Enable young scholars to use the blues to explore urbanization, technology, and their effects on everyday life in the 20th century. Musicians were among the large number of people who, between 1914 and 1945, participated in the Great...

Students research early Indian adaptations in this lesson. They research the different American Indian tribes. They also research and compare the tribes' rituals, daily lives, and their impact on the Europeans who came later to the...

High schoolers listen to chapter from novel When Legends Die by Hal Borland, listen to traditional Lakota song, discuss feeling song induces and in what circumstance it may be used, and examine connection between cultural music and...

Learners prepare and organize a cultural celebration of African migration and immigration. Working in groups or individually, they research topics and present the information, including dance demonstrations, instrumental or vocal...

Seventh graders listen to a variety of folktales sharing experiences of slavery. As a class, they compare and contrast reading a story and telling a story. They participate in a role play activity to discover the journey of a slave and...

Students identify the characteristics and elements of large scale rock productions. They examine the similarities between the American Vaudeville shows and the large-scale rock theater productions of the 1970's.

Students examine the musical influences on the emergence of Rock and Roll.

High schoolers identify many genres of Black music. They listen to examples of black artists playing songs of social concious, then identify issues that are addressed by today's Black artists.

Students identify many genres of music that influenced gospel and study examples of gospel music. They explain that gospel music is sacred and is usually performed with sincerity, dignity, and passion with vocal improvisation.

Young scholars examine events of historical significance in music. In groups, they are given pieces of sheet music and work together to try to determine the social and political conditions of the time based on the lyrics. They write...

High schoolers investigate African American history by researching culture. In this Harlem Renaissance lesson, students identify the teachings, music and art associated with African Americans in Harlem in the early 20th century. High...

Students take a virtual field trip to Memphis, Tennessee in their study of the blues, its characterisitics, founding fathers, and histororical influence on modern music. They compose blues lyrics that reflect present-day attitudes and...

Learners create wax sculptures of a full body using mathematical calculations and information gathered from a video in this excellent art project. The lesson can be used along or within the unit provided.

Young scholars compare and contrast music about West Virginia. In this West Virginia history lesson, students analyze popular music so that they may gain an understanding of the relationships between songs and history. Young scholars...

Young scholars complete research projects. Students research the achievements of various African Americans and their contributions to the world. They use various resource links on the Internet to become more knowledgeable about the topic.

To better understand the cultural achievements of the Harlem Renaissance and become familiar with its major figures, class members examine a painting by Aaron Douglas and a poem by Langston Hughes and compare how the artists develop...

High schoolers study early New Orleans Jazz music and recognize Louis Armstrong as an early jazz artist. They recognize the elements and roots of Jazz.

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...

Students analyze various kinds of music.  In this music lesson, students listen to music clips to determine the kind of music each clip is then they participate in a class discussion about the music and prepare a presentation.

Students investigate the Cinco de Mayo holiday. They discuss the history of Cinco de Mayo, listen to the Legend of the Mexican flag, color a worksheet of the Mexican flag, and create a class coat of arms.

Celebrate Kwanzaa with a game of Kalah, also known as Mankala or Owara. Using an egg carton and a set of beans, players take all of the beans out of one of his or her cups and move to the right, dropping one bean into each of the...

"Ballad for Americans" was a song written for performers participating in the Federal Arts Project, during The Depression. Learners will analyze the lyrics of the song and then create informational posters about other Federal Works...

In this lesson, students will examine Hawaii's issues of colonization, authority, authenticity and cultural identity, and understand the distinction between native and non-native Hawaiians. This lesson includes links to videos, links to...

Combine the study of art, music, and history with an activity that asks kids to craft rattles out of slabs of clay.