Working in small teams, learners analyze a variety of primary source materials related to lynching (news articles, letters written to or written by prominent Americans, pamphlets, broadsides, etc.) in order to assess the effectiveness of...

Students explore the music of Steve Reich. In this global music lesson plan, students compare the music compositions of Steve Reich to African and Balinese music. Students discuss their personal comparisons.

Students delve into the life and music of Duke Ellington as a major American musician and composer. The elements that made the sound of his orchestra unique and the talents of his band members are explored in this lesson.

Bring the sounds of the deep South vocal blues to the classroom with a Smithsonian Folkways lesson. In preparation, scholars listen to and count the 12 bar blues patterns in several works and identify the I, II, IV, and V chords as well...

Accompany the African folktale, Anansi the Spider, with a collection of five lessons, each equipped with supplemental activities. Lessons offer multidisciplinary reinforcement in English language arts, social studies, science,...

Slaves laboring in the cotton fields of the old South singing joyously may have convinced overseers that their workforce was happy and content, but in truth, these spirituals contained secret codes. After viewing a short video about...

Students examine the serigraph, "Wynton's Tune," by artist Faith Ringgold. They discuss the painting, listen to jazz music, create a drawing that tells a story inspired by their favorite music, and write sentences describing their artwork.

Accompany a reading of First Come the Zebra written and illustrated by Lynne Barasch with a teacher's guide equipped with before reading, vocabulary, and after reading activities. Additional social studies,...

After brainstorming the various aspects of cultural identity, class members interview each other, examine video clips, and read stories to discover how these aspects reveal one's cultural identity. Individuals then craft a quilt square...

Young historians channel the very medium used to convey news during World War I. They create and present a five-minute radio broadcast on a particular topic from the war, such as the roles of African Americans and women, war bonds,...

Learners read the book Ray Charles by Sharon Bell Mathis. For this biography lesson plan, students read about the life of Ray Charles. Learners answer pre-reading questions about senses, strengths, and weaknesses they have. The lesson...

In this music learning exercise, students investigate the history of music and the musical style of the Caribbean islands. Students read a 1 page information sheet about the region and its music. Students answer 8 questions.

Middle schoolers explore and investigate the foundation and history of jazz music. They listen to various pieces of music while creating drawings, develop a timeline of jazz history, and read and discuss biographies of famous jazz...

Students connect achievements of noted artists with their roles in the music industry. They identify many Black music industry leaders and their contributions with the Motown Sound.

Describe the general characteristics of Kwanzaa after reading Seven Candles of Kwanzaa. For this Kwanzaa lesson plan, learners study the principles of the Kwanzaa holiday and interpret the principles through music and dance. They...

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

Learners examine the experiences of African American women. In this poetry lesson, students use their literary analysis skills to compare the poetry of Maya Angelou to rap music performed by Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill.

Students study Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. In this Martin Luther King, Jr. day instructional activity, students learn about the holiday for Dr. King through literature and music. Students learn the lyrics to Stevie Wonder's 'Happy...

Score a home run with this packet of information on the very first player of the Negro League to be elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame — cultural groundbreaker and sports legend Satchel Paige. These worksheets include a...

Students identify themes of selected nonfiction, fiction, poetry and art to Harlem Renaissance jazz and describe the impact of jazz on African-American literature of the Harlem Renaissance

Click here to download a PDF of this lesson. (2.8 MB) Overview This lesson will enable teachers to use the blues to explore selected topics in African American folklore. Students will learn about some of the African American cultural...

Students listen to and discuss the purpose of protest music. They analyze an editorial cartoon related to Jim Crow and read questions from the literacy tests given to African-Americans. They work together to write a song about the...

Students listen to recordings of early jazz and identify examples of ostinato and syncopation. They discuss important personalities from jazz cultures and take a quiz on aspects of jazz.