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The SpinKids resources are created for elementary educators looking to supplement their own lesson plans. Teachers will find kid-friendly activity sheets focusing on Rock 'n' Roll, Science Fiction, Electric Guitars and Jimi Hendrix.
Rock 'n' Roll Road Trip Lesson for Elementary Social Studies
The Rock 'n' Roll Road Trip lesson can be used as part of an elementary school geography unit to help reinforce map skills and place names, as well as cultural and historical differences between different geographic areas. This mini-unit is intended to present a new perspective in geography to students, and to facilitate teachers to use popular music in their social studies lessons. These activity sheets can be used together to map the changes in rock 'n' roll, or can be used individually, while studying one of the focus areas.
The following resources are provided:
- Rock 'n' Roll in Memphis information and activity sheet – Discusses Memphis rock 'n' roll in the 1950s and includes a wordsearch activity for students.
- Rock 'n' Roll in San Francisco information and activity sheet – Discusses the "hippie" movement in rock 'n' roll in San Francisco in the 1960s. Includes a scramble activity sheet for students.
- Rock 'n' Roll in London information and activity sheet – Discusses the British Invasion and its effect on American rock 'n' roll. Includes a wordsearch for students.
- Rock 'n' Roll in Seattle information and activity sheet – Discusses the Grunge movement in Seattle and includes a scramble activity worksheet for students.
Science Fiction Lesson for Elementary Language Arts
This lesson for elementary school children is designed to introduce students to the elements of science fiction, and to challenge students to create their own characters, settings, and science fiction plots. These activities can be used individually to supplement your own lessons on creative-writing, or as part of a larger unit on science fiction.
The following materials are provided:
- Am I a Hero or a Villain? Activity Page – Has space for students to brainstorm on the "look" for a hero and a villain, and to design their own hero or villain costume.
- Sci-Fi Settings Activity Page – Allows students to connect different drawing elements to create a setting for a science fiction story.
- Science Fiction Elements Activity Page – Word scramble of different elements that are common in science fiction stories.
- Design Your Own Robot Activity Page – This activity allows students to consider the different parts that go into making a robot, and allows them to create their own robot characters.
Electric Guitar Lesson for Elementary Music
This lesson for elementary school children introduces students to the electric guitar as a musical instrument, teaches the parts of an electric guitar, and challenges students to design their own rock star electric guitar. This lesson could be used as part of a larger unit on musical instruments, rock 'n' roll music, or the guitar.
The following activity pages are provided:
- Do You Speak Guitar? information and activity page – Provides information on the parts of an electric guitar, and an activity page to allow students to label an image of an electric guitar.
- Design Your Own Guitar activity page – Invites students to design and draw their own electric guitar.
Jimi Hendrix Lesson for Elementary Music or Social Studies
This lesson on Jimi Hendrix uses a word search and a scrapbook note-taking activity to encourage students to conduct research on Jimi Hendrix. This lesson could be used as part of a music unit on rock 'n' roll music, or as a social studies research project on a famous historical person.
The following activity pages and information are provided:
