Integrating Music Across the Secondary Curriculum

Abstract This book is designed to support middle school and high school teachers as they integrate music throughout the secondary curriculum. It contains detailed, practical ideas and examples, including full lesson plans and over 100 teaching ideas and strategies for integrating music with visual art, language arts, social studies, science, and mathematics. Following an overview of the interdisciplinary approach, the remaining chapters explore connections between music and other areas of the secondary curriculum. Each chapter also includes a section addressing national standards with tables showing the specific standards that are included in each lesson and activity. This text utilizes the most recent National Core Arts Standards as well as the most recent standards in language arts, social studies, science, and mathematics. All the lessons in this book may be fully taught by individual curriculum specialists; however, ideally, this book will foster and facilitate partnerships and collaboration between teachers. All the lessons and activities included in this text have been reviewed by practicing teachers, and most have been field-tested in secondary classrooms. The text also includes a model that allows teachers to successfully create their own interdisciplinary lessons. Throughout the book, there is an emphasis on interdisciplinary lessons that demonstrate valid connections between disciplines while maintaining the integrity of each discipline involved. Music integration ultimately benefits students by encouraging them to connect new understandings in powerful and authentic ways.