PBS
Pbs: American Roots Music
If teaching a unit about the history of popular music in America, this PBS web site supporting their four-part TV broadcast of a few years ago would make a great resource. Includes lesson plans and oral histories too.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Freedom Riders and Popular Music of the Civil Rights Movement
In this lesson plan, students will consider "The Freedom Riders and the Popular Music of the Civil Rights Movement." The plan includes worksheets and other student materials that can be found under the resource tab.
NPR: National Public Radio
Npr: Techno Pop
Feature series on "The Secret History of Technology and Pop Music," traced partly through the story of an Indiana company that stopped making pianos and started cutting 78 rpm records using the talents of famous jazz musicians and others.
Library of Congress
Loc: Music for the Nation: Music Published, America, 1870 1885
A wonderful collection of sheet music from the Library of Congress. Search this site to find the primary source documents of music published in America from 1870 through 1885. The site is separated into many different topics with an...
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 33: 8 Rap
Rap music and hip-hop were the pop music of the nineties. Learners of all ages liked to mimic the rappers they listened to on CD's, tapes, and the radio. This lesson builds on students' interest in rap music as well as their enjoyment of...
Library of Congress
Loc: Music and u.s. Reform History: Stand Up and Sing
Throughout American history, popular music has reflected the mood and opinions of the times. By exploring sheet music, students analyze issues related to industrialization and reform to answer the essential question, "How does society...
Yale University
Yale University: Open Yale Courses: Listening to Music
Twenty-three university-level lectures on how to listen to and how to appreciate Western music. Emphasis is on classical music but jazz, pop, the blues, and rock are also considered.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 20: The 1960s Through Music
By listening to and analyzing the lyrics of selected examples of popular music from the 1960s era, students will develop a greater understanding of the historical and political forces as well as the emotional climate of the decade. This...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Hey, I Known That Song: Literary Analysis of Popular Music
This PDF lesson plan uses the Lyrics to "I Was a Kaleidoscope" by Ben Gibbard and the song "I Was a Kaleidoscope" by Death Cab for Cutie to analyze the poem and determine its meaning.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 35: The Melting of the Cold War
As the Cold War evolved over four decades, the end of the world seemed imminent as the nuclear arms race continued to escalate. Popular music, especially in the 1980s, reflected this growing pessimism. By 1989 and 1990, as the Berlin...
PBS
Pbs: American Roots Music: Lesson Three: Gospel Music Meets a Wide Audience
The third lesson deals with the emergence of gospel as a form of popular music among a general public. Gospel is a musical genre with roots in the African American church, particularly in the South. Between the 1940s and the 1960s,...
PBS
Pbs: American Roots Music: Lesson Two: Desegregating the Airwaves: Blues on the Radio
This instructional activity deals with the emergence of the blues as a form of popular music on the radio, beginning in Helena, Arkansas in 1940. Students will understand and discuss the relationship between technological and social...
Other
Museum of Making Music: The Ukulele and You
Exhibition of the origin and history of the ukulele and its significance to American popular music.
Other
American Film Institute: 100 Years . . . 100 Songs
With this list, the American Film Institute presents its choices for the 100 greatest songs in film. The list includes choices from popular films such as The Sound of Music, Cabaret and The Producers.
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: The Carter Family: Will the Circle Be Unbroken
From the American Experience series on PBS, this is "The Carter Family: Will the Circle Be Unbroken", a comprehensive multi-media look at the early American popular country music group.
Other
Alien Travel Guide: Musical Styles
A descriptive site on the many styles of music. There is information on everything from chamber music to rap.
Other
Afro Disc: Africa Music Reviews
A radio host talks about new music from West Africa. While profiling four popular artists, the substance in this site describes the flavor of the popular music.
BBC
Bbc Radio2: Sold on Song
If you love classic pop and rock songs and performers, you'll want to visit this site. Includes background information and audio, a glossary, a guide to songwriting styles, songwriting tips, music quizzes, interviews, and so much more....
Other
Media Education Lab: My Pop Studio
[Free Registration/Login Required] Get ready to go behind-the-scenes of the television you watch, magazines you read, music you listen to, and websites you visit! The 'studios' let you.. Create, Comment, Control. Targeted at girls, the...
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 39: People Everyday
This activity with a song of my choice, 'People Everyday' by Arrested Development, will be an introduction to literary analysis and media/popular music literacy. Students will learn to examine critically what they view and hear. They...
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 29: Adolescent Identity Crisis
Knowing oneself and attaining a mature identity is the developmental task of adolescence. Successful resolution of the identity crisis involves making healthy choices and personal commitments to an occupation, religious belief, and a...
Other
Musical English Lessons
Learn English vocabulary and grammar through songs from a wide range of famous pop artists from the Beatles and Elvis to contemporary standouts like Avil Lavigne, Good Charlotte, and James Blunt. Find an exercise by grammar or vocabulary...
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sam and Dave
Sam and Dave were known as "the greatest of all soul duos". Read about the history behind this famous duo and learn about their music and songs. They were 1992 inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Other
History of Rock 'N' Roll: Roy Orbison
Biographical summary of the life of Roy Orbison, a legend in popular music in the 1960s.