Curated OER
Let the Music Play: Bicentennial quarter reverse
To better understand who George Washington was and why we celebrated the bicentennial, pupils read a story and complete a worksheet. They sing and talk about the song, "Yankee Doodle Dandy" as they march around the room.
Curated OER
The American Cowboy
Middle Schoolers produce a class newspaper about the American cowboy and the times in which he lived with illustrations, feature stories and advertisements typical of the times. This is an ambitious, yet worthwhile project for youngsters...
Annenberg Foundation
Exploring Borderlands
What motivated Europeans to explore the New World, and what effects did their exploration have on Native American populations? The second installment of a 16-part American Passages series prompts pupils to watch a video and read several...
Curated OER
Thomas Hart Benton: The Sources of Country Music
Students examine artwork by Thomas Hart Benton. In this interdisciplinary lesson, students analyze the painting The Sources of Country Music, listen to folk music, and examine how recording technology and the movies shaped the images of...
Syracuse University
Harlem Renaissance
The music and literature of the Harlem Renaissance defined American culture, including its poetry. Using a poem from the period, individuals explore its musical qualities and how it is reflective of the period. Then, they use what they...
Curated OER
Stories of the American Experience
Learners interview a veteren of any of the major U.S. wars. They must identify one quote from the veteren that sums up their experience.
Queen's Printer for Ontario
Composers in Music History
What do Johann Sebastian Bach and Miles Davis have in common? Much more than class members might imagine. The comparison of these two famous composers is just one lesson in a unit that investigates many facets of the music industry...
Curated OER
Americans Who Stood Up for Their Beliefs
Students will reflect upon the use of music to teach lessons throughout history. The focus of the study is based upon early American History. The tie of music and the abolition of slavery makes for interesting inquiry for learners.
Curated OER
Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music in America - Louis Armstrong
High schoolers listen to selections of New Orleans street band music. They explore the culture of New Orleans in the 1920's, and perform a closer examination of Armstrong's music.
Curated OER
African Americans Seen Through the Eyes of the Newsreel Cameraman
Fifth graders learn about this history of jazz music. For this musical influences lesson, 5th graders read God Bless the Childand listen to a recording of it. Students create a KWL chart on jazz and early 1900s music and dance. Students...
Curated OER
Harlem Renaissance
Students investigate the African American culture in the 1920's and the Harlem Renaissance. They read and analyze poems written by poets of the Harlem Renaissance, listen to jazz music and identify the characteristics of the music, and...
Curated OER
African American Poetry: Songs of Protest and Pride
Students are introduced to various time periods in history in which African Americans wrote songs and poetry to cope. In groups, they travel between different stations to listen or read poems and music from the Civil War period, Civil...
Curated OER
Passing Down Family History Through Oral Tradition: Corridos
Students create and perform Corridos which are oral tradition ballads. In this Passing Down Family History Through Oral Tradition instructional activity, students interview family members using a predetermined list of questions. In...
Curated OER
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young: Exploration of Folk Music
Students use the music of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young to examine Folk music.
Curated OER
American Indians
Students research early Indian adaptations in this lesson. They research the different American Indian tribes. They also research and compare the tribes' rituals, daily lives, and their impact on the Europeans who came later to the...
Curated OER
Songs of Native Americans
Students listen to chapter from novel When Legends Die by Hal Borland, listen to traditional Lakota song, discuss feeling song induces and in what circumstance it may be used, and examine connection between cultural music and family...
National First Ladies' Library
Ragtime: The First "American" Music?
Learners investigate the concept of ragtime music and the times associated with it in American history. They conduct research using a variety of resources and listen to a sample before writing down some of the results of the information...
Smithsonian Institution
Songs, Sounds and Stories from the Georgia Sea Islands
American music is the result of the influence of many cultures, including the traditions brought by the African slaves. Young scholars study the polyrhythms, the call-and-response format, and the vocal improvisations of the Gullah...
John F. Kennedy Center
Harriet Tubman: Secret Messages Through Song
A instructional activity all about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad introduces scholars to African American spirituals. By way of reading, speaking, and listening, learners discover, analyze, and decode African American...
Digital Public Library of America
Women and the Blues
A 12-piece primary source packet sets the tone for a study of the role women played in the origins, development, and impact of blues music. Legends like Bessie Smith, Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, Mamie Smith, and Ida Cox are featured, as are...
Jazz Academy
Let Freedom Swing
Three lessons in the Let Freedom Swing concert tour resource guide packed with information, materials, and activities that provide the context for any study of American history.
Smithsonian Institution
Spirits Across the Ocean: Yoruban and Dahomean Cultures in the Caribbean Brought by the Slave Trade
Much of Latin American music owes its origins to the slave trade. Peoples from the Yoruban and Dahomean cultures brought with them the distinctive rhythms, time signatures, and eighth note patterns that now characterize Caribbean music....
Digital Public Library of America
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their eyes Were Watching God has been highly praised and severely criticized for its depiction of African American folk culture. A set of primary source materials, including photographs, articles, essays, and...
Museum of Tolerance
The Role of Citizens in a Participatory Democracy
Groups research participatory democracies and compare the role and rights of citizens in ancient history with those in recent U.S. history. Guided by a series of questions, individuals compose a persuasive essay in which they discuss the...
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