Students will learn about the instruments of the orchestra by using the CD and book Those Amazing Musical Instruments. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the musical terms forte, piano, lento, allegro, staccato and legato. They will demonstrate the ability to keep the beat by using their bodies as well as conducting batons made from popsicle sticks.

Students listen to Vivaldi's The Four Season, Autumn, and describe emotion, tempo, and dynamics. Students engage kinesthetically as they move to the music and learn about the composer. Students learn the scientific reasons for fall leaves changing color. Students sing the poem "Little Leaves" to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle and the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat. Students do a choral reading of "Colors of Fall." Students will collect real autumn leaves, then draw and paint them as their interpretation of Vivaldi's Autumn.

Students show ternary (ABA) form in movement, sing a Russian folk song in English,
practice showing phrase structure and finding and showing beat, and discriminate a
rhythmic pattern at various tempi. This lesson uses music from Romani performers to explore basic musical concepts.

In this lesson are opportunities for teaching and learning about some ways in which music is aligned with visual art. A sampling of songs from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is presented, alongside the cover art relevant to the songs. Several well-known pieces are featured from the wide array of recordings first envisioned by Folkways Records' founder Moses Asch in the 1940s. Singing, chanting, and movement experiences are featured alongside examinations and discussion of the photographs and imaginative artwork of the historical album covers.

Students will listen to and map the melodic contour of a familiar children's song by shaping yarn on the music classroom floor to represent the melody of the song. This lesson is designed to fulfill Standard #6 of the National Standards for Music: listening to, analyzing, and describing music.

Using Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, students will discover how difficult it is to compose music with a hearing loss. Children will develop an understanding of overcoming disabilities and preserving through life's struggles.

Students will understand and demonstrate four dynamic levels (p-f) with this "Easter Egg Hunt" themed lesson plan. This lesson is designed to fulfill Standard #7 of the National Standards for Music: Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.

The North Carolina Symphony's Musical Meditations series offers moments to be calm, present, and mindful, supporting stress-management during the busy school day. Each short video features the NC Symphony playing musical excerpts from famous composers set to the breathtaking visuals from North Carolina State Parks.

This lesson introduces students to Babar, an elephant portrayed in the children's books by Jean de Brunhof. Students will listen to Francis Poulenc's musical composition of the same name, written to reflect the scenes in Jean de Brunhof's book. Students will gain an understanding of how powerful the use of simple rhythm instruments is in retelling the story. Students will also create visual works of art based on the sounds they hear in the audio performance.

Students will identify the character, setting, and plot of the story of Ballet of the Elephants and listen to Circus Polka: For a Young Elephant, composed by Igor Stravinsky for the ballet. Students will then listen to a piece of unidentified music to create their own character, setting, and plot diagram. They will use this diagram to create their own story that includes characters, a setting, and a plot (beginning, middle, and end).

Students will be taught the correlation of Native American music and rhythm. They will also create their own Native American musical instrument and develop a rhythm of their own. Students will understand the basics of rhythm and develop their own rhythms.

Students will learn to appreciate the process of telling a story through song, while learning basic musical skills like rhythm, singing on pitch, and call-and-response format.

This is a simplified version of Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf taught in a developmental delay program for special needs students and English language learners. It is easily adapted to meet the needs of older children with the same educational needs. The purpose of the lesson is to provide the students with a variety of experiences performing and telling the story of the fable that Sergei Prokofiev has set to music, and to introduce the students to various instruments of the orchestra.

Students will listen to Copland's Rodeo, Saturday Night Waltz, and discuss the dynamics and tempo of the composition. Students will learn about different aspects of pioneer life, focusing on the art of quilt making. Students will help make an actual quilt from muslin and calico print fabric, and contribute a paper square to the class crazy quilt.

This lesson was created for primary age students but can easily be adapted into the intermediate or middle school social studies lesson. Students will explore a period of time when African Americans were striving to make their mark on American music. Ragtime music will be experienced through listening to classics, observing performances, researching the life of Scott Joplin, learning dances, and wearing self-made costumes of the era. They will reflect on the Ragtime music, the struggle of African Americans, and the life skills of successful people who perservere.

Students will listen to Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, discuss what spring time means, and create a list of adjectives for the music. Then, they will watch the part of the Disney film Fantasia that re-interprets the same music. Students will add to their list of adjectives, retell the film's story, and compare the original music to the film's story. After listening again, and moving to the music, they will write and draw a response.

Students learn that it is possible to use some of the same strategies for understanding music that we use to understand literature. Students have an opportunity to identify a musical theme when played by in a variety of styles.

Students will gain a keen understanding of the Musical Instrument Families. They will understand how instruments are played. Finally, their experience will bring an understanding of the culture and climate of the Symphony, as it becomes truly accessible to students of all socio/economic backgrounds.

Students will compare and contrast Stravinsky's Rite of Spring to Vivaldi's Four Seasons, La Primavera (Spring). Pair the music of Stravinksy with the art of Edvard Munch. Pair the music of Vivaldi with the art of Claude Monet. Discuss the similarities and differences. Discuss Josef Albers'Homage to the Square entitled "The High Spring". Discuss how color and mood are connected. Create a color square in the style of Josef Albers to represent the pairings of Stravinsky and Munch and the pairing of Vivaldi and Monet.

Students compare the tempo of music to the tempo of reading. By having students learn about tempo through music, poems and movement, they will gain an understanding and be able to explain times when they should use a slower or faster tempo when reading.