Curated OER
Jazz in America
Students participate in a class discussion about jazz music, compare improvisation with regular conversion, listen to various jazz musicians and compare and contrast their individual sounds.
John F. Kennedy Center
Musical Harlem: How Is Jazz Music Reflective of the Harlem Renaissance?
Bring jazz music and the Harlem Renaissance to light with a lesson that challenges scholars to research and create. Pupils delve deep into information materials to identify jazz terminology, compare types of jazz and jazz musicians,...
Institut Obert de Catalunya
20th Century Music: Jazz
A 67-page packet provides instructors with a complete course in the history of Jazz. Lessons look at the roots of jazz in early 20th century African American communities in the southern United States and continues to the New Orleans...
Curated OER
Jazz Exploration: A Collage Project
Middle schoolers explore and experience jazz through collage. They listen to improvisational jazz, discuss the origins of jazz, then design and create a collage that shows jazz being played. This project will result in amazing works of...
K20 LEARN
Jazz In Oklahoma
When considering the possible hot spots of jazz in the United States, Oklahoma isn't the state that first comes to mind. However, it is the birthplace of several jazz musicians that influenced the evolution of the genre and Oklahoma City...
Curated OER
Jazz Music and the Crisis Over School Desegregation
High schoolers will learn to appreciate the civil rights movement with a focus on Little Rock, Arkansas. They will also acknowledge Louis Armstrong's unparalleled contributions to American music.
General Motors Corporation
Jazz
Over the history of the world, music has been at the heart of some of the greatest social and political movements. Scholars discover their musical roots as they dive into the sounds and emotions of renowned jazz players. They see how...
Curated OER
Country's Music
Jazz, Blue Grass, Hip Hop, Swing. Gospel, R&B, Ragtime, Disco. So many music genres born in the USA. After reading an article about the fate of New Orlean's Jazz after Hurricane Katrina, class members investigate the life cycles of...
Smithsonian Institution
The Birth of an Icon: Learning and Performing the Origins of the Drum Set and Early Jazz Drumming in New Orleans, Louisiana
Bass drum, snare drum, tom-toms, cymbals. Perched behind their drum sets, wielding their drum sticks and wire brushes, drummers lay the grove and are the heartbeat of a band's performance. A dynamic lesson introduces young musicians to...
Curated OER
Chops and Axes - A Jazz Talk Show
Students listen to, analyze, and describe music. They gain an understanding of music in relation to history and culture.
Curated OER
Jazz Talk
Middle schoolers 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,...
Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford
Similes Activity using Jazz (featuring Duke Ellington)
Language learners get into the swing of things with a jazzy lesson about similes. They read an article about Duke Ellington, listen to samples of his music, and then try their hand at crafting similes to describe his improvisational and...
Curated OER
Draw Me the Music
Learners 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 musicians.
Curated OER
I See The Rhythm : The Study of Blues and Jazz
Students gain an appreciation for various types of music. Using the music of the past, they compare it with the music of today. In groups, they research periods in which blues and jazz were most popular and write their own piece of music...
Curated OER
Crawford Grill: Opening the Doors of Opportunity
Analyze the role the Crawford Grill played in the history of Jazz music. Budding historians research interviews and video clips to learn about the Crawford Grill in Pennsylvania and black music history. The activity culminates when...
Curated OER
Duking It Out
Young scholars read and discuss 'Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra: Mixing Treasures by Duke Ellington and Edvard Grieg,' exploring how jazz transformed European music and the influence jazz has had on modern music. They write musical reviews.
Curated OER
Bessie Smith
For this jazz history worksheet, students respond to 7 essay and short answer questions about the life and accomplishments of Bessie Smith.
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
Black American Musicans: Precursors of Jazz
Students trace the course of Black music from the 1900's to the beginning of the jazz age. They realize that when education is defined as enlightened training for a place in society and for individual personal development, it was highly...
Curated OER
A Jazz Talk Show
Students analyze and describe music while connecting it to history and culture. They gain experience in theatre arts skills and writing. They use the Internet to do research in order to find out the most about this subject.
Library of Congress
The Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance brought forth many American art forms including jazz, and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Using a carefully curated set of documents from the Library of Congress, pupils see the cultural...
Penguin Books
Up Close: Ella Fitzgerald
A reading of Tanya Lee Stones' biography of Ella Fitzgerald lets middle schoolers get up close and personal with the First Lady of Jazz. Stone recounts details of Fitzgerald's life from her early days through her experiences as a teenage...
Curated OER
Women in Jazz
Students watch a video: "VH1 Millennium Jazz Festival From The White House" to become familiar with prominent women in jazz. They discuss the vocally oriented nature of jazz and the contributions made by women on and off stage.
Historic New Orleans Collection
Exploring Primary Sources: Music in New Orleans
Looking for a new and exciting way to teach young historians the art of primary source analysis? Jazz up your lesson plan with a resource that asks class members to analyze photos, travel documents, and letters written by some of New...