The MarcoGram: For educators, principals and teacher-trainers

You've Got the Music and Art In You

March is "Youth Art and Music Month" and MarcoPolo has collected several lessons and resources to help you integrate art and music into your everyday curriculum, across all subject areas. Show your students how art and architecture work together with math and science to create natural and man-made wonders, or how music and dance are used to bridge cultural differences. Use the warm-up activities below to stir up interest in music, art and dance, and scroll down for links to more lessons and additional resources to help celebrate Youth Art and Music Month in your classroom.

Warm-up Activities:

1. Find a poem by William Butler Yeats that focuses on the same subject matter as the painting shown here by his brother Jack Yeats ("Patriotic Airs"), or write your own poem about this subject.

"Patriotic Airs" by Jack Yeats, courtesy of the Brian P. Burns Collection, the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. Explore the relationship of art, poetry and family in "Magic Words, Magic Brush: The Art of William Butler and Jack Yeats" (Grades 7-12), ARTSEDGE, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

2. In the 1920s, the Charleston was a popular dance. What kind of music inspired this dance? (Answer: Ragtime Jazz.) What kind of music do you listen to now? What dance moves do you use when you're dancing to that music? Create a compare-contrast graphic organizer showing how music and dance influence each other.

Image courtesy of
Library of Congress, Prints
and Photographs Division. Learn how to dance "The Charleston" (Grade 4), ARTSEDGE, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

3. Keyboard, percussion, strings, woodwinds and brass are the five main types of musical families. What instrument family includes the oboe? The trombone? What other instruments do you know? List the instruments, then create your own matching game that you can play with a friend to learn which instruments belong to which families.

Discover how a selection of different musical instruments create "Music from Across America" (Grades K-5), EDSITEment, National Endowment for the Humanities.

4. Many architects and artists use mathematic and scientific principals when creating their art. The Golden Section principle describes the perfect proportions for a rectangle. This principle can be seen in the ancient Greek temple the Parthenon, and in art by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). Draw an example of something in art or architecture that uses the Golden Section principle.

Learn about "The Fibonacci Series" (Grades 6-8), Science NetLinks, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

5. Some geographic boundaries are imaginary, while others are visible as mountain ranges, bodies of water or even man-made structures. Despite their form, they often provide a distinct division between towns, states or countries. Which North American boundary might sing this song? "I'm an old man-that's what they sing 'bout me, / Yet I roll strong past Arkansas and Tennessee. / I star in books by the great Mark Twain. / And sometimes I flood, which can cause great pain." (Answer: The Mississippi River.) Select a boundary from a map and create your own four-line ballad. See if classmates can solve your boundary rhyme.

Read more "Boundary Ballads" (All Grades), Xpeditions, National Geographic Society.

Links to This Month's Featured Lessons:

"The Charleston" (Grade 4)
(ARTSEDGE, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts)
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/22ae_charleston.cfm
Students develop an understanding of popular dance trends as they evolve within a historical context.

"Magic Words, Magic Brush: The Art of William Butler and Jack Yeats" (Grades 7-12)
(ARTSEDGE, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts)
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/22ae_yeats.cfm
Celebrate Irish-American History month with this curriculum unit on Irish art, which fully integrates various artistic disciplines with geography, history, social studies, media and technology.

"Learning from Lyrics/Music & Society" (Grades 9-12)
(ARTSEDGE, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts)
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/22ae_learning.cfm
Students study current social issues through contemporary songs and produce an oral presentation based on their findings.

"Online Music" (Grades 6-8)
(EconEdLink, National Council on Economic Education)
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/22econ_online.cfm
Students explore the controversy associated with online music distribution.

"Music From Across America" (Grades K-5)
(EDSITEment, National Endowment for the Humanities)
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/22ed_music.cfm
Students develop their listening skills and explore different types of musical instruments.

"Learning the Blues" (Grades 6-12)
(EDSITEment, National Endowment for the Humanities)
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/22ed_blues.cfm
Students examine the history, lyrics and sound of the blues as a form of musical expression.

"I've Seen That Shape Before" (Grades K-2)
(Illuminations, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics)
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/22ill_shape.cfm
Students explore properties of solid geometric shapes and identify these shapes in architectural structures.

"Stone Age Tunes" (All Grades)
(Science NetLinks, American Association for the Advancement of Science)
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/22sci_stone.cfm
This Weekly Science Update discusses how Neanderthals enjoyed creating and listening to music.

"The Fibonacci Series" (Grades 6-8)
(Science NetLinks, American Association for the Advancement of Science)
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/22sci_fibonacci.cfm
Students use models of art and architecture to explore the concept of numerical patterns and series.

"The Mozart Effect" (Grades 9-12)
(Science NetLinks, American Association for the Advancement of Science)
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/22sci_mozart.cfm
Students discover the importance of skepticism by studying the effect of music on infant development.

"Boundary Ballads" (All Grades)
(Xpeditions, National Geographic Society)
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/22xp_ballads.cfm
In this activity, students enhance their knowledge of geography by guessing what countries are portrayed in songs and ballads.

"Building a Greek Subway Museum" (Grades 3-5)
(Xpeditions, National Geographic Society)
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/22xp_greek.cfm
Students investigate ancient Greek artifacts and artworks and design virtual museum exhibits.

"Geography and History in Songs" (Grades 9-12)
(Xpeditions, National Geographic Society)
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/22xp_songs.cfm
Students determine how music and art can depict history and culture.

Links to Additional Resources:

ARTSEDGE Mini-sites are self-contained explorations of a particular theme or subject with activities and resources for both classroom and at-home use. Following is a selection of mini-sites you might want to use as you celebrate Youth Art and Music Month.

"Louis Armstrong: Celebrating the Life and Work of a Jazz Legend"
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/22ae_jazz.cfm
"Exploring Ballet"
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/22ae_ballet.cfm
"Exploring NSOnline"
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/22ae_nsonline.cfm
More ARTSEDGE mini-sites
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/22ae_mini.cfm

Illuminations' I-Math Investigations are math applets for exploring math concepts and can be used alone or with a complete interactive lesson. Use the following I-Math Investigations to help students understand the connections between music and mathematics.

"Sound Sketch"
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/22ill_sketch.cfm
"Sound Wave"
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/22ill_sound.cfm

Warm-up activities and lesson plan links brought to you by
MarcoPolo: Internet Content for the Classroom

MARCOGRAM ARCHIVE: www.marcopolo-education.org/partner/22mp_archive.cfm
INNOVATIVE LESSONS ON THE MARCOPOLO SEARCH ENGINE
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	1. Find a poem by William Butler Yeats that focuses on the same subject matter as the painting shown here by his brother Jack Yeats ("Patriotic Airs"), or write your own poem about this subject.
"Patriotic Airs" by Jack Yeats, courtesy of the Brian P. Burns Collection, the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.	Explore the relationship of art, poetry and family in "Magic Words, Magic Brush: The Art of William Butler and Jack Yeats" (Grades 7-12), ARTSEDGE, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

	2. In the 1920s, the Charleston was a popular dance. What kind of music inspired this dance? (Answer: Ragtime Jazz.) What kind of music do you listen to now? What dance moves do you use when you're dancing to that music? Create a compare-contrast graphic organizer showing how music and dance influence each other.
Image courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.	Learn how to dance "The Charleston" (Grade 4), ARTSEDGE, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

	3. Keyboard, percussion, strings, woodwinds and brass are the five main types of musical families. What instrument family includes the oboe? The trombone? What other instruments do you know? List the instruments, then create your own matching game that you can play with a friend to learn which instruments belong to which families.
	Discover how a selection of different musical instruments create "Music from Across America" (Grades K-5), EDSITEment, National Endowment for the Humanities.