Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music In America - Lesson 2

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers identify general business terms such as entrepreneur, corporation, marketing, demographic, promotion and distribution. They identify many Black music industry leaders and their contributions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz Music and the Crisis Over School Desegregation

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Is the Attraction of the 1950s?

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders, using HyperStudio or PowerPoint, select the ten most important events that happened in the 1950s.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz in America Lesson Plan 6

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students survey bebop, cool jazz, and hard bop. They explore how bebop, cool jazz, and hard bop reflected American culture and society in the 1940s and 1950s.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

1950's Scavenger Hunt

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars encounter how to work together as a group to accomplish a common goal. They gain more experience in doing research using library reference materials as well as internet sources. Each group is responsible for making a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rock n' Rollin in the '50s

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers explore the culture of the United States in the 1950's.  In this history lesson, students research culture in the 1950's, with a focus on fashion, music, television, automobiles, etc., then work in groups to create a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Levittown, Automobiles, and Cultures of the 1950's

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars investigate the impact of the automobile on Americans. In this 1950's America lesson, students listen to audio clips, read about Levittown, and explore the Interstate Highway Act from the decade. Young scholars then...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

1950’s American Culture: Television, Fashion, and Music

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders investigate the impact of popular culture on Americans. In this 1950's America lesson, 6th graders view television clips, listen to audio clips, and  look over fashion photographs from the decade. Students then discuss...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

1950's Rock and Roll

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers complete an Individual Artist Information Sheet on famous 1950's Rock and Roll musician. They read one of the chapeters on "Elvis Pressley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Rockabilly, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Everly Brothers,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz In America - Lesson Plan 6

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explore cool jazz and how it reflected American culture in the 1940's and 1950's.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Visual Art and Music

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Young scholars examine how pop art compliments music. For this arts lesson, students explore the elements of pop art and replicate those elements in their own piece of art.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Baby Boom and the Culture of the 1950's

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students study the ripple effect of the baby boom generation on history and on their lives today. They discover how the rules and conformity of the 1950's set the stage for the rebellious, anti-establishment sixties. They study the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Moog's Musical Revolution

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students explore history of technological advances in making, recording, and listening to music that have intrigued and inspired musicians and scientists for decades.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz and Math: Rhythmic Innovations

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Students watch a segment of the PBS Ken Burns JAZZ documentary about Buddy Bolden creating the "Big Four." They compare and contrast the rhythms of marches and jazz based on the examples in the film, and explore notation, subdivision of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sondheim: Voice of Cultural Change

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore Stephen Sondheim's contributions to musical theatre in the context of the dramatic cultural shift that occurred in American life in the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
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Curated OER

True Music

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders research a given decade in US History.  In this American History instructional activity, 11th graders interview a person who lived during the decade to gain a personal perspective on it.  Students rehearse and...
Lesson Plan
Mississippi Whole School Initiative

Dream Big...With Your Eyes Wide Open

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
For many people, Barack Obama's presidency was the next step in Martin Luther King, Jr's dream of America's future. Explore the dreams of Americans past and present, as well as the young Americans in your class, with a set of activities...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The History of Rock and Roll: Part 10 - Up From the Underground - Lesson 1

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students discuss the effect music videos have had on the role of the music. They examine how developments in technology have effected the music industry.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Baby Boom and the Culture of the 1950's

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders explain the causes, course, and consequences of the United States' role in World War II.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Censorship in America

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students follow resource links to study the history of art censorship in the US. They study the work of the FCC and the Hip-Hop 4 Peace campaign.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Racism in Jazz

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars listen to the Louis Armstrong song, "What Did I Do to Be So Black and Blue?" and consider it as a protest song. They write in their journals about Armstrong, his music, and civil rights.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Expressions of Anti-Racism through Painting: The Puerto Rican Community from West Side Story to Connecticut

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Learners create a graffiti wall using their own name or personal symbol. They examine their own understanding of the film as a source of inspiration and listen to the music from the soundtrack as an effective motivation. They make...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Woody Guthrie: Life and Art

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Woody Guthrie will capture the imagination of even your most reluctant learners. Using his work, your class will develop their skills in non-fiction reading comprehension, interpreting primary source material, and use of multiple forms...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Pop Icons

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Learners analyze art and decide if the images are an attempt to celebrate or criticize American Popular Culture of the fifties and sixties and discuss how successful "Pop Art" mirrored society. Students also discuss the difference...