them more appropriate for lower-level readers. However, if there are a lot of advanced students in your class, use a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here. This allows them to be a little more creative and put more work into designing their books. An interesting site for English class!

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