National Humanities Center
Teaching The Great Gatsby: A Common Core Close Reading Seminar
The 41 slides in a professional development seminar model how to use close reading techniques to examine the many layers of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. In addition to passages from the novel, slides provide biographical...
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Jazz In America
Students explore the Jazz Era in America not only by answering questions but listening to music as well.
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Jazz in America
Students explore Free Jazz and Fusion by answering questions and listening to music.
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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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Sheryl Crow and Willie Nelson - Lesson 1
Appeal to your music lovers with this lesson. Middle and high schoolers listen to and describe music from contrasting styles. They identify the common elements between gospel and bluegrass music and have a class discussion regarding the...
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Marco Paul's Travels on the Erie Canal
Students conduct research in order to create an understanding of The Eerie Canal and its place in history and the world. students use a variety of primary and secondary resources to aid in the research process.
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Native American Friendship Dance
Students demonstrate the proper steps in sequence to the Native American Friendship Dance.
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Scaling the Blues
Students identify musical characteristics of blues music and define the term 'scale.' They identify chromatic, major, pentatonic, and blues scales and label each key on a keyboard using letter names, sharps and flats.
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Creating a Pot: Repetition as a Unifying Design Element
Students use subjects, themes, and symbols that demonstrate knowledge of contexts, values, and aesthetics that communicate intended meaning in artworks.
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Native American Song and Dance
Students examine the importance of the drum and drumming in the cultural context of the Native American. Musical insturments and native dance is employed to support the focus of the lesson.
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Acadie -- Alive and Well!
Students examine the culture of Acadian through the paintings of Robert Harris. Using the internet, they read examples of Acadian history through primary source documents. As a class, they continue to share stories orally by pretending...
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The Star-Spangled Banner
Students sing the national anthem and analyze the lyrics. They work in cooperative groups to sequence the lyrics, research the cultural and historical context of the anthem and record a class performance.
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Arts of the Gilded Age
Young scholars study the art forms of the Gilded Age. In this integrated arts lesson, students research the art, music, dance, and drama of the historical era and then create their own personal projects that exemplify the time period.
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Introduction to Ludwig van Beethoven
"Ode to la Tortilla" and "Ode to Joy"? Sure! Use Gary Soto's poem to introduce learners to the ode format. After examining the descriptive words Soto uses, class members study a poster of Ludwig van Beethoven, suggest words that describe...
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Jazz in America
Students explore jazz and its origins by focusing on the people in which Jazz came from.
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Allen Ginsberg: Poetry and Politics
Students explore the poetry of Allen Ginsberg. They read and analyze poems by Allen Ginsberg, conduct Internet research, collect examples of art of the 60s, and create a presentation.
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Take Me Out to the Ballgame
Students study the American sport and history of baseball. In this baseball lesson, students complete three levels of units to learn about baseball.
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On Stage Tonight . . .
Eleventh graders explore the World Wide Web for information concerning the period known as "The Harlem Renaissance." They study the contributions made by African Americans in the areas of literature, art, and music during this period in...
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James Whitcomb Riley
Students describe James Whitcomb Riley's poems and identify the themes they portray. In this poetry lesson plan, students read the history of James Whitcomb Riley and read some of his poems.
Japan Society
Akutagawa Ryunosuke and the Taisho Modernists
Japan's Taisho Period was a time when authors like Akutagawa and other Japanese modernists began to experiment with point of view and literary form, making the literature produced during this time period a natural choice for teaching...
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Diego Rivera: Art as the Universal Language
Students analyze the work of Diego Rivera. They participate in a class discussion, critique various paintings, write a short story based on a Rivera mural, and create a class mural.
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Harlem Renaissance Research Project
High schoolers complete a group research project on the Harlem Renaissance. In this Harlem lesson, students pick from a list of topics all related to the Harlem renaissance. They create a PowerPoint presentation, topic outline, and...
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We Are The Freedom Riders
Young scholars consider the role of the Freedom Riders. In this American Civil Rights activity, students watch videos, listen to lectures, and conduct research regarding the participants in the Freedom Ride protest. Several weblinks,...
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US Geography, The Blues
This lesson enables teachers to use blues styles and performers to think about various geographical regions of the United States. By studying different blues styles from the Mississippi Delta, Texas, and the Piedmont region of the...