This video features Mr. Steve from PBS Kids performing his original song “Silly Shoes,” which encourages children to move and dance with inspiration from their own “silly shoes.”

Sissieretta Jones was heralded as one of the greatest singers of her generation and a pioneer in the operatic tradition at a time when access to most classical concert halls in the U.S. were closed to Black performers and patrons. Learn more about this trailblazing classical performer in this video from Unladylike2020. Support materials include discussion questions, vocabulary, research extension tips, and a newspaper analysis activity.

Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.

Students are introduced to traditional folk music with an animated rendition of a familiar song, “Skip to My Lou.” The animation features an band made up of forest creatures, plus a few other surprises.

Jonathan Stovall, now an assistant principal at Adairville School in Logan County, Kentucky, started using songwriting with his fourth-grade math students at Parker-Bennett-Curry Elementary in Bowling Green and found that student engagement and scores improved so much that he now uses it across grades and subjects. Students learn key concepts in math, science, and other subjects while learning music, creating songs and lyrics, working together, and learning about recording and engineering.

Learn about the sounds of the night. Mary and Mike stay up late to explore the magic and music of nighttime. We sing songs about the beauty of the night and a young pianist plays Clair de Lune under the light of the moon. Our friend, Dr. Lerdau, teaches us about nighttime creatures who are making music of their own: owls, crickets, and even plants! Enjoy a lovely evening with us as we discover the simple beauty of our surroundings.

More About This Resource
Presented by VPM.

Songs and Stories with Mary and Mike uses music and story as the joyful pathway to learning for young children while integrating and modeling the state's new EC learning standards for literacy, math, and social-emotional learning as well as the National Standards for Music Education. The show forges connections across the greater community by featuring guest teachers, artists, musicians, authors, and community members. With every music selection, book selection, and guest spotlight, Mary and Mike strive for a rich, diverse, beautiful representation of all people and cultures. The message to beautiful learners is clear: they are loved, they are valued, and they can do amazing things.

Learn about the frequencies that combine to make the "sound fingerprints" of various instruments.

Meet Bay Area artist Mike Shine, who discusses his carnival-inspired paintings, and his recent large-scale stencil murals. He makes art for people to enjoy, both superficially and in depth, and condemns much of modern art because of the context needed for interpretation. He wants his art to be able to be interpreted, regardless of how it is interpreted. He wants it to transcend cultural and language barriers. Check out how his art is made in this video.

At Bowling Green Junior High in Kentucky, technology teacher Dianna Wolf and reading teacher Brent VanMeter use stop motion animation to give students opportunities to experiment with technology, work together, and communicate things they’ve learned in a fun and creative way.

Short Description:
This was a collaborative project of stories written by English language learners which were interpreted and illustrated by art students in drawing and painting classes.

Word Count: 7599

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

Short Description:
This was a collaborative project of stories written by English language learners which were interpreted and illustrated by art students in drawing and painting classes.

Word Count: 7443

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

About the Arts, Care & Connection Lesson Pilot Series:Arts for Learning Northwest collaborated with Oregon teaching artists on the development of this series of four arts courses designed for K-5 students, with integrated social emotional learning content in the areas of dance, visual arts, theater, and music. This lesson is part of a pilot project, and will be shared in its final version in an Oregon Open Learning Lesson Collection. 

Story circles can be used to build a sense of community in the classroom. The technique was pioneered by the late John O’Neal, a civil rights activist and theater artist. He developed the story circle process while moderating audience discussions after performances. He found that audience members listened more and found common ground by telling personal stories instead of trying to persuade and argue their points.

The videos here demonstrate how a story circle works. A facilitator offers a prompt, and then individuals have a set amount of time to respond with a relevant story from their lives. No one interrupts. After everyone has a turn, the group talks together. From the individual stories, the group then creates one story or takeaway.

In these videos, Bob Martin, a community arts specialist in Eastern Kentucky, facilitates a story circle, adapted to an online format because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first video, Martin explains the ground rules and quotes O’Neal: “Share the story that comes from the deepest place.” He gives the group this prompt: Tell a story about a time when you were unexpectedly proud of your place or your community.

Lyndy Franklin Smith, artistic director of the Lexington Theater Company, explains how a production goes from studio to the stage, beginning with music, then moving to choreography, rehearsals, and blocking. She describes the adjustments made as they move to rehearsing on stage at the Lexington Opera House.

Explore the history of The Drama League and New York theater in this video from Treasures of New York: The Drama League. Students are asked to consider how the theater community depends on help from organizations like The Drama League to educate the public about the performing arts and to prepare future artists for a career in the theater industry. In addition to learning more about The Drama League, teaching tips ask students to create drama guides and awards for their own school productions.

Talon Wilson is learning the master craft of blacksmithing at Sätergläntan school in Sweden and the experience has caused him to think deeply about who he is and how his Dakota ancestry can influence his art.

A lesson plan for grades 9-12 is included as a gallery asset and in the support materials.

More About This Resource:
Postcards is an award-winning series showcasing the arts, history, and cultural heritage of western Minnesota and beyond. Funding for Postcards comes from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. To watch more Postcards, visit the show page or video portal.

Short Description:
The curriculum shared here utilizes Terra Nostra, a multimedia symphony about climate change. Variations of the curriculum were developed by Kim Davenport for use in several 100-, 200- and 300-level non-major music courses at the University of Washington, Tacoma.

Long Description:
The curriculum shared here utilizes Terra Nostra, a multimedia symphony about climate change. Variations of the curriculum were developed by Kim Davenport for use in several 100-, 200- and 300-level non-major music courses at the University of Washington, Tacoma. More than 50% of UWT undergraduate students are the first in their family to attend college, and nearly 60% are students of color.

Depending on the exact level and subject-matter of each course, Terra Nostra was utilized in support of a variety of learning objectives: Building students’ listening skills, through the combination of music and video, and through the analysis of music without words Drawing interdisciplinary connections between music and other disciplines Providing an example of music created to raise awareness about a timely social issue

Although the assignments shared here were designed for music courses, they could easily be adapted for inclusion in courses in other disciplines, and this is indeed one of the motivations for sharing this curriculum through a Creative Commons license.

Word Count: 2876

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) Design Competition and learn about the skills required for a career in costume design.

Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) Design Competition and learn about the skills required for a career in lighting design.

Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) Design Competition and learn about the skills required for a career in projection design.