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Associations/Organizations
- American Orff-Schulwerk Association
- Advocating the music education methods of Carl Orff this organization provides professional development, publications, scholarships and grants.
Grades: PreK - 12
- American String Teachers Association
- The American String Teachers Association is a organization for string and orchestra teachers and players, helping them throughout their careers. ASTA provides an array of services, including instrument insurance, a scholarly journal, professional development, competitions, grants, community initiatives, and access to a network of colleagues.
Grades: PreK - 12
- Dalcroze Society of America
- Developed by Emile Jaques-Dalcroze to tap into students' natural sense of rhythm, the Dalcroze Eurhythmics approach focuses on rhythmic movement, aural training, and improvisation. Information about Dalcroze and the Dalcroze method, teacher training programs, etc. is available from this website.
Grades: PreK - 12
- Gordon Institute for Music Learning
- The Gordon Institute for Music Learning (GIML) is dedicated to advancing the research in music education pioneered by Edwin E. Gordon. This website provides an introduction to Gordon' Music Learning Theory,classroom activities and information about the GIML.
Grades: PreK - 12
- Music Teachers National Association (MTNA)
- The Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), the oldest professional music teachers association in the United States, promotes the appreciation of both music study and music making and the professionalism of music teachers. MTNA is comprised of 24,000 independent and collegiate music teachers of all instruments including voice.
Grades: K - 12
- NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants)
- NAMM is a non-profit educational association dedicated to promoting the importance of music, music-making and music education to the general public. Its membership, representing the music industry, provides information about current research, as well as tools (print, audio and video) to advocate for music education.
Grades: PreK - 12
- National Association for Music Education
- National Association for Music Education (NAfME), addresses all aspects of music education. It advocates at all levels; offers professional development; supports music educators; and participated in the development of the National Standards for Arts Education.
Grades: PreK - 12
- National Association of Teachers of Singing
- The National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) strives to "encourage the highest standards of the vocal art...; and to promote vocal education and research at all levels, both for the enrichment of the general public and for the professional advancement of the talented." The website includes information about competitions,programs, events and links to The Journal of Singing (restricted to members only).
Grades: K - 12
- Organization of American Kodaly Educators
- Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE) was founded to promote Kodály's concept of "Music for Everyone" through the improvement of music education in schools. This website provides an overview of Kodaly methods, its connection to National Music Standards,and information about the OAKE.
Grades: K - 12
Standards
- 2014 Music Standards (National Association for Music Education)
- Developed within the framework of the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards, the 2014 Music Standards focus on Creating, Performing and Responding. This page provides links to the standards and other resources to help understand and implement them.
Grades: PreK - 12
- National Core Arts Standards
- The National Core Arts Standards for Dance, Media Arts, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts uses the processes of Creating, Performing/ Presenting/ Producing, Responding and Connecting as its framework . These standards were developed by a coalition of arts education organizations.
Grades: PreK - 12
Bibliographies and Research Guides
- Music Literature
- This is a selected list of books that can be used to teach music concepts and music history in the K-5 classroom. All are available in the Curriculum Materials Center.
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- Visual and Performing Arts
- A selected list of resources to assist in the teaching of music, dance, visual arts and drama. These resources are available in the Curriculum Materials Center of the David and Lorraine Cheng Library.
Grades: K - 12
Lesson Plans and Teaching Activities
- American Memory from the Library of Congress
- The American Memory Project is a digital record of American history, containing documents, maps, photographs, moving images, sound recordings and memorabilia from American life. The collection of over 5 million items chronicles daily life as well as major events. Searchable by broad subjects or keywords. The Teachers section includes sample lesson plans and other teaching suggestions.
Grades: 3 - 12
- ArtsEdge: Lessons
- ArtsEdge is the educational media branch of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Its website provides free arts-based lesson plans and projects for the visual and performing arts.
Grades: K - 12
- Gordon Institute for Music Learning
- The Gordon Institute for Music Learning (GIML) is dedicated to advancing the research in music education pioneered by Edwin E. Gordon. This website provides an introduction to Gordon' Music Learning Theory,classroom activities and information about the GIML.
Grades: PreK - 12
- Jazz Class
- Developed by the Smithsonian Institute, Jass Class introduces young people to jazz through original online recordings. Lesson plans are designed for intermediate level (ages 8-13) and middle level (ages 13-15) students. Lessons range from What is Jazz? to introductions to the work of Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Benny Carter.
Grades: 2 - 10
- Jazz in America
- Jazz in America is a project of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz that provides lesson plans about jazz and its role in US history. The curriculum aligns with standards of the National Association for Music Education and the National Center for History in the Schools. Includes links to video and audio recordings.
Grades: 5 - 12
- Let Freedom Swing: Conversations on Jazz and Democracy
- A collaboration of Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Documentary Group, Teachers College at Columbia University, and The Rockefeller Foundation, this project grew out of a conversation between Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and jazz musician Wynton Marsalis. The curriculum provides streaming video, discussion questions and classroom activities to explore and compare these two American traditions--jazz and democracy.
Grades: 6 - 12
- Rock and Roll: An American Story
- This free online resource is available through Steven Van Zandt's Rock and Roll Forever Foundation. The curriculum is divided into four major periods and is filled with photos, video clips, short articles and other resources. The lessons include an essential question, objectives, links to standards, handouts, etc. Resources are searchable by keyword and artist names. Creating a user account will enable users to be notified when new resources are available.
Grades: 6 - 12
- Sing about Science and Math
- Greg Crowther of the University of Washington Created in February of 1999, this web page. It offers songs I have written and co-written about various topics in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Many of these songs attempt to deliver content accurately (and some have been validated by educational research), while others are silly. Relatively good ones are marked with gold stars (recommended).
Grades: PreK - 12
- Smithsonian Folkways
- This resource from Smithsonian Folkways, the nonprofit recording label of the Smithsonian, provides educators with music-based lesson plans for cultures around the world. The website is divided by region. The lesson plans can be downloaded as PDF's.
Grades: K - 12
- SongWorks for Children: A Video Library of Children Making Music
- This website includes 700 clips from Oberlin College's MusicPlay program for children, ages 3-5. The clips are searchable by music genre (classics, nursery rhymes, etc.) and features (behavior, literacy, music skills,etc.), as well as by activity (fingerplay, reading, movement, etc.).
Grades: PreK - K
