In order to practice conducting, you need an orchestra! Learn about what it takes to become an orchestra conductor in this video from Treasures of New York: Juilliard. At Juilliard, the world-famous performing arts school located in New York City, students have the opportunity to work with musicians to hone their conducting skills.

The Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program (BTS Arts) provides arts-integrated instruction to elementary students, effectively increasing student performance in every subject—from language arts and social studies to math and science. The program is currently in 400 Utah elementary schools in 36 districts, including over 30 charter schools, and is serving over 300,000 students. Though there are no preschool-specific lesson plans, many of the kindergarten lesson plans could be adapted for preschool.

This resource is a free, downloadable audio file of short music clips to use for instruction.

This resource includes the sheet music, activity instructions, and audio files for "Bingo" from the Elementary Songbook.

This resource is a free, downloadable audio file of short music clips to use for instruction.

This resource is a free, downloadable audio file of short music clips to use for instruction.

This resource includes the sheet music, activity instructions, and audio files for "Bluebird, Bluebird" from the Elementary Songbook.

This resource is a free, downloadable audio file of short music clips to use for instruction.

In this lesson we explore one song Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode," released on Chess Records in 1958 and suggest several analytical frameworks in which one can deepen one's understanding of the song: using a listening template; using a timeline to understand a song's historical context; understanding Rock and Roll as a visual culture; understanding Rock and Roll as performance; understanding Rock and Roll as a literary form; and understanding the industry and technology of Rock and Roll. Of course, what we do with "Johnny B. Goode" can be done with any song. The objective is to understand a recording in the most complete way possible.

In this lesson, students will explore the persistence of the American Dream by juxtaposing the writings of Horatio Alger Jr. and John Steinbeck with the artistic output of Elvis and Cash. If the American Dream as an ideology has always been a balance between myth and reality, these artists, and Rock and Roll culture more generally, gave the myth something real. Through a survey of literature, album art, songs, television news reports, film, and other materials, students will examine how these artists became symbols of the American Dream for their many fans.

Using a selection of songs, statistics, television spots, archival films, and magazine advertisements, students investigate how the postwar resurgence of the U.S. automotive industry coincided with the rise of the teenager, the two intersecting in Rock and Roll culture.

In this lesson, students will explore the emergence of Sixties Soul music within the context of the Civil Rights movement of the early 1960s. Using Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions' iconic "People Get Ready" as a starting point, students will examine the connection between musical and political voices, and the ways in which popular song helped express the values of the movement and served as a galvanizing force for those involved.

This lesson focuses on McCarthyism, the Red Scare, and how artists were targeted by HUAC during the Cold War. Students will view several government-produced "educational" films and television interviews from the 1950s, and will participate in a group reading of HUAC's interrogations of Seeger and Hays, discussing how activist artists championed the civil liberties of American citizens.

Prior to the antiwar demonstrations on and around college campuses, the Civil Rights movement in particular had increased student activism. As American involvement in Vietnam deepened, many in that age group faced the disconcerting reality of conscription. Even before they shipped out, those who were drafted had begun to see the horrors of the war, most notably on television. The growing presence of television in nearly every American household thus exacerbated divisions over the conflict and helped fuel the antiwar movement. What Americans watched on television each night shaped their perceptions of the Vietnam War, which came to be known as the "living room war." For some young Americans, called on to fight but unable to vote until the age of 21, the situation was unacceptable.

In this lesson, students will investigate ways in which artists including George Harrison, Bob Geldof, and others drew on the experiences of the 1960s to harness the inherent power of musical performance to promote awareness and encourage activism. Students will look at the messages, methodologies, and historical contexts of both the Concert for Bangladesh and Live Aid and will refer to these events to develop a proposal for a benefit performance of their own.

In this lesson, students will investigate the connection between the popularity of Heavy Metal and the emergence of the parental advisory system. They will consider who should have the power to declare a song "offensive" and whether or not access to such material should be regulated. They will further debate the merits of the labeling system, which is still in place, and consider whether or not labeling certain recordings should be considered censorship.

This lesson considers New York City and the cross currents that run between the worlds of music-making and the arts in a broad sense, particularly the visual and literary arts

In this lesson, students begin by examining the ways their sense of identity might be affected by social pressures associated with different spaces. By watching clips from RUMBLE, students then discover how musicians Robbie Robertson, Stevie Salas, and Taboo have negotiated their Native identities, and compare these musician's journeys with those of earlier Native Americans.

In this lesson, students explore the principles of synesthesia through drawing to music. By viewing and analyzing artwork based on multi sensory perception, students will become aware of the role of the senses in art, and how sensory stimulation such as listening to music can be used as a tool for inspiration. Guided by a handout outlining the basic elements and principles of art, students will engage in active discussions about how sensory perceptions can be interpreted through color, line, and form. They will then apply these reflections on their own artistic work.

This resource includes the sheet music, activity instructions, and audio files for "Bow Belinda" from the Elementary Songbook.