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Langston Hughes and the Blues
Students explore the connections between Langson Hughes and blues music. In this African American culture lesson plan, students compare and contrast blues music with poetry and short stories by Langston Hughes.
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Gospel Music
In this music worksheet, students read about the origin of gospel music. Students answer ten essay questions related to their reading.
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Gospel Music
In this gospel music worksheet, students read a brief introduction to gospel music and respond to 10 short answer questions regarding it.
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The Great Depression: A Study Guide Through Song
Students take a closer look at the political and social outlook during the Great Depression. In this Great Depression lesson plan, students analyze selected songs from the time period. Students use the provided lyric sheets and song...
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Sondheim: Voice of Cultural Change
High schoolers 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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VH1 Storytellers for Save the Music Starring Billy Joel
Students pretend they are taking a certain job in the music industry and respond to questions.
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True Music
Eleventh graders research a given decade in US History. In this American History lesson, 11th graders interview a person who lived during the decade to gain a personal perspective on it. Students rehearse and present their composition.
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Jazz Exploration: A Collage Project
Middle schoolers explore and experience jazz through collage. They listen to improvisational jazz, discuss the origins of jazz, then design and create a collage that shows jazz being played. This project will result in amazing works of...
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200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons
Students define the term "exoticism" and identify musical elements used by 19th and 20th century composers and modern pop icons to convey exoticism.
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The Impact of the IWW on the Nation or Who were the Wobblies?
Learners evaluate the role labor groups had on the U.S. Government in the early 1900's. In this teaching American history instructional activity, students complete several activities, including response writing and listening to music,...
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"We'd Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover"
Learners examine video clips and Web sites related to relevant productions, study song lyrics, and compare and contrast actual history with Broadway history. They create lyrics for a new song based on a contemporary or historical figure...
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Decades
Students work cooperatively to research the people, places, events, and things that represent their assigned decade. They creatively, write and present ten minute dramatizations of information about their assigned decade.
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Harlem Renaissance
Middle schoolers discover the Harlem Renaissance. In this early 20th century lesson, students use various primary sources including handouts, worksheets, maps, music, and poetry to examine aspects of African American culture. Middle...
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A Cold Reception: Anti-Immigrant Sentiment in the United States
Students compare anti-immigration movements in United States history. In this immigration lesson, students participate in classroom activities that require them to analyze music, images, and videos that reveal the immigration debates of...
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Now I See You... The Changing Perception of Women
Students examine the changing view of women during the 20th century. Using art, literature and music, they identify the various perceptions used throughout history. They also predict what women's' perceptions are going to be in the next...
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Scripting The Great Train Robbery
Take writing prompts to another level in this activity, which allows pupils to create scenes of dialogue based on the 1903 silent film, The Great Train Robbery. Useful for a language arts/history cross-curricular activity, the lesson...
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Bob Marley - Legend Episode #3 - Lesson 1
Young scholars recognize and describe elements of Bob Marley's life that influenced his song writing as evidenced in the song "No Woman No Cry". They identify the elements of music characteristic of Reggae.
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The Japanese Empire: The Beginning
Ninth graders explore empires by researching Japan's history. For this Japanese research lesson, 9th graders discuss the history of Japan and the elements of World War II that caused Japan to become an enemy of the United States....
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The Collaborative Works of Rodgers and Hammerstein: Show Business
Students study the work of Rodgers and Hammerstein in an historical context of the development of American musical theatre as an art form. Students explore "roots" of the genre as it evolves in last half of the 19th and first two decades...
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Tour of Our Century
Students will research the politics, arts, social climate, technological and
scientific advances of the 1900s. They will work in cooperative groups to
identify the most significant advances of one decade then use a computer to create a...
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Composing From a Thread
Students listen to music composed in the 20th century and discuss varying interpretations. They play a contemporary piece of music and explore techniques available to a modern composer.
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Bratislava Old and New
Students explore the capital of Slovak. In this World History lesson, students read an article that describes specific details about Bratislava, Slovak, then complete numerous activities that are centered around the article, such as a...
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Cotton And Child Labor
Eleventh graders investigate the practice of child labor as found in the history of the United States. The teacher reads the class a story from the year of 1914. This creates context for the lesson and then students answer teacher...
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Notable American Composers
Young scholars visit web sites for each of the composersand listen to selections of each composer's music and place important dates of the composers into a pre-printed time line.