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 practice following a pattern and become familiar with the concept of beat in music. They will be introduced to tempo. They will gain experience playing the beat on non-pitched rhythm instruments, at various tempos. This activity will culminate in the creation of a rhythm piece.

In this lesson, students will examine and repeat the rhythmic patterns that are found in words. They will echo the rhythms through the use of class percussion instruments or clapping.

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 will work in groups to compose pieces of music to represent a season of the year. They will combine the pieces into a Rondo form.

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 play instruments, sounds, or body percussion on appropriate words or phrases to enhance listening skils and ability to maintain steady rhythms during reading accompaniments. Webpage includes several different activities with a variety of books such as "The Very Busy Spider", "Silly Sally", and "The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything". Activities appopriate for levels k-2. This collection of activities incorporates the use of instruments, sounds, and body percussion to accompany stories.

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 will learn and understand what syncopation is through physical activities relating to the human body. They will also learn a dance to a musical selection from Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.

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.

Students learn to keep a steady beat in a fun-filled activity, while drilling their math facts. This lesson is designed to fulfill Standard #7 of the National Standards for Music: Evaluating music and music performances.

In this lesson, students will be introduced to "note types", or iconic representation of, half notes, quarter notes, and eighth notes. Students will demonstrate their understanding of fractions by creating a rhythm pattern using their "notes" with partners and in large groups.

Students will learn how to effectively visualize. They will create detailed visualizations after smelling familiar smells, while listening to a story and while listening to a piece of music. By the end of the lesson, students will understand the importance of visualization in reading and music.

In this cooperative improvisation, students will go through a process of composition very much like what a composer might do in preparation for creating a serious piece of music. Students find inspiration, research details, imagine what might be possible and then deal with the practicalities of the performance group that they have chosen. Writing down music to share with someone in print is the final stage and may take years to perfect, but this non-written experience allows each child to imagine and create a unique, musical expression which can be shared with others.