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 study the work of Rodgers and Hammerstein in an historical context of the development of American musical theatre as an art form. Students explore "roots" of the genre as it evolves in last half of the 19th and first two decades...

Explore the dancing prodigy and Depression-era African-American icon Bill Robinson as scholars learn new vocabulary words in context. As you read Leo Dillon's Rap a Tap Tap they listen for six new words: clatter, greet,...

The backbone of Latin American music is the beat! Young musicians work on blending Afro-Latin rhythms and beat patterns before incorporating the major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, and blues scales in their own compositions.

Learners interview a veteren of any of the major U.S. wars. They must identify one quote from the veteren that sums up their experience.

Students use the music of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young to examine Folk music.

Students identify general business terms such as entrepreneur, corporation, marketing, demographic, promotion and distribution. They identify many Black music industry leaders and their contributions.

Entitled American Studies, this small unit covers various topics related to the study of the United States. Learners warm up by creating a dictionary of democracy, then dive into three different lessons focused on government, famous...

Students examine primary documents regarding Paul Revere's ride and its role in the Revolutionary War. They consider how Revere's role has been written about by Longfellow and others and discuss the discrepancies between accounts.

Young scholars research and listen to a variety of American music genres and create a written comparison between three of the styles.

Students perform a song using correct rhythms, accurate pitches, and dynamic phrasing. They perform an accompaniment to "America" on Orff instruments.

Ezell Blair, Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil changed history. Their sit-in at the lunch counter of the Woolworths in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960 became a model for the nonviolent protests that...

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...

A video featuring members of Oregon’s Astoria Native American fishing community launches a study of the oral tradition of poetry, and how traditions are passed down within different cultures. Activities, assessments, extensions and...

Students describe some of the distinguishing characteristics of blues music. They compare and analyze two versions of the same 12-bar blues song. They read and identify notation symbols for rhythm and tempo.

High schoolers listen to many examples of Motown music and explain the relationship between the word "Motown" and the city of Detroit. They examine and identify distinctive musical elements of the early "Motown Sound."

In this lesson students research an important event in American history and use drama, art, music, and dance to express their findings. Suggested activities include illustrating a time line, decorating a shoe box, reciting a speech,...

High schoolers examine role spirituals have played in African American history and religion, examine Harriet Tubman's use of spirituals in her work, explore power of spirituals in Civil Rights Movement, and work with oral tradition,...

This units gives students opportunities to * Research the history and patterns of French settlement in Louisiana * Discover three types of music (New Orleans jazz, Cajun, Zydeco) which are representative of the Francophone presence in...

Third graders study the history of Aaron Copland, the famous American composer. They dance to the song Hoe-Down composed by Aaron Copland.

Using the painting, Childhood Idyll for inspiration, learners reflect on things that are idealized. They focus in on pop music and pop idols, write a song, and perform it in front of the class, American Idol style.

This lesson enables teachers to use blues music to explore the history of African Americans in the 20th century. By studying the content of blues songs, students can learn about the experiences and struggles of the working-class...

Students explore the histories of American patriotic emblems and examine ways in which patriotic artwork uses these emblems to reflect the ideals that they embody. They find a common or popular patriotic image and design a modern...

Mexican folk songs offer an authentic look at WWII immigrant workers. This study of the U.S. Bracero Program sets historians up with context information so they can write their own corrido. The class reviews themes and formulas of...