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Lesson Plan
Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford

Similes Activity using Jazz (featuring Duke Ellington)

For Students 4th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Our Story: Duke Ellington and Jazz

For Students K - 4th
Get parents or guardians into the swing of things with a jazzy homework assignment. A detailed six-page guide provides before, during, and after reading suggestions for Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra, Andrea Davis...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas-Duke Ellington

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students read Duke Ellington by Andrea Davis Pinkney. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the life of the 20th century composer. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing, social studies, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz in America

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders explore Jazz in America. They examine greats in Jazz, such as Duke Ellington. They are also to discuss the cultural implications of the music itself.
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Activity
Education World

Every Day Edit - Duke Ellington

For Students 3rd - 8th
For this everyday editing learning exercise, students correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about Duke Ellington. The errors range from capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and grammar.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning through The Duke

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students study Duke Ellington's contributions to the field of jazz. They write poetry using language that was popular in the 1920's. They listen to a piece of Duke Ellington jazz and respond with at painting.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Duking It Out

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students 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.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning Through the Duke

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
Students examine the contributions of Duke Ellington to the field of jazz. They create an original poem using popular vocabulary from the 1920s, listen to the book, "Duke Ellington," and paint a picture while listening to music by Duke...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Duke Ellington

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students discover a variety of Duke Ellington compositions and the elements that make his sound unique. In this jazz lesson plan, students participate in a Duke Ellington Matching Game and an activity based on his music.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Duke Ellington and the Rise of Jazz in New York

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students consider how Duke Ellington impacted the rise of jazz music. In this jazz music activity, students listen to a lecture regarding the life and work of Ellington. Students also watch a video regarding Ellington and discuss music...
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Unit Plan
General Motors Corporation

Jazz

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Great Gatsby's Jazz

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
As Nick wanders the grounds of Gatsby's mansion, he observes the behaviors of the rowdy guests and listens to the music pouring over the lawn. Bring the music of the jazz age into the classroom with Louis Armstrong's "West End Blues,"...
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Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Center

Musical Harlem: How Is Jazz Music Reflective of the Harlem Renaissance?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
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,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music To My Ears: The District of Columbia Quarter

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students practice identifying different genres of music by creating posters.  In this music appreciation lesson, students research Duke Ellington and complete worksheets based on his style of music, Jazz.  Students collaborate in small...
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Unit Plan
San Francisco Symphony

Learning Adjectives through the Duke

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Duke Ellington, jazz, and jive kick-off a fun and creative lesson on responding emotionally to music. The class will learn about jive talk used in the 1920s and the life and music of Duke Ellington. They'll listen to a selection of his...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African American Community and Culture

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders explore the rise of jazz music. In this Duke Ellington activity, 4th graders watch video segments regarding Ellington's life and showcasing a performance of Ellington and his band. Students discuss the rhythm of jazz as...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Duke Ellington: Great American Musician and Composer

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students delve into the life and music of Duke Ellington as a major American musician and composer. The elements that made the sound of his orchestra unique and the talents of his band members are explored in this lesson.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, Dance of the Floreadores, Waltz of the Flowers in the Meter of Duke

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students contrast the meter and style of two different versions of the musical piece, "Waltz of the Flowers." Duke Ellington's meter in the "Dance of the Floreadores" is compared to Tchaikovsky's version in the "Nutcracker."
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning through The Duke

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine the important contributions made by Duke Ellington to the field of jazz, as well as some of the factors that led to his involvement in the field. As they explore the language of the 1920's, connections will be drawn...
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Worksheet
Look! We're Learning!

Ella Fitzgerald Biography Mini-Unit

For Students 5th - 8th Standards
Before there was Beyonce, before there was Madonna, before there was Cher, there was Ella. Introduce Ella Fitzgerald, The First Lady of Jazz, with a reading comprehension exercise that presents a brief biography of her life and then asks...
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PPT
CHPCS

The United States in the 1920s: The New Negro Movement and the Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Music, writing, and activism all tell the story of history! The resource uses these elements and more in a presentation to discuss the Jazz Age and Harlem Renaissance. Your class views biographies, discusses important events, and...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Jazz Word Search

For Students 6th - 8th
For this music worksheet, learners find the words that are associated with Jazz music and the answers are found by clicking the link at the bottom of the page.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Smithsonian Jazz Class: Ella Fitzgerald

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students play "Ella's Match Game" to learn an overview of Fitzgerald's life and career. In this Ella Fitzgerald lesson, students listen to excerpts of Fitzgerald's music and respond by creating writing prompts.
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PPT
Curated OER

The Roaring 20s

For Teachers 7th - 8th
America during the 1920s was quite an interesting place! Bring the jazz, poverty, consumer excess, culture, and politics to life with this presentation. Primary source images, excellent descriptive text, and a wide span of topics are...