The Harlem Renaissance brought forth many American art forms including jazz, and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Using a carefully curated set of documents from the Library of Congress, pupils see the cultural...

Learners are introduced to the genre of the musical film. They become aware of the music and dance trends of the 1920s. They identify musical motive as a basis for unity in composition.

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.

Young scholars consider how film soundtracks can help support not only the mood but also the tone of a scene. After viewing two very different trailers for the same film, class members create their own soundtracks for two party...

Eleventh graders examine the 1920s which was known as the "Roaring Twenties". They identify the Harlem Renaissance, Prohibition, and the Women's Suffrage movement.

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.

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

Eleventh graders explore, examine and study about the impact of the Harlem Renaissance on the American culture. They assess and explain how the Harlem Renaissance was a "rebirth" for the African American culture through art, music, and...

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).

Young scholars analyze the growth of America from the 1880's-1920's. In 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.

In this reading comprehension worksheet students read a biography of jazz musician Louis Armstrong. Students answer 6 questions.

Students recognize James Van Der Zee as an outstanding photographer who documented and reflected life in Harlem during the 1920s. They identify important aspects of Van Der Zee's life and artwork and compose and shoot their own...

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

The evolution of modern dance, and the dance history of many of the key figures in the development of this uniquely American form, are the focus of a 13-page packet that includes photos of revolutionaries.

Your pupils are beginning their research project and are having a hard time narrowing their topics down. If you’re not sure how to help them, then start here. Provided is a student dialogue that works though the issues of narrowing a...

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...

In this informational comprehension activity, students read the passage of Empress of the Blues and answer 5 multiple choice comprehension and 5 multiple choice vocabulary questions.

High schoolers 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...