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
25 Greatest Protest Songs
Students view and discuss The 25 Greatest Protest Songs video as compiled by VH1. They focus on when and why each of the songs were written, looking for patterns.
Curated OER
Learning to give: freedom songs
Students learn freedom songs and discuss how the famous leaders of the Civil Rights Movement used them to motivate people to overcome adversity during this time. In this freedom songs instructional activity, students learn the songs and...
National Park Service
Lesson 1: Journaling with Songs of Freedom
There's more to music than a memorable tune. The songs of those who were enslaved reveal the harsh realities of their lives. Using both songs and slave narratives, historians uncover this hidden history. The lesson incorporates a variety...
Curated OER
Understanding the Music of the Civil Rights Movement
Students 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...
Skoog Music
St. Patrick’s Day
Traditional Irish music can bring even the most stoic audience to tears. This St. Patrick's Day, explore the lilting flutes and mournful ballads of the Emerald Isle with a interactive and inspiring music lesson.
Curated OER
Music of the Civil Rights Era, 1954-1968
Students experience the aesthetics of music and learn about freedom songs that motivated the Civil Rights activists. In this music history instructional activity, students learn how music can motivate and move listeners. Students then...
Curated OER
Give Peace a Chance
Students research protest songs of the Vietnam War era. They search for information on the artists and motivation for the lyrics. They interview people who remember the music from that era and bring back information they found.
National Park Service
Lesson 5: Coded Spirituals, Metaphor in African Spirituals
If a picture is worth a thousand words, song lyrics also can communicate many meanings. Using the lyrics of spirituals, young historians analyze them for coded messages about freedom. Resources include a chart to help individuals track...
Curated OER
Let Freedom Sing: A patriotic Program for Grades 1-6
Students understand information and stories contained in patriotic songs. In this patriotic music lesson, students participate in grade appropriate lessons to understand the music and lyrics of patriotic songs. Students perform the...
Curated OER
We Are The Freedom Riders
Students consider the role of the Freedom Riders. In this American Civil Rights lesson, students watch videos, listen to lectures, and conduct research regarding the participants in the Freedom Ride protest. Several weblinks, worksheets,...
Curated OER
Mood in Music
Students portray the mood of a piece of music in a drawing. In this mood in music instructional activity, students discuss how music creates a mood. Students listen to Vivaldi's "Four Seasons," "The Wreck of The Wreck of...
Curated OER
The Meaning of Passover Story Through Songs and Traditions
Learners explore the meaning of Passover. In this holiday lesson, students participate in various learning centers that focus on the Passover holiday. The learning centers include simulating the feelings of slavery, listening to music by...
Music Publishers Association of the United States
I Made It. I Own It. Please Don't Steal It.
Explore the world of copyright law with a variety of activities to instill the importance of respecting creative property. Scholars watch an animated tale then take part in a grand conversation detailing the video's main idea, details,...
Curated OER
The Music and Message of Lauryn Hill
Young scholars explore the music of artist Lauryn Hill and analyze the way she uses her music in a socially responsible manner. In this music artist lesson plan, students read the lyrics to Hill's songs and listen to some example songs....
Curated OER
What Does This Song Really Say?
Students investigate communication by analyzing lyrics from a song. In this music arts lesson, students discuss slavery, the Underground Railroad and African American traditions while listening to a song called "This Train." Students...
Curated OER
How Music Motivates
Students form conclusions regarding the motivational effects of music on the mind during the Civil Rights era. In this Civil Rights movement lesson, students describe how music motivates, describe the motivational role in freedom songs...
Curated OER
Freedom, Power and the People
Students analyze how social change has affected artistic expression and popular culture. the explain the influence of media on contemporary American culture.
Curated OER
Singing Patriotic Music
Young scholars sing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of patriotic music, including "America" and "The Star Spangled Banner," to sing expressively with appropriate dynamics, phrasing, and interpretation.
National Park Service
Lesson 2: Hope
There's hope in music. Pupils discover what gave enslaved people hope by examining lyrics and music during their time of bondage. A series of prompts helps individuals investigate songs of enslaved people. The cumulative assignment...
National Park Service
Lesson 4: Escape
Some enslaved people decided to run for their liberation. Using lyrics of songs they sang, young historians look at these anthems of freedom. An assessment asks them to write the story of escape from the perspective of an enslaved...
Curated OER
Music Appreciation Lesson
Students discover the freedom of dance by performing physical expression with music. In this physical education lesson, students discuss ways their body can make noise such as snapping, patting, or stomping. Students utilize...
Curated OER
Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum
Pupils explore the American dream. In this contemporary music lesson, students analyze the lyrics of songs by Neil Diamond, Bruce Springsteen, and David Massengill. Pupils create 3-D representations of the American dream and write essays...
Curated OER
Responses To Twentieth Century Music: A High School Art Curriculum
Students explore their own responses to sound by hearing the music as a regular part of the class structure. They develop an awareness that certain art evokes certain sounds and moods and develop an intuitive responses to the music.