Lesson Plan
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Lesson 50: Using Music to Teach Personal Narrative

For Teachers 9th - 10th
The personal narrative, apart from appearing as an option in the writing component of many state assessment tests, is a form of writing which allows students the chance to reflect seriously and honestly on important events in their own...
Lesson Plan
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Understanding Poetry of Maya Angelou Through Rap Lyric

For Teachers 9th - 10th
By examining the lives and lyrics of popular, positive black female rappers such as Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill, students can trace a direct line back to the inspirational writer and poet, Maya Angelou. Rap lyrics will help explicate...
Website
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Comission

Explore Pa History: Jazz in Pennsylvania

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore the history and influences of jazz in the state of Pennsylvania. Resource includes links to audio clips and video from artists, and stories of jazz from around the state.
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Other

University of North Texas College of Music

For Students 9th - 10th
Description of the program at the University of North Texas in the Division of Music History, Theory, and Ethnomusicology.
Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: Today in History: October 28: Gilbert H. Grosvenor & Volstead Act

For Students 9th - 10th
Find a treasure trove of links in the Library of Congress to music, speeches, photographs, and other information about Gilbert H. Grosvenor, the editor of National Geographic Magazine, and about temperance, prohibition, and the eventual...
Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Rap/hip Hop

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia entry gives a brief history of rap and hip hop and the influences of the music on modern culture.
Handout
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Education: Musical Theater

For Students 9th - 10th
A short and concise history of musical theater with two early performers and a composer highlighted.
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Other

Oculus Magazine: Early Jazz

For Students 9th - 10th
Written for an audience accustomed to rock, this is a good history of Jazz, from the late 1800's, when the form supposedly took shape, to recommended recordings and books.
Lesson Plan
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 44: Compositional Techniques

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Young music students rarely see or, better still, hear a connection between the different types of scales, modes, intervals and other compositional techniques such as meter, tonality, and form used in both traditional 'Art' music and...
Lesson Plan
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 27: The Faust Theme

For Teachers 9th - 10th
The Faust theme, that of risking eternal damnation by selling one's soul to the devil in exchange for magical powers, can be found in virtually every genre of music as well as in literature and the visual arts. Examples utilizing this...
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Other

Parlor Songs Academy: Music as Propaganda in World War I

For Students 9th - 10th
Scroll through the history of the use of popular music as propaganda until reaching the lengthy section about how music was used, not just in the United States, but throughout the world as propaganda in World War I. Find the lyrics and...
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Guide to Black History: Motown

For Students 9th - 10th
Information on the popular style of music called Motown that developed from a recording company of the same name.
Lesson Plan
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 45: Democracy Not Yet!

For Teachers 9th - 10th
The following instructional activity uses the lyrics of four popular songs (songs that were commonly sung or played) to stimulate critical thought and discussion of what is right or wrong with American democracy.
Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: Music and Creativity in Ancient Greece

For Students 9th - 10th
You think you love music? You have nothing on the Ancient Greek obsession. Every aspect of Greek life was punctuated by song: history, poetry, theater, sports and even astronomy. In fact, music was so important to Greek philosopher Plato...
Article
English Club

English Club: History of Soul Music

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn the history of soul music from its origins in gospel music, through Motown and Memphis Soul, to contemporary rhythm and blues. The site includes three videos: Sam Cooke singing "A Change is Gonna Come," from 1964, with images from...
Website
Brand Scotland

Scotland Is Now: Traditional Music

For Students 9th - 10th
The history of traditional Scottish music goes back thousands of years, as this article explains. Other highlights include a connection between Robert Burns and Bob Dylan, and lots of information about current traditional music groups...
Article
A&E Television

History.com: Why the Watershed 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival Was Overshadowed for 50 Years

For Students 9th - 10th
The 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival brought over 300,000 people to Harlem's 20-acre Mount Morris Park from June 29 to August 24, 1969 against a backdrop of enormous political, cultural and social change in the United States. The summer...
Article
A&E Television

History.com: Tailgating: How the Pre Game Tradition Can Be Traced to Ancient Times

For Students 9th - 10th
The ritual grew as ownership of automobiles and then mass production of portable grills and plastic coolers soared. Tailgating before college and professional football games is an American tradition. Temporary tent cities pop up in...
Article
A&E Television

History.com: How the First Thanksgiving College Football Game Kicked Off a Holiday Tradition

For Students 9th - 10th
How the First Thanksgiving College Football Game Kicked Off a Holiday Tradition. In 1876, Yale beat Princeton before a sparse crowd, but by the mid-1880s, their annual contest was a major social event that attracted thousands of fans in...
Article
Musicals 101

Musicals 101: History of the Musical Stage: 1900 1910

For Students 9th - 10th
This site discusses the development of the stage musical from 1900-1910. Includes a section on The Wizard of Oz.
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Other

History of the Cajun Accordian

For Students 9th - 10th
Here you are given the complete history of the Cajun accordion and it's importance in Cajun culture.
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Other

Black Gospel Music: The History of Gospel Music

For Students 9th - 10th
This site explores the history of Gospel music, including how gospel music began and some of the various incarnations it has gone through.
Website
Digital History

Digital History: The Birth of American Popular Culture

For Students 9th - 10th
A description of many different forms of popular culture in the first half of the 19th century ranging from sensationalized newspapers to dime novels to pseudoscience. Read about Stephen Foster's music, theatrical productions, and even...
Website
Other

Soldiers' Songs Archive of Military Folk Music

For Students 9th - 10th
Specialized site dealing in folk music connected to military history and various wars. Gives audio samples and brief history/bios of songs and singers. Limited but interesting archive site.

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