Tune Up for Music Activities!

March is the annual observance of national Music in Our Schools Month, a time to focus on the importance of music in education. This week, Education World offers a symphony of activities to help students learn, share, and enjoy musical experiences! Included: Activities in which students create a picture book about the instruments in an orchestra, use music note values to solve math problems, and much more!

Looking for a cool way to celebrate Music in Our Schools Month? How about participating in this year's rendition of the World's Largest Concert, scheduled for March 13?

Or maybe your students will create their own music videos this year... If that idea sounds interesting, you might check out -- or share with students -- some award-winning videos created by students as part of a contest in 2007. Click here to view a showcase of winning videos.

For additional ideas for celebrating music in your classroom, click on any of the lesson plan titles below for complete teaching resources.

Bonus Lesson Ideas
After you've completed this week's lessons, try these activities:
* Create a class song.
* Draw pictures while listening to different kinds of music to reflect the moods of the songs.
* Play a "name that tune" game in which students identify the names of songs after listening to just a few bars of the music.
* Write a rap song about a school subject.

Find many more lesson ideas in our Music in Our Schools Month archive.

Orchestra Book
Students create a picture book about the instruments in an orchestra that they can listen to and read. (Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8)

Rockin' Rhythm Band
Students create rhythms from ordinary objects. (Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)

Musical Mystery Words
Students learn the letter names for the treble clef and create words using the letters that represent the lines and spaces on the staff. (Grades 3-5, 6-8)

Adding Note Values
Students use the values of musical notes to complete math problems. (Grades 3-5, 6-8)

Make a Music Video
Students work together to create a short music video for a familiar children's song. (Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The Music Room
Created at Capistrano Elementary School in Modesto, California, this site provides a host of music information, including a music glossary, audio samples of types of music from various time periods, and links to MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) Web sites.

Essentials of Music
This site provides general information about classical music, including summaries of the main periods in music history, short biographies of classical composers, and a glossary of musical terms with some audio examples.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
The official site for this museum includes educational programs for teachers and students.

Originally published 03/07/2001
Links last updated 02/14/2008