Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pop Culture and Art

For Teachers 6th
Learn about American pop culture, art, and the social voice that art can convey. The class discusses the life and art of Barton Benes, views his piece Reliquarium, then discusses what they see and feel when they view his work. Make sure...
Lesson Plan
Japan Society

Popular Culture and Japan’s Gross National Cool

For Teachers 7th - 9th
From Manga to Godzilla and Pokemon, Japanese pop culture has been taking the globe by storm. This phenomenon is called "soft power." Learners will examine the differences between hard and soft power, as well as learn the historical...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Love, American Style

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the cultural diffusion of American popular culture around the world and create collages of visual representations of this phenomenon. Causes and effects of the cultural diffusion of American popular culture around the...
Worksheet
Smithsonian Institution

American Sabor Crossword

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
How much do you know about Latin American music? A crossword puzzle challenges learners to answer 24 questions about the history, genres, performers, and instruments of Latin American music.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Trey and Dave go to Africa: Music

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Trey from Phish and Dave from the Dave Mathews Band took a trip to Africa to explore music, culture, and history. Your class watches this episode from VH1's Music Studio to understand how African culture and music have influenced modern...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Pop Icons

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students analyze art and decide if the images are an attempt to celebrate or criticize American Popular Culture of the fifties and sixties and discuss how successful "Pop Art" mirrored society. Students also discuss the difference...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson: Unmonumental: Yesterday's News

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Upper graders are tasked with developing a social consciousness as they analyze the impact of the news media. They view a presentation depicting various media events in order to understand threshold moments in history. There are three...
PPT
Curated OER

20th Century American Art

For Teachers 12th - Higher Ed
See the changes, controversy, and innovations that define postwar American art. The onset of the modern art era in American history is well-defined in this slide-show. You'll see how Abstract Expressionism shifted into conceptual, pop,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson: Elizabeth Peyton: The Self in the Other's Image: Portraiture and Identity

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Art, identity, and an imaginary community, three components that should make for an interesting lesson. Critical thinkers explore and evaluate the work of contemporary artist, Elizabeth Peyton. They discuss her use of subject and art to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Billie Holiday's Song "Strange Fruit"

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Pupils 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 the anti-lynching...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Protest Songs

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students analyze and perform an American social protest song. They describe its historical setting, consider the effectiveness of the music and recognize that popular music is a reflection of American culture.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Get Your Mojo Workin': Part 1 Writing Your Very Own Blues Tune!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Upper graders listen to the blues. They discuss blues scale, read a description of the blues, and work together to write an original piece. A lesson like this ties into American history and African-American musical contributions very...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dreamcatchers

For Teachers K - 5th
After reading a Native American legend about dreamcatchers, why not make some. This resource provides several good links that explain the legend of the dreamcatcher and step-by-step instructions for making them with the class. Tip: If...
PPT
Curated OER

Indian Film Music

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Music has been used with many different art forms, but none more obvious than film. Explore the history, cultural influences, and music found in Indian Film. Text in this presentation is bulleted, making it great for taking notes....
Lesson Plan
National First Ladies' Library

Ragtime: The First "American" Music?

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Learners investigate the concept of ragtime music and the times associated with it in American history. They conduct research using a variety of resources and listen to a sample before writing down some of the results of the information...
Lesson Plan
Little Kids Rock

The Influence of Latin Music in Postwar New York City

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Music has often been called the international language that transcends cultures and regions. Scholars analyze the impact of Latin American music on New York City culture in the years following World War II. They research music, video,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

VH1 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons Lesson 2

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine the origins of ragtime music in American and analyze its musical form.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Appliqué Bedcover

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students examine the process of creating patriotic American appliqué designs. They research American patriotic appliqué quilts, list American symbols, and design and create their own paper appliqué designs.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

An American President in American Art

For Teachers 6th
Learners discuss the life and death of both Elaine De Kooning and the president she painted, John Kennedy. They learn how Kooning chose to describe President Kennedy through abstract expressionism and why her choice of color and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Twain: An American Humorist

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students examine American humor and character through analysis of works by Mark Twain. In this cross curricular lesson, students develop a definition of American humor and determine how and why some consider Twain the 'first truly...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

An American Ballad - Lesson 1

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students listen to and analyze the ballad "American Pie." They utilize a worksheet imbedded in this plan. They circle the appropriate descriptive words of the song's medium form, melody, tempo and dynamics, and style.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Keep on Pushing: Popular Music and the Civil Rights Movement

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers explore music that exemplified the Civil Rights Movement. In this music and history lesson, students research 1960's protest songs, Motown recorded music, and rap of the 1990's to consider the power of music and its...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Guide Through the Culture of the Blues

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Pupils examine the history of blues music and discover how it relates to the music of today. As a class, they listen to the drum songs of Africa and compare it to the use of drums in pop music today. Using the internet, they research...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African American Community and Culture

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders explore the rise of jazz music. In this Duke Ellington lesson, 4th graders watch video segments regarding Ellington's life and showcasing a performance of Ellington and his band. Students discuss the rhythm...