The purpose of this article is to give the history teacher who is interested in or passionate about music--but nervous about transforming that passion into a useful classroom lesson--some resources, tools, and ideas to begin incorporating music into their teaching. It will focus on what is arguably the most difficult musical genre to teach with:…

Australia is currently responding to an international trend that encourages social inclusion and the provision of equal opportunity for all. In a climate that is encouraging and supporting social inclusion, it can be enriching to look back at Australia's history and consider the benefits that have been gained in a previous era when people were…

This article invites teachers to consider how to strengthen links between English, music, arts, and acting, maximizing the potential for children to become successful language learners at a young age. It will show how children's opera can act as a catalyst for learning and using the language. The findings demonstrate that teaching English with a…

This article describes a music programme in an Australian early learning centre. Through a repertoire of songs, games and instruments, the children were introduced to music forms, including opera. Mozart's Magic Flute was presented to these children by watching the Metropolitan Opera's latest film performance. Because this opera seized the…

Opera is music, art, theater, and storytelling. It resembles many musical, visual, theatrical, and literary forms children have already experienced whether they realize it or not. It is an art form that can reach virtually every child on some level because of its emotional power. It can speak to all types of learners because there are many…

The creative music workshop involving professional players was intended to give direct support to school teachers and to enhance music in the classroom. However, today's large-scale, high-profile projects mounted by orchestras and opera companies appear to be developing into a full-scale industry on their own, their role in partnership with…

This article discusses how to design an opera on the internet and introduces a site that offers the educational keys to the musical kingdom when it comes to unlocking a child's interest in opera. The combination of attractive, animated artwork, fun interactivity, and sound musical learning make this site very useful in a general music classroom.…

Introducing opera to sixth-graders may sound like a recipe for disaster, but a New Jersey music teacher has discovered how to get his students excited about "Aida": by making it the basis of a class video. This article presents a no-nonsense, seven-contact-period approach that's incredibly effective, fun, and as free as a couple of mouse…

Content-based instruction (CBI) has been part of the foreign language curriculum for many years at US colleges, leading to courses that combine language instruction with specific content domains, such as film, literature, politics, sports and many others. This article presents a rather unusual choice of content domain for a second-year language…

When designing curriculum, the unique characteristics of young, gifted students must be carefully considered. Many have a highly defined sense of justice or fairness, a precocious ability to manipulate language or number systems, a need to see the connections between learning experiences, a heightened curiosity, and an ability to conceive a…

Leadership examples and women leaders can be found in many venues. This article profiles Beverly Sills (1929-2007), whose recent passing spawned a flurry of tributes recounting her legacy. Described by J. V. Serinus (2007) as "one of the finest high-flying sopranos of the latter 20th century," Sills leaves behind a rich legacy of recordings and an…

In the midst of hard economic times, it is clearly more challenging for arts organizations to take the long view and continue to devote time and effort to building new audiences. But this report on a recent gathering of representatives from more than 50 Wallace-funded arts organizations in six cities concludes that participation-building efforts…

This article reports on a five-year Australian study where pre-service primary and secondary teachers were encouraged to enhance their creativity through the development of ethnographic operatic performances. The creativity focus of this project was the important aspect of risk-taking and daring. The methodological basis for the study is…

Describes the creation of an opera based on Aesop's Fables which was written, composed and performed by middle school students. Student groups created scenes based on the fables and devised methods for realizing them musically. Activity organization and student evaluation methods are discussed. (AM)

The composer of an opera for elementary students describes his composition and the process of taking it out to the schools of southern Ohio. This article is part of a theme issue on opera. (SJL)