music integration |

Musical Story Time – An Arts Integration Unit

Combine disciplines with this fun and engaging arts-integrated unit. We take four classic children’s books, and read them aloud, then add in a musical concept and re-read the stories integrating our new musical skills. Whether you’re trying to incorporate music into your story time or stories into your music time, these will interest and involve…

Kandinsky & the Color of Music

Blend artistic disciplines with these fun and engaging ideas around music, art, and sound. Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky was a Russian painter and art theorist. Kandinsky is generally credited as the pioneer of abstract art. He also experienced a rare neurological phenomenaa where he could see music and hear color. Explore that strange and wonderful universe…

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

As spring approaches (supposedly) I like to incorporate the changing of the seasons into my music lessons. Young learners are fascinated by nature and science, and one of the most fascinating things is, in my opinion, the caterpillar’s metamorphosis. Using the 1969 Eric Carle classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, we explore the science behind these…

Puerto Rico: Rhythm & Culture

Puerto Rico has been coming up in the news a lot lately. A US Territory, that has been absolutely devastated by Hurricane Maria, but there is more to the country than what we hear in the news. My school has a large Puerto Rican population and so I wanted to share and celebrate their rich and diverse…

Radio & Sound: An Interactive Science Unit

You heard it here first, teaching sounds waves can be fun! We spent a full week exploring the properties of waves and vibrations, as well as amplitude and frequency. The unit culminated in two hands-on projects: building a DIY speaker from wire, magnets, and a plastic cup, and Snap Circuits FM Radio kits. However, this hands-on…

Musician Reports: An Interdisciplinary Hands-on Research Project

A fantastic month long project that combines local musicians and gen-ed social studies standards in a fun and innovative way. Working with classroom teachers, together we were able to reinforce the material learned in their classes while making it relevant by tying in popular musicians the students loved. Through a detailed step by step process we researched, created,…

5 Ways to get your Students up & Dancing!

Movement in the classroom is almost universally praised these days. It appeals to a wide variety of learning styles, helps kids stay motivated and engaged, and helps them focus on and retain information. The Atlantic even called movement “essential” for young learners. So how soon can you start incorporating it into your classroom? Here are 5 tips to get…

Tall Tales & Rails: John Henry – a Musical History Unit

John Henry is an American Folk Legend and is the perfect entry point into topics like “Tall Tales” and “the American Railroad.” Students will love learning about these topics through musical & rhythm activities, engaging videos, and easy to use printables. So all aboard for the this amazing American tall tale!

FREE LESSON: Winter Bingo

The cold north wind blows, bringing with it shivering chills, snow, and the faint sound of jingle bells. This Listening Bingo activity puts your students’ ears to the test as they listen to the world around them while learning about the season. Great for grades K-2nd, it has students discussing the Winter sounds they hear…

Dia de los Muertos: The Day of the Dead

Just because Hispanic Heritage Month is coming to an end, doesn’t mean you have to cease all cultural education in your classroom. Take a break from the Halloween lessons this October and incorporate some cultural curriculum by discussing the amazing holiday of Dia de los Muertos, or The Day of the Dead