Songwriting and Recording | Media Arts Toolkit

Jonathan Stovall, now an assistant principal at Adairville School in Logan County, Kentucky, started using songwriting with his fourth-grade math students at Parker-Bennett-Curry Elementary in Bowling Green and found that student engagement and scores improved so much that he now uses it across grades and subjects. Students learn key concepts in math, science, and other subjects while learning music, creating songs and lyrics, working together, and learning about recording and engineering.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Stop Motion Animation | Media Arts Toolkit

At Bowling Green Junior High in Kentucky, technology teacher Dianna Wolf and reading teacher Brent VanMeter use stop motion animation to give students opportunities to experiment with technology, work together, and communicate things they’ve learned in a fun and creative way.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Audio Recording Tips | Media Arts Toolkit

Audio is an extremely important part of creating good video, especially when doing interviews. Learn how to avoid making common audio mistakes by following these tips.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Call and Response Songs

Students explore call and response songs through singing.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Lesson Plan

Composing in Common Time

Students compose and notate short 4/4, 3/4, and 6/8 rhythms across multiple class periods.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Lesson Plan

Composing in Simple and Compound Meters

Students compose and notate short rhythms in 4/4, 3/4, and 6/8 meters across multiple class periods.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Lesson Plan

Creating and Performing Melodic Contour

Students create and perform melodic contours.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Lesson Plan

Exploring Melodic Phrases

Students explore phrases in poetry and in song.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Lesson Plan

Exploring String Techniques

Students explore expressive qualities through various string techniques.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Lesson Plan

Exploring the Sounds Around Us

Students listen to and describe sounds.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Lesson Plan

Grade 6-8 The Arts & Music

Resource suggestions to explore and consider as a way to support your family learning during school closures.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive, Lesson Plan

Author: Jamie Rumage

Grade 9-12 Arts & Music Resources

Resources for high school students learning Arts & Music

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Homework/Assignment, Interactive

Authors: Caitlin McRae, Jamie Rumage

The Art and Accessibility of Music (Advanced Level)

Students will learn about the jazz singer Billie Holiday and the sociohistorical context in which she performed. They will learn how discriminatory statutes (called Jim Crow laws) affected daily life. They will also analyze how movement is created in photographs and the effect of a photographer's point of view on composition. Finally, students will photograph a musician, paying attention to what can be communicated through point of view.

Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Lesson Plan

A Harlem Renaissance Retrospective: Connecting Art, Music, Dance, and Poetry

Students research, evaluate, and synthesize information about the Harlem Renaissance from varied resources, create an exhibit, and highlight connections across disciplines (i.e., art, music, and poetry) using a Venn diagram.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan

Musical Mapping—First and Second Endings

Students explore first and second endings by singing and moving.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Lesson Plan

Performing and Arranging Using Our Voices

Students explore whispering, speaking, singing, and calling voices.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Lesson Plan

Performing and Composing Four-Beat Patterns

Students read, perform, and compose four-beat rhythmic patterns.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Lesson Plan

Staff Hopscotch

Students explore relative pitch through listening and movement.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Lesson Plan

Theme and Variation

Students explore different ways to change a simple sentence and melody to understand the concept of theme and variation.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Lesson Plan

Bomba: Género de música

Students will investigate musical genres in Spanish Speaking countries in order to better understand the history and influences that created the music, as well as the cultural connections/impact of the music today. Begin studying Bomba as a class and work through the investigation process together; then students can select a different genre of music to research and explore before creating a visual essay about their topic.The complete lesson plan included is the 4th class period of a 8-10 period unit of study; the complete unit slides are included in the resource folder with all readings, videos, etc. Lessons are in Spanish, but could be adapted for an English class with Spanish translanguaging as many of the videos are included with closed captions. 

Material Type: Lesson, Lesson Plan, Unit of Study

Authors: Kellie Rosenberger, Oregon Open Learning