National Endowment for the Humanities
The Freedom Riders and the Popular Music of the Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s marched to its own beat—literally. Using songs from the era, as well as other primary sources such as King's "I Have a Dream" speech, class members analyze lyrics to discover how music and protest...
Curated OER
Romantic and 20th Century Period Music
Upper graders explore the similarities, differences, and depth of pop music from the Romantic era and the 20th century. They listen to selections that exemplify the Baroque, Romantic, and 20th century periods, then create presentations...
Curated OER
Slices of American Pie: The 1960s Through Music
Eleventh graders examine political, cultural, and social movements through music. In this 1960s American history activity, 11th graders explore the music of the decade in order to better understand the complexity of the time period....
Curated OER
The Beatles
All you need is love! Find out how The Beatles met, what they recorded, and when they broke up. This resource could be a good way to set the stage or build a context for society in the 1960's and 70's, or as part of a music history lesson.
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 lesson culminates when...
National Woman's History Museum
Songs of Protest: Seneca Falls to Vietnam
Long before the songs of the 1960's Peace Movement, long before the songs of the Civil Rights Movement, and even before the songs of the Abolition Movement, were the songs of the Suffrage Movement. To understand the power of protest...
Curated OER
How to Teach the Legacies of the 1960s
Students consider which aspects of world around them have roots in 1960s, research and compare 1960s to today with regards to Civil and Women's Rights, Vietnam, counterculture, music, voting, and economic rights, and explore legacy of...
Curated OER
John Lennon
Here is a great example of the type of biographical presentation your class could create. They can view this informational biography of John Lennon to learn about a famous person or as inspiration for a research project. Each slide...
PBS
Lesson Plan: Divided Opinions
To gain a more in-depth understanding of the tumultuous 1960s, young historians examine video clips, listen to music, examine images, and interview survivors. Once they have a foundation of information about the period, class members...
VH1
Lessons for Hight School Music Classes: Lesson 2
Art and music have been vehicles for statements of civil unrest for hundreds of years. Upper graders critically analyze several pop songs or music movements from the 1980s that exemplify politically charged motives. They analyze lyrics...
VH1
Lessons for Hight School Music Classes: Lesson 1
The phrase, "You sold out" has been thrown around among musicians that have lent their talents to the corporate world. Here, the class engages in an interesting discussion on how musicians make a living and the influence of commercialism...
Curated OER
Understanding the Music of the Civil Rights Movement
Learners examine protest music and songs from the Civil Rights movement. In this music of the Civil Rights era lesson, students listen to selected music before working in groups to determine who the music was directed at, what social...
PBS
The Sixties: Hitsville USA
James Jamerson. You probably heard him but may not have heard of him. But fans of Motown Records will certainly recognize his contributions to the sound that desegregated popular music during the 1960s. Challenge young history detectives...
Annenberg Foundation
Egalitarian America
What does a true American represent? Scholars investigate the equal rights era of the 1960s and 1970s in the 20th installment of a 22-part series on American history. Using photographic, magazine, written, and video evidence, groups...
Curated OER
The Turbulent 1960s (6)
In this online interactive American history worksheet, students answer 13 matching questions regarding 1960's America. Students may submit their answers to be scored.
Curated OER
Music: A Nation's Voice
High schoolers investigate the impact of popular music in 1960's America. In this music and history lesson, students listen to several identified songs from the decade and analyze their lyrics. High schoolers discuss their impressions...
Curated OER
Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music in America - Lesson 3
Young scholars listen to many examples of Motown music and explain the relationship between the word "Motown" and the city of Detroit. They examine and identify distinctive musical elements of the early "Motown Sound."
Curated OER
Speak Out!
Students are introduced to Yvonne Ranier's "Trio A" dance and investigate how to express concern over social issues through choreography. They research important issues from the 1960's, choreograph and perform original dances.
Curated OER
1960's Protest Songs
By learning about 1960's protest songs, and the politics of the era, students can broaden their understanding of music and history.
Curated OER
History of the Beatles
In this Beatles music worksheet, students read about the origins the musical group and their style in an article and graphic organizers. Students then respond to 8 short answer questions regarding the Beatles.
Curated OER
Conveying Message Through Musical Composition
Learners listen to and discuss various protest songs from the 1960's, and write original lyrics for a song addressing global or societal issues. They write a paragraph evaluating the efficacy of the song to convey a message.
Curated OER
Power to the People: Social Movements of the 1960s
Students engage in a professional development workshop for teachers in the delivery of curriculum about the era of the 1960's. The emphasis of the workshop is using popular culture of the time in order to launch investigations that are...
Curated OER
Musical Roles
Students watch a videotape on the musical career of Aretha Franklin and explore the different careers in the music industry.
Curated OER
Finding Our Place in Time
Students utilize interviewing skills of an historian to research the time period of the 1970's. They use prior knowledge of the 1960's to explain the mood of the country in the 1970's.