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Kids Learn Better With a Song in
Their Hearts
Do you recall the multiplication tables, grammatical terms, or historical documents because of a song you learned as a kid? Educators recognize that teaching with song makes learning not only more fun, but more effective and long-lasting.
Teacher of the Year Inspires Excellence
The daughter of a teacher/minister who taught service to others by example, the 2007 National Teacher of the Year Andrea Peterson became a music teacher dedicated to helping her students appreciate music and reach their potential.
Art On Trial (A Mock-Court Activity)
Diane Fogler, who teaches at Lincoln Academy of Integrated Arts in Davenport, Iowa, submitted this lesson in which students take on different roles as they determine which work of art will be constructed in their community park. (Grades 3-12)
Keeping Art Alive Under NCLB
While nothing in the No Child Left Behind Act says schools must eliminate the arts to concentrate on math and reading, arts instruction is shrinking or vanishing in many schools. Arts advocates say the arts are critical to a complete education.
MUSE-ical Sessions
Bennett Park Montessori School is preparing to host its second annual intergenerational drumming and dancing workshops. In addition, with the help of a local organization of musicians the entire student population will produce an Italian opera.
O, Say, Does Your Class Know the National Anthem?
For years, students learned "The Star-Spangled Banner" and other patriotic songs in music class. Budget cuts, though,
have forced many schools to eliminate music, so the National Association for Music Education is urging people to learn
and sing the anthem.
Improv Team Acts to Curb Violent Behavior
Imagine being able to freeze the action in a dispute, step out of the "scene," and get feedback on your next move.
The Urban Improv troupe lets students do that, and helps them see the non-violent approaches to resolving conflict.
A Travel Journal for Homer's Odyssey
Students select their favorite excerpts from The Odyssey, type a first-hand account of the story, and add graphics
and music from the Internet. This lesson uses Apple's Pages program and includes a completed sample for viewing.
An Attitude of Gratitude
Middle-school students think "outside the box" to identify unusual things they're thankful for, and then use digital
content (audio, images, movies…) to represent those things on a PowerPoint slide. Students' slides are combined into
a class slide show.
No Place Like Home
Students learn to "read" digital content as they analyze photographs of high plains sod homes and read accompanying
narratives. They then choose one photograph and identify characteristics, points, differences, and questions they
find in that photograph.
Four Days in Paris
In this foreign language or social studies lesson for grades 4-6, students research a travel destination, set up a
four-day itinerary, and then use iWork's Pages program to create an illustrated travel journal detailing their "experiences."
Banding Together to Stop Gun Violence
With the support of a teacher, students at Suncoast High School in Florida wrote and recorded a CD of songs urging
an end to gun violence. Now the students want schools and radio stations across the U.S. to play the title track March
15 in a show of solidarity.
Music's Key Role in Helping Students Learn
Music's positive impact on learning is becoming well known, and one of the groups trumpeting that message is NAMM,
the International Music Products Association. NAMM's Mary Luehrsen talked about the research behind the group's message.
Quilting Connections
Help your K-8 class celebrate Women's History Month. Students research an influential woman, then create on the computer
a quilt block with text and graphics. Quilt blocks are then printed and combined to form a quilt of connections.
Computers in the High School Classroom
Education World's Tech Team offer opinions on the reality and possibilities of "teching" in the high school classroom.
Included: Nine ways to integrate technology in high school and links to technology in action at high schools across
America.
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Find additional articles of interest in the following Education World archives:
Teachers earned cash for submitting these classroom-tested lessons:
Education World reviews Web sites to supplement your curriculum. Fine arts teachers might be interested
in checking out the reviewed sites below.
Search our databases below for more fine arts sites and resources.
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Poetry From Photos: A Lesson on the Great Depression.
Getting information from the Internet often is just a copy and paste operation. The challenge for teachers is to teach
students to apply and extend what they learn online. In this lesson, students view photographs of migrant families
during the Great Depression, try to interpret the photos to answer questions about the subject's life, and then write
a cinquain poem based on their interpretations.
Sites to See: Art History
Art History sites offer teachers, students, and the general public unique ways of thinking about art and of learning
about the development of art through the ages. These sites include animations, photographs, maps, timelines, interactive
games and activities.
Putting the Arts in the (Everyday) Picture
While for the most part the arts have been on the fringes of education, when they become a larger part of the curriculum,
they can engage students in numerous ways, and particularly can benefit students in low-income, low-performing schools.
Sites to See: Fine Arts
Fine Arts sites offer resources and information about everything from sculpture, music, drawing, crafts, origami,
graphic design, digital art, architecture, and the performing arts, to creative ways of turning recycled items into
fine art.
PowerPoint Poetry Slam
Make poetry come alive with this English lesson for grades 7-12. In a unique twist to a standard poetry reading, students
select poems, create PowerPoint presentations that use graphics and text to enhance their poems, and then display
those presentations as they read their poems aloud.
Eek! Comics in the Classroom!
Are you looking for a way to motivate reluctant readers, engage urban youth, develop the comprehension skills of second-language
learners, or teach visual literacy to elementary level students? Have you considered using comics and graphic novels?
The "Art" of Comprehension
If it wasn't for Howard Gardner's multiple-intelligence theory, educator Max Fischer might never have seen how art
can be used to increase student comprehension of content reading material. Included: Ideas for using pictographs,
storyboards, graphic organizers.
Building Close-Knit Communities: Knitting Makes a Comeback
Knitting is a great activity for students with ADHD. It makes a great recess activity, and it meshes with the multiple-intelligences
philosophy. And it's catching on in schools around the country! Included: Learn why knitting works from teachers at
two schools.
How Does it End? A Lesson in Creativity
Put students' creative talents to work by having them compose their own endings to a read-aloud story. Students use
drawing software, such as Paint or AppleWorks, to draw, or write and draw, what they want to happen at the end of
the story.
From Beginning to End: Making Memories All Year Through
Experienced educators share how they enrich their classes with projects and activities that take students from the
beginning of the school year to the end -- while creating memories that last a lifetime. Included: Ideas for time
capsules, memory books, welcome letters, more.
Sites to See: Music
Music sites offer kids information about composers, conductors, and musical instruments, while providing them with
opportunities to see, hear, play, and compose their own music. Included: Nearly three-dozen tuneful sites.
Morning Sing: School's Weekly Tradition Is Music to the Ears
What has "risk takers" performing on stage, teachers reading and singing to the entire school, and students still
talking about events from elementary school years later? It's Lake Street School's "Morning Sing," a weekly event
that brings together the entire school.
Strike up the Band, Exit Stage Right!
In the Internet, TV, video game-age, kids draping a sheet in a garage to "stage" a "play" seems quaint. But author
and performer Deborah Dunleavy wants children to create their own dramas and music, and has written guidebooks both
kids and teachers can use.
Teacher Feature: Starring Tom Hrbacek
Tom Hrbacek's love of music took root when he started playing trumpet in fifth grade. "One of the most valuable lessons
I've learned is that you never stop learning!" said Hrbacek, who has taught music for 37 years. Included: Advice for
new music teachers.
SteveSongs Transforms Kids Into Songwriters While Reinforcing Classroom
Skills
Setting Christopher Columbus's journey, the virtues of kindness, and even the long "e" sound to music are part of
a day's work for Steve Roslonek. The musician conducts workshops that use songwriting to reinforce skills and concepts
taught in other classes.
Calendar Exposes School Financing Problems
When bake sales and walk-a-thons aren't enough to save critical school programs, what's a community to do? Members
of the Long Tom Grange in Junction City, Oregon, found a solution: they "took it all off" for a calendar that's eliciting
orders from around the world.
Mexican Arts, Culture Frame Learning
Mexican arts and culture are woven through the curriculum at Chicago's Telpochcalli Elementary School. The school's
mission is to help students appreciate their heritage and to use studies of the art and culture of Mexico teach other
content areas.
Reader's Theater: A Reason to Read Aloud
The Reader's Theater strategy blends students' desire to perform with their need for oral reading practice. RT offers
an entertaining and engaging way to improve fluency and enhance comprehension. Included: RT tips from the experts!
That's Entertainment: Music Lessons for Every Grade
Music is in the air! While the beat goes on, can you hear it? As you climb every mountain, do you hear the sound of
music? You don't need to be a music man to make music in the classroom. Included: Five lessons that will have you
singing a happy tune!
Affordable Art for a Sensational Spring
Celebrate the arrival of spring with art activities that will bring out creativity, not break the bank. You can find
all the ingredients for these sunny lessons in a classroom closet. Included: Five lessons that make everyday materials
into uncommon treasures!
Connect With Music: Lessons Any Teacher Can Teach!
No special training or skills are necessary to integrate music into your school day. Any teacher can make their core
curriculum “sing” by working in some music. Included: Don’t miss a great PR opportunity -- tips for joining the World’s
Largest Concert.
Voice of Experience: The Schoolhouse Rocks -- Using Music to Engage Learning
Educator Max Fischer reflects on the first time he used pop music lyrics in the classroom. Since then Fischer has
found many ways to introduce music -- from the Rolling Stones to Steve Martin -- to achieve learning objectives. Included:
Tips for getting started.
Five Holiday Keepsakes Parents Will Love!
Is the pressure on to come up with a creative gift-making idea? Education World offers five gift ideas, including
keepsake ornaments to hang, snowglobes to shake, and colorful candleholders to brighten the holidays.
It's Not Too Late to Create a State: Online Project Teaches Cooperation!
"The Create A State project provided students who will never meet each other face-to-face with an opportunity to work
together and learn from each other," says teacher Pamela Galus. "Students use the Internet as a tool to build cooperation
and collaboration. Students in 18 states have already completed the project!"
Musically Inclined
Enjoy the "ultimate music resource."
The Skyscraper Page
Use kids' interest in skyscrapers to teach math, geography, and more! |
