This is an online game that helps students learn about the different instruments and families of the orchestra. Uncle Oly and Violet go on an adventure trying to find the instruments of the orchestra and put them back together in their correct places. Students will learn about the sounds of the instruments, what family they belong to, and where they are placed in the orchestra.

Classics For Kids is a great website with fun activities and music resources for use in the classroom. Each month, they feature a different composer and provide activities, handouts, and listening maps that help students learn about various topics in classical music history. There are also online games for kids and lesson plans for teachers.

Improvisation in Early Elementary General Music. This article explores how to improvise with your young students, starting with rhythm and then moving on to pitch. There are several singing games referenced with explanations on how to play and how to relate it to improvisation. This article breaks down the process of teaching improvisation and takes the initial fear out of it.

This is a clip with Bobby McFerrin, using the audience to sing. Bobby McFerrin improvises over the top as he creates the baseline for the audience to sing. He also mentions that the pentatonic scale is understood by all of his audiences no matter where he goes. This can be an interesting way to introduce a pentatonic scale to students, or improvising in a pentatonic scale. This is part of a larger TED talk entitled "Notes & Neurons: In Search of the Common Chorus"

This is a list and explanation of several rhythm games for use in the elementary classroom. Some of the games are, Poison Rhythm, Pass the Ball, and "I have, Who Has". There are also suggestions on how to use heart charts, boomwhackers, and how to include children when playing a game where someone is "out".

A great article showing how to take a well known tune and teach students how to compose their own melody. The article goes through the process of how to teach it. First you help students to write a base line, have them improvise a rhythm, then they can discover the notes of each chord, and write their own melody using chord tones.

This article discusses how homes and schools can encourage a lifelong relationship with music. Singing is an ability that everyone can develop and it is not just based on "talent"

Thoughtco.com/music has many articles pertaining to many different genres and styles of music. It has anything from, pop, country, and hip hop, to world music, classical, Latin, and punk. It also has a music education section that has lesson plans, articles on music history, theory, instrument care, and instruction. This would be a great resource for students to research topics in music.

The Music Educators Toolbox was created by music teachers and musicians through Carnegie Hall. It has lesson plans, videos, activities, and other resources that are categorized by grade level and also by concept. You can view the lesson plans and also watch videos of the lessons being taught. This is a great resource for lesson plans that meet the national standards.

Yousician is a great resource for learning the guitar, bass, ukelele, or piano. Students can watch video tutorials and move up when they pass levels while playing songs with fun background music. The program/app provides instant feedback on pitch and rhythm. Teachers can use Yousician with a class on a Smart Board. In a group setting, Yousician cannot provide feedback, but it does provide lesson plans and even has a SongCreator. It is free to use with time limits on feedback, or can be upgraded to premium for $9.99/person with unlimited feedback. Students can sign up for their own account and teachers can track their progress through a Teacher account. It is fun, engaging, and provides a well rounded education in these instruments. There are knowledge tracks for each instrument which cover music theory and ear training.