Topic outline

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  General

  Music from Across America for K-5

  In this unit, you will listen to a variety of popular, traditional and ethnic American music, from the evocative sounds of Native American drumming to the lively sounds of zydeco music from Louisiana. To develop you listening skills, you record your impressions about the music you hear. In addition to learning about musical instruments and the geographic and cultural context of music, you will be thinking about and express you personal responses to music.

  Guiding Question:What can we learn from listening to music? What does music tell us about the instruments and people who create it? How does music make us feel?

  • News forum
  • Learning Objectives Page
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  Meet the Instrument Families

  In this lesson you will listen to different kinds of music and learn about musicians and the instruments they use to play it.

  • Instruments Forum
  • Instrument Families Page
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  What Sounds Does Each Family Make?

  This lesson talks about the key traits of each musical family.You will see an example of an instrument from each group. You will want to share you impressions about the look and sound of each instrument.

  • Percussion Page
  • Where have you heard Percussion? Forum
  • Woodwind Page
  • Where have you heard Woodwind? Forum
  • Brass Page
  • Where have you heard brass? Forum
  • String Page
  • Where have you heard strings? Forum
  • Keyboard Page
  • Where have you heard keyboards? Forum
  • Instrument Family Quiz
  • For Teacher Page
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  Exploring Music and Movement

  In this lesson, you will be listening to and interpreting music. You will play several of the musical selections and improvise your own movements to the music. You will then talk about how and why the music inspires movement.

  • Listen to Music Page
  • Music and Movement Forum
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  Let's Listen to the Music!

  You will listen to the same musical selections as in the previous selection-- this time with more background on the artists who made the music, and with the goal of listening carefully and thinking critically about the music.

  • Listen to Music Assignment
  • Listen to Music Page

    Use this for the assignment above.

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  Sharing the Joy of Music

  This take home activity will allow you to choose any musical selection of you choice for members of their family to listen and respond to. This way you can share the joy of music.

  • Worksheet for Sharing the Joy of Music File
  • Share the Joy of Music Forum