Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Lady Sings the Blues
Learners explore women and music in the 20th century. In this music instructional activity, students study the relationship between literature and music through The Color Purple and music by Ethel Waters, MA Rainey, Bessie Smith, Billie...
Curated OER
Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story - The Birth of Soul
Young scholars 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.
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Alicia Keys, Songs in A Minor
How do a person's musical preferences influence the way they compose music of their own? Learners analyze the sound and lyrics of Alicia Keys in relation to musicians that came before. Jazz, blues, and soul music from the past are shown...
Curated OER
Introduction to the Blues
Students learn the basic elements of blues and different lyric structures.
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'Cross the Wide Missouri
Students perform a song, identify melodies, and discuss the history of folk songs.
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History, African Americans, The Blues
This instructional activity 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...
Curated OER
VH1 AIDS: A Pop Culture History Lesson 2
Learners examine messages in popular music, and observe the musical elements of the Rhythm and Blues and Rap genres.
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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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Gospel Music
In this music worksheet, students read about the origin of gospel music. Students answer ten essay questions related to their reading.
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American Music Genres
Students research and listen to a variety of American music genres and create a written comparison between three of the styles.
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Learning the Blues
Pupils become familiar with the characteristic form and sound of the blues, then learn about the history and evolution of the blues in relationship to the African-American experience. Students examine the structure and language of blues...
Curated OER
Tradition through storytelling and music
Students discover how storytelling can shape a person's tradition.Students examine different methods of storytelling such as music, biographies, and African folktales. They then demonstrate their knowledge of storytelling by writing...
Curated OER
Patriotic Music: Three Cheers for the Red, White & Blue
Learners 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.
Curated OER
The Bill of Rights is a-Rockin
Learners explore the U.S. Constitution through music. In this Bill of Rights lesson, students discuss a hypothetical case regarding lyrics by Madonna and the historical Massachusetts Blue Laws. Learners use the Bill of Rights to support...
Berklee College of Music
Create Your Own Afro-Latin Groove
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.
Curated OER
Black and Blue: Jazz in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
High schoolers analyze the impact of jazz on the novel, "Invisible Man," by Ralph Ellison. They read and discuss excerpts of the novel, write an essay on the influence of jazz on Ralph Ellison as a writer, and view video excerpts on...
Curated OER
Swing Your Partner! It's A Virtual Square Dance
Students explore the Wessels Living History Farm website and research how to do a square dance. They read a story, listen to an explanation of barn dances, and participate in various square dances.
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A Box Of Crayons
Students draw self-portraits on die-cut crayon patterns after hearing the poem "A Box of Crayons" in this Art lesson plan for the elementary classroom. The lesson plan is ideal for celebrating Martin Luther King Day and includes extra...
Curated OER
My Way
Students culminate a humanities project by improvising music to accompany a video of a particular era in US history.
Curated OER
Music Technology
Students use their practice book to complete their piano lessons. They examine the history of music and complete pages in a workbook. They create their own music by using the computer.
Curated OER
Gospel Music
In this gospel music worksheet, students read a brief introduction to gospel music and respond to 10 short answer questions regarding it.
Curated OER
Jazz Scenes of the Harlem Renaissance
Students identify and connect themes of selected nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and art to Harlem Renaissance jazz. They compare and contrast historical and fictionalized versions of the jazz scenes of the Harlem Renaissance. They...