Young scholars describe some of the distinguishing characteristics of rock, folk, blues, and country music. They identify two main musical roots of today's American popular music.

What a creative and engaging project to incorporate into your studies of the 1920s! Your young historians will work in groups to design a magazine discussing the political and cultural topics of the decade, each member writing one...

Learners analyze the origins of jazz music by examining work songs, spirituals, blues, and gospel songs as well as works of poetry from African American artists. They create their own poems from either the narrative, dramatic, or lyric...

As Nick wanders the grounds of Gatsby's mansion, he observes the behaviors of the rowdy guests and listens to the music pouring over the lawn. Bring the music of the jazz age into the classroom with Louis Armstrong's "West End Blues,"...

A reading of Walter Dean Myers' "Harlem" sets the stage for studying the literature, art, and music of the Harlem Renaissance. The lesson begins with a review of the social, political, and economic conditions of the 1920s and 1930s that...

Students investigate the African American culture in the 1920's and the Harlem Renaissance. They read and analyze poems written by poets of the Harlem Renaissance, listen to jazz music and identify the characteristics of the music, and...

Students study Duke Ellington's contributions to the field of jazz. They write poetry using language that was popular in the 1920's. They listen to a piece of Duke Ellington jazz and respond with at painting.

Learners view the AMERICAN MASTERS film "Muddy Waters: Can't Be Satisfied" and research him using the Guided Reading strategy. They examine the influential musician's childhood and trace his journey from the Mississippi Delta to...

Eleventh graders comprehend the 1920's. They analyze examples of art from 1920's to build an comprehension of the times. They are asked if art reflect or transcend the time in which it was created? Students discuss the common element...

Students have an appreciation of Langston Hughe's poetry and his use of jazz rhythms, have the ability to read poetry closely, and freewrite to gain a fresh perspective on music and literature.

Eleventh graders explore the life and writing of F. Scott Fitzgerald. They examine the youth culture of the 1920's and compare it to their own. They practice using some of the biographer's or archivist's tools for studying a person.

Students explore examples of this musical form, then write their own lyrics for a blues song.

Eighth graders, after assuming identities of prominent figures from the 1920's and looking at slides and data from the era, relate, in diary form, the cultural, economic and political changes that happened in America between 1920 and 1939.

Students explore fashion through the 20th Century. They create a poster about their assigned era. Students teach their classmates about the fashion of the assigned period. They describe the fashion trends, current events, popular music...

Students identify similarities between Hughes' poetry and music (jazz and the blues).

Students analyze the growth of America from the 1880's-1920's. For this Industrialization era lesson, students use primary resources from the time period to investigate child labor, and determine the contribution of children to the...

Students study African history, anthropology and culture using the lens of the art object, Ntan Drum. Lesson and instruction is differentiated for elementary, middle and high school students.

Learners participate in a number of activities in order to study the history of photography and to examine the workings of a pinhole camera.

Eleventh graders research entertainment and recreation in the early twentieth century using primary sources and the book From the Hidewood, by Robert Amerson. They compare the rural experience of the time period to the national...

Students complete a group research project on the Harlem Renaissance. In this Harlem lesson, students pick from a list of topics all related to the Harlem renaissance. They create a PowerPoint presentation, topic outline, and...

Students research and present reports on 20th century fashions and their influences. After watching a video about fashion, they complete worksheets based on the film. In another activity, students make doll-sized clothing items using...

Students research the life of athlete, actor, singer, cultural scholar, author, and political activist, Paul Robeson. They answer the question, "Which was most important to American culture -Robeson's work as a scholar, a performer, an...