Curated OER
Jews and Blues
Students examine how American Jews affect music and entertainment. They identify problems between immigrants and their children. They relate the Jewish American issue to those of African Americans.
Curated OER
The blues highway: An integration of music with geography
Students analyze the movement of the blues from rural Mississippi to urban Chicago and how place and the environment affected the development of the blues. They define the blues, where it originated and how and why it moved to Chicago....
Curated OER
Playin' the Blues
Young scholars explore history and sounds of blues music, construct instruments from scrap materials, and compose music to accompany lyrics of songs for kids.
Curated OER
The History of the "Blues"
Take a quick tour through the history of Blues. Elementary learners will find this presentation easy to understand and full of interesting information. There are web links that direct viewers to additional information but none that...
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian In Your Classroom: The Music in Poetry
Take poetry off the page and put it into terms of movement, physical space and, finally, music with this series of three lessons from the Smithsonian Institution. This resource introduces students to two poetic forms that originated as...
Curated OER
African American Achievers
Students complete research projects. Students research the achievements of various African Americans and their contributions to the world. They use various resource links on the Internet to become more knowledgeable about the topic.
Curated OER
Social Studies, Music, The Blues, Urbanization, and Technology
Enable young scholars to use the blues to explore urbanization, technology, and their effects on everyday life in the 20th century. Musicians were among the large number of people who, between 1914 and 1945, participated in the Great...
Curated OER
Following Muddy's Trail
Students 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...
Curated OER
American Music Styles: European Roots and African Influences - Lesson 3
Students describe some of the characteristics of country and blues music. They see how country music rose to a nationally known music style. They write a two-paragraph essay on what they think country music be like in the next 100 years.
Curated OER
Migration of Music
In this music activity, students identify and define migration. They circle the different types of music created by the African-Americans who were brought to the New World. Students also explain why slavery is a bad thing.
Curated OER
Signin' the Blues with Rock, Rap 'n Roll
Sixth graders listen to recordings and study jazz and the blues music. They identify the instrumentation and explore the 12-bar blues progression. After experimenting with different sound, 6th graders create their own arrangement, with...
Curated OER
Guitar - 12 Bar Blues
Students explore the chord chart for 12-bar blues in C and then play the scales on the guitar. They play their scales at a moderate tempo and practice related arpeggios. After listening to "Band in the Box" music tracks, students...
Curated OER
The Pony Song
Learners sing "Three Little Pigs", the "Pony Song", and "The Animal Blues" in this elementary school music lesson. National and State Standards are addressed. Assessment rubric is included for grading and student evaluation.
Curated OER
I See The Rhythm : The Study of Blues and Jazz
Learners gain an appreciation for various types of music. Using the music of the past, they compare it with the music of today. In groups, they research periods in which blues and jazz were most popular and write their own piece of music...
Curated OER
Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross, Moanin,' Payin' Your Dues
Students examine the musical styles of call and response and the blues while delving into the difficult lives of many jazz musicians. Travelling in the South was challenging for black musicians during this time and the difficulties are...
Curated OER
My Way
Students culminate a humanities project by improvising music to accompany a video of a particular era in US history.
Curated OER
Blue Jazz Scale
Students engage in a study of music that includes the Blue Jazz scale. They listen to pieces of music in the targeted style while becoming familiar with the scale. Students then describe how the scale is built and demonstrate by playing...
Curated OER
Making Music and Playing the Blues
Students research how musical instruments have changed over time. They discover how math is used in music. They describe musical instruments from photographs as well.
Curated OER
Introduction to the Blues
Students learn the basic elements of blues and different lyric structures.
Curated OER
Learning the Blues
Students become familiar with the characteristic form and sound of the blues, then learn about the history and evolution of the blues in relationship to the African-American experience. Students examine the structure and language of...