TeachersFirst's Music Appreciation
Music appreciation involves introducing students to the history and various genres of music. There are many different musicians to discover and genres to enjoy. Peruse this collection to learn about musicians from different periods. This collection covers blues, jazz, classical, and other genres. Share these resources during Music In the Schools Month or any time throughout the year. This list includes resources for all grades. See our complete collection of jazz and blues resources.
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Africa Focus: Sights and Sounds of a Continent - University of Wisconsin Digital Collections
Grades
3 to 12
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Africa Focus offers a wealth of digital images and sound recordings from contemporary Africa. This collection from the University of Wisconsin contains more than 3000 slides, 500 photographs,...more
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Africa Focus offers a wealth of digital images and sound recordings from contemporary Africa. This collection from the University of Wisconsin contains more than 3000 slides, 500 photographs, and 50 hours of sounds from 45 different countries. Click Search the Collection to see image categories which include artisans, buildings and structures, cities and towns, education, landscape, religion, and women. Sound recordings include drums, greetings, rites and ceremonies, songs, and signing. The site is easily searched by keyword or by subject heading.
tag(s): africa (137), air (106), architecture (64), black history (124)
In the Classroom
Teachers will find this site rich in resources for units on science, social studies, geography, architecture, music, art, and culture. Make Africa a "real" place by sharing on a projector as you share stories or learn about homes ("Structures") and habitats or landforms ("Landscape") with younger students. Use the sound recordings for lessons on oral history, myths, languages, and music. Assign student groups a topic area, which they can research and present to the class as a PowerPoint or another multi-media format using an interactive whiteboard or projector.Images, text, or other content downloaded from the collection may be freely used for non-profit educational and research purposes under Fair Use. That means that you may NOT put them on the web in a public site, blog, or wiki, since you would not be limiting access to class members. If you want students to create blog or wiki pages, create passworded access for class members only to areas displaying these images and resources. Check the website for instructions on how students can cite this source in their bibliographies.
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Smithsonian Global Sound - Smithsonian Institution
Grades
1 to 12
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Listen to and learn about traditional music from cultures around the world and through the ages. Browse this amazing collection of downloadable tunes to find musical enrichment to enhance...more
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Listen to and learn about traditional music from cultures around the world and through the ages. Browse this amazing collection of downloadable tunes to find musical enrichment to enhance a unit of study. Full downloads in MP3 or FLAC format are available for purchase but each offering is accompanied by a free audio sample. Note: this site opens rather slowly.Be patient, especially if you are on a dial-up connection.
tag(s): songs (44)
In the Classroom
Search this site for songs to supplement your unit in a US or World history class. This teacher was able to find a song about the suffrage movement, and was able to teach the beliefs of suffrage through student analysis of the lyrics and tone. Be sure to search - there are literally tons of songs that can be used for a variety of curriculum.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Gullah Net - South Carolina ETV
Grades
4 to 8
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Gullah is the unique culture of African Americans living on and along the coastal waters of South Carolina and Georgia. This site offers a look at the traditions, customs, and ...more
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Gullah is the unique culture of African Americans living on and along the coastal waters of South Carolina and Georgia. This site offers a look at the traditions, customs, and folk tales of the Gullah people in a treatment that students will find both respectful and entertaining. Try it as an example of a regional American culture, or as part of a study of African American history. Find Gullah lesson plans, music and tales in video format.
tag(s): africa (137), african american (110), black history (124), georgia (3)
In the Classroom
Use the stories and materials on this site as a writing prompt. Open the site and introduce it on the interactive whiteboard or projector before allowing students to explore it individually. Allow students to listen to the stories in groups or individually on classroom computers. Once students have explored the Gullah Tales, have them create their own stories on the website. The stories students can create on the site have pre-determined story titles and themes, making them more appropriate for lower-level readers. However, if there are a lot of advanced students in your class, use a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here. This allows them to be a little more creative and put more work into designing their books. An interesting site for English class!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Blues - PBS
Grades
6 to 12
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The PBS series on "The Blues" combines history and musicology in a reverential treatment of this uniquely American musical form. The site includes biographies, some good analysis of...more
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The PBS series on "The Blues" combines history and musicology in a reverential treatment of this uniquely American musical form. The site includes biographies, some good analysis of the musical theory and compositional form behind the blues, and samples of blues songs that are in the public domain. While you probably cannot make an entire unit out of this one, it would be a neat addition to a unit on African American culture, American music, or the history of the twentieth century.Though the video clips and music require Flash, there is a lot of information to learn from this site, and it has links to other sites about the blues.
tag(s): africa (137), african american (110), blues (22), harlem (8), jazz (17)
In the Classroom
A true American art form, "the Blues," makes a great interdisciplinary study, and this site's lesson plans provide a well-researched foundation for that study. Our only regret is that sites on this subject so rarely include sound files for the music they're describing. You and your students could explore the Blues music offered at Perfect Blues: 1920s, 30s and 40s Vintage Blues; Duke Ellington; Leadbelly, reviewed here. There are still the biographies and resources list available on this PBS site. Enhance student learning by having students select a blues musician to complete a brief biography on, using the list provided on this site as a starting point. There is plenty of information, and students with little inspiration are sure to find someone of interest here. Enhance learning by having students share what they learn using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here, an easy to use free tool for creating infographics using pre-designed templates or by starting from scratch.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Classical Net
Grades
6 to 12
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An award-winning site by L. D. Lampson and Classical Net devoted to "classical" music, composers, repertoire, recommended recordings, reviews, and related resources. This easy to use...more
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An award-winning site by L. D. Lampson and Classical Net devoted to "classical" music, composers, repertoire, recommended recordings, reviews, and related resources. This easy to use site provides an outstanding reference source for both teachers and students from upper elementary through high school. The comprehensive content can be used to supplement a music appreciation class, to augment a social studies or foreign language lesson on a particular historical/cultural era, or to serve as a guide for building a CD library.
tag(s): biographies (93)
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