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Sing the Blues
Students explore examples of this musical form, then write their own lyrics for a blues song.
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Satchmo's Blues
Students work cooperatively to create a jazz composition using the computer program GarageBand and incorporating the musical stylings of musician Louis Armstrong. Internet access is required for this instructional activity.
ESL Kid Stuff
Toys
The world is a rainbow of colors in a set of lessons for English learners. Kids review colors with matching games and hide-and-seek, before singing songs about colors and reading a class story.
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Blues Improvisation
Students practice playing and improvising while playing the 12 bar blues. They practice compositional skills, evaluate and perform musical pieces focused on the blues.
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Audio Engineers: Sound Weavers
Students explore audio engineering. In this career education and "sound" science lesson, students define related vocabulary and make connections between the music they listen to and the job an audio engineer does after listening to...
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Gospel Beginnings - Lesson 1
Students identify genres of music that influenced musical style of Aretha Franklin. They identify musical characteristics of gospel and sing a gospel selection. They pay particular attention to the call and response style.
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From Sacred to Secular: Exploration of Vocal Styles/Crossing between styles - Lesson 2
Students identify some of Aretha Franklin's vocal qualities and techniques. They have a discussion of styles of music they heard on the video, including gospel, jazz, pop, rhythm and blues, and opera.
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Musical Roles
Students watch a videotape on the musical career of Aretha Franklin and explore the different careers in the music industry.
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Music Education, Playing the Blues
This instructional activity enables young scholars to gain a broader awareness of the basic blues scale and the harmonic structure of the standard blues progression. Students will be given introductory exercises on blues improvisation...
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US Geography, The Blues
This lesson enables teachers to use blues styles and performers to think about various geographical regions of the United States. By studying different blues styles from the Mississippi Delta, Texas, and the Piedmont region of the...
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Whites, Blacks and the Blues
This lesson enables students to explore and measure the distance between blacks and whites in the past and present United States. By thinking about the intersections of whites, blacks, and others around the blues, students will deepen...
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Language Arts, Music, Poetry: Blues Style
This instructional activity focuses on how the blues both operates as poetry and informs the poetry of many prominent African American poets. Students consider the poetic devices and recurring themes in blues lyrics and the significance...
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Improvising in the Birthplace of Jazz
Students recognize significant developments in New Orleans jazz music. They improvise blues licks using notes from a minor pentatonic scale.
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Folk Traditions in the Blues
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...
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The Blues . Writing . Biographies/Profiles . The Soul of a Man
This lesson, focused on profile writing and its unique characteristics, considers the profiles developed in the film The Soul of a Man while also asking students to consider other profiles they are familiar with and to write some of...
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Jazz Talk
Students 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...
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Music Styles
Young scholars identify many genres of music and connect styles of music with various cultures. They watch "The Greatest TV Moments: Sesame Street Music A to Z" and list music styles: folk, jazz, rock, etc.
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Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music In America Music In America
Students study early New Orleans Jazz music and recognize Louis Armstrong as an early jazz artist. They recognize the elements and roots of Jazz.
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How to Beat the Rainy Day Blues
With a little ingenuity, lively exercise can occur despite the weather.
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Singing The Blues with Garage Band
Young scholars demonstrate writing lyrics for a twelve-bar blues pattern by writing two verses of a blues song and then recording themselves singing over a stock blues pattern using Apple's Garage Band. Requires a networked keyboard lab.
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100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll - Lesson 4
Learners analyze the genres of folk and country music and the importance of the singer/songwriter. They compose their own lyrics based on an inspiring event.
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Patriotic Music: Three Cheers for the Red, White & Blue
Students examine the patriotic songs of the 1940's and compare them to those of today. They identify elements that classify a song as patriotic, listen to several examples and complete Venn diagrams contrasting different examples.
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Poetry through Jazz, Rap, and Hip Hop
Students explore poetry through jazz, rap, and hip hop music. They discover the common threads that run through the poetry and music. Students design their own lyrics to a jazz, rap, or hip hop selection and share their songs with the...