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Website
Other

Mad River Theater Works: The Ballad of John Henry [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Scroll down this study guide to find the lyrics to the Ballad of John Henry, which was collected from individuals in the West Virginia mountains in the 1920's. Discusses the different versions of the song and the history behind it.
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Website
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Earth, Wind, and Fire

For Students 9th - 10th
Read background information and the history of the music of the popular Grammy award winning band of the 1970s, Earth, Wind, & Fire.
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Activity
Smithsonian Institution

Anacostia Museum: The Renaissance: Black Art of the Twenties

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides an informative description of the "Black Arts of the Twenties," which was better known as the Harlem Renaissance. Learn about the culture, art, music, and writings of this period.
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Lesson Plan
Yale University

Yale New Haven Teachers Institute: Black Emancipators of the 19th Century

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A lesson unit on the people and movements that fought to abolish slavery. Looks at the Triangular Trade, and at the Underground Railroad and famous abolitionists. Includes a play about emancipation, a black history rap and a trivia quiz...
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Article
Musicals 101

Musicals101: History of the Stage Musical 1910 1920

For Students 9th - 10th
From Jerome Kern's Americanized shows to the Ziegfeld Follies, the stages saw a whole new type of musical from 1910-1920.
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Website
Other

Africlassical: Black History and Classical Music

For Students 9th - 10th
Africlassical profiles musicians and composers of African descent since the time of Mozart.
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Unknown Type
Other

Gotta Dance: American Rumba

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from Gotta Dance offers an easy-to-read history of rumba.
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Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Cross Country Rhythms (A Lesson on American Identity)

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students explore the relationship and discuss the connection between music, history, and culture by finding songs that personify American places and historical events.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: A New African American Culture

For Students 5th - 8th
All immigrants to America bring a part of their homeland with them. The same was true of slaves. See how vocabulary, arts, and music were knit into American culture.
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eBook
Blackdog Media

Classic Reader: "Two Hearts That Beat as One" by Frank Norris

For Students 9th - 10th
"Two Hearts that Beat as One" is the first of four in the collection about the Three Black Crowes by Frank Norris. Read the full text on this site.
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Lesson Plan
Varsity Tutors

Varsity Tutors: Web English Teacher: Langston Hughes

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This resource focuses on the works of famous African-American author, Langston Hughes.
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Lesson Plan
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 32: The John Travolta Syndrome

For Teachers 9th - 10th
The songs and movies of modern times have had a major influence on fashion. Coincidentally, many of these important fashion-influencing films of recent times had one thing in common: John Travolta. From the white leisure suits ofSaturday...
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Website
Other

Oculus Magazine: Early Jazz

For Students 9th - 10th
Written for an audience accustomed to rock, this is a good history of Jazz, from the late 1800's, when the form supposedly took shape, to recommended recordings and books.
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Jazz and Ww Ii: A Rally to Resistance, a Catalyst for Victory

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Lesson plan that teaches the roles that jazz music and jazz musicians played in the war effort and that demonstrates the effect that the war had on jazz in America.
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Website
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 25: Vietnam Revisited

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Using music, videos, and interviews are effective ways to study the Vietnam War era. The music from the late 1960s and early 1970s offers wonderful insights into how many Americans felt about the times. Through the use of personal...
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Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: Florida Folklife

For Students 9th - 10th
Library of Congress provides materials from the WPA Collections, 1937-1942. Selections include narratives and songs from ethnic and cultural groups, including African Americans, Bahamian Americans, Cuban Americans, American Indians, and...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs: Cole Porter: You're the Top

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A high school lesson plan designed to delve deeper into the life of Cole Porter and the meaning in his music.
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Website
Library of Congress

Loc: Patriotic Melodies

For Students 9th - 10th
The Library of Congress site profiles 26 American patriotic songs with commentary, supporting visual material, and recordings of "America the Beautiful," "Fanfare for the Common Man" and the like.
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Article
A&E Television

History.com: 8 Moments When Radio Helped Bring Americans Together

For Students 9th - 10th
These are just a few of the historic radio broadcasts that seemed to have the whole nation listening. This article discusses eight of the most seminal moments in radio -- from KDKA's 's live nighttime Fireside Chats, the 'Fight of the...
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Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Memory: Montana

For Students 3rd - 5th
Who were the first white explorers to "set foot in Montana?" Find out more about the Native American population living in Montana. Draw on the experience of the Native American population.
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Handout
Countries and Their Cultures

Countries and Their Cultures: Multicultural America: Sioux

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides an overview of the traditional culture and lifestyle of the Sioux, a Native American tribe. (Note: Content is not the most current.)
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Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Guide to Black History: Duke Ellington

For Students 9th - 10th
Biography of Duke Ellington, one of the originators of big band jazz, and a noted composer.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Harlem Renaissance

For Students 5th - 8th
The Harlem Renaissance influenced not only African American culture in the Jazz Age, but all of American culture. Read about some of the shining stars of African American literature and music of the age.
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs: Music, Slavery and the Civil War

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
This lesson could serve as the basis of a curriculum unit on slavery and/or the Civil War. Spirituals are analyzed, especially their cultural implications.

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