Carolina K-12
The Vietnam War and Protest Music
Here's a must-have resource for your Vietnam War curriculum file. Class members view a PowerPoint that details the background of the conflict and then examines the reasons for and the effects of protest songs on American attitudes toward...
PBS
Breaking the Code: Actions and Songs of Protest
Ezell Blair, Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil changed history. Their sit-in at the lunch counter of the Woolworths in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960 became a model for the nonviolent protests that...
Curated OER
25 Greatest Protest Songs - Lesson 3
Students analyze the lyrics of protest songs as a catalyst for social change. They discuss the influence of music on behavior and explain the use of music as a means of self-expression.
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
American Colonists Protest Song
Students explore the role of protest songs. For this early American history lesson, students research the acts passed by the British that angered colonists. Students then listen to protest songs from contemporary American history prior...
Curated OER
Protest Music Video
High schoolers create an iMovie that expresses the meaning of a protest song from the 1960's or 1970's. They investigate the emotional and political overtones of the times and use images to interpret the song's meaning.
National Woman's History Museum
Songs of Protest: Seneca Falls to Vietnam
Long before the songs of the 1960's Peace Movement, long before the songs of the Civil Rights Movement, and even before the songs of the Abolition Movement, were the songs of the Suffrage Movement. To understand the power of protest...
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
Protest Music Video
Young scholars use iMovie to express the meaning and context of a protest song from the '60s or '70s. They explore different views of the protest movement and gain an understanding of the emotional and political overtones of the times.
Curated OER
25 Greatest Protest Songs
Students analyze the lyrics of protest songs as a catalyst for social change. They discuss the influence of music on behavior and explain the use of music as historical record.
Center for Civic Education
The Power of Nonviolence: Music Can Change the World
Here is a fantastic activity through which class members discover how music has the ability to influence others in a meaningful way. After reviewing selected pieces and modern-day protest songs, learners will research other songs that...
Curated OER
Billie Holiday's Song "Strange Fruit"
Pupils analyze a variety of primary source materials related to lynching (news articles, letters written to or written by prominent Americans, pamphlets, broadsides, etc.) in order to assess the effectiveness of the anti-lynching...
Curated OER
Conveying Message Through Musical Composition
Learners listen to and discuss various protest songs from the 1960's, and write original lyrics for a song addressing global or societal issues. They write a paragraph evaluating the efficacy of the song to convey a message.
Curated OER
25 Greatest Protest Songs - Lesson 2
Students explain the potential consequences of protest. They discuss selected historical conflicts and examine the role of the individual in protest.
Curated OER
Protest Songs
Students analyze and perform an American social protest song. They describe its historical setting, consider the effectiveness of the music and recognize that popular music is a reflection of American culture.
Curated OER
Give Peace a Chance
High schoolers 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.
Curated OER
Songs from Two Generations - Lesson 2
Students identify popular songs from 1968 era and analyze some of the topical and musical elements. They focus on social protest songs and other songs of social conscious.
Curated OER
Rockin’ the World: Rock and Roll and Social Protest in 20th Century America
Students explore protest songs. In this interdisciplinary lesson, students examine issues-based music by summarizing lyrics and revealing inferences, generalizations, conclusions, and points of view found in the songs.
Curated OER
"Uncle Sam's Got Himself in a Terrible Jam": Protest Music and the Vietnam War
"And it's one, two, three...what are we fighting for?" Use music to assess the climate of protest during the Vietnam War, listening to and analyzing Country Joe MacDonald's "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag" (lyrics included)....
Curated OER
Concept Formation Lesson Plan: Understanding "Protest"
After analyzing both examples and non-examples of a variety of protests conducted by ethnic groups in Seattle and the state of Washington during the twentieth century, your class members will work to identify the key ideas and components...
Curated OER
Songs of Mass and Individual Protest: USA, Jamaica, and South Africa
Young scholars study songs of mass and individual protest. They view a video clip and discuss the song and words the protesters sing. They study the song, "We Shall Overcome" and discuss the characteristics of the song and chant and sing...
Prestwick House
The Poetry of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan's selection as the 2016 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, the first songwriter ever to receive the honor, has focused the attention of a new generation on the work of the legendary artist. Class members analyze the...
Curated OER
Songs of Protest/Songs of Unity: 1865 to the Present
Students study song-poems from 1865 to the present. They explore the works of Woody Guthrie and the Almanac Singers (including Pete Seeger).
Curated OER
Understanding the Music of the Civil Rights Movement
Learners 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...