Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Visual Art: Romare Bearden and Group 306

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students examine the life and art of Romare Bearden. Using his "Mill Hand's Lunch Bucket" for inspiration, they write a first chapter for a book. Students observe numerous other works of his art and discuss them from artistic and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students locate Harlem on a city map of New York City. As a class, they are given information and take notes on the Harlem Renaissance. They are read two poems by different authors and write a paragraph about what they believe it means....
Worksheet
Curated OER

Jazz Word Search

For Students 6th - 8th
In this music activity, students find the words that are associated with Jazz music and the answers are found by clicking the link at the bottom of the page.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Louis Armstrong

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young scholars discover the music of Louis Armstrong. In this jazz lesson plan, students are introduced to Armstrong's trumpet and vocal art in a matching game, then listen to a sampling of his music and respond in writing.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Time in Jazz

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine time and meter in the jazz idiom. They analyze Take the A Train and Take Five. They research websites featuring Ella Fitzgerald and her music.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Urban Concentration and Racial Violence

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students research one of the many urban race riots in U.S. history, from the New York City riots during the Civil War to the "Red Summer of 1919" or the hate-strikes of 1943. They present their findings in the form of a newspaper's front...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz: An Expression of Cooperation - Lesson 3

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students describe ways in which the principles of students or citizens working together are interrelated with those of musicians working together. They demonstrate their knowledge of the concept of "swing" in various jazz styles.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson 12- Quincy Jones:What Makes an American Master?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students study the life of Quincy Jones and research black music for selected decades of the 20th Century. They discuss the qualities that help one create and sustain a successful career. They design a timeline of what their future...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Negro Leagues Baseball

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students write a one page paper on one of the following players: Fleetwood Walker, Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, or "Cool Papa Bell". They listen to the taped selection of Black Diamond by McKissack and McKissack and write a one page...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Smithsonian Jazz Class: Benny Carter

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Learners play "Benny's Match Game" to learn about the life and career of Benny Carter. Students listen to samples of Benny Carter's music and create written responses that evaluate his music.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fun with Phylogenetic Trees

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders differentiate angiosperms and gymnosperms. In this biology lesson plan, 10th graders construct a musical phylogenetic tree from information they gathered on resource websites. They present their project in class.
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Duke Ellington

For Students 7th - 8th
CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each story or article is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see...
Website
PBS

Pbs: Duke Ellington's Washington

For Students 9th - 10th
This site explores the life of Duke Ellington, as well as the strong African-American community that flourished in Washington, D.C., during the time that Ellington lived there (1899-1923).
Handout
PBS

Pbs American Masters: Duke Ellington

For Students 9th - 10th
Duke Ellington was one of the most successful big band leaders of all time. Read about his life and music and learn more about his influences on the jazz world.
Website
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Duke Ellington

For Students 3rd - 5th
Explore the fascinating life of a founding father of jazz music. Duke Ellington (1899-1974 CE) was a gifted musician and composer from an early age. This website provides you with a detailed account of his life and his accomplishments.
Article
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: History Wired: Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about the great big band leader Duke Ellington at this informative website. This site highlights his life and career in a well written article.
Handout
Songwriters Hall of Fame

Songwriters Hall of Fame: Duke Ellington

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource provides information about Duke Ellington.
Handout
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Archives Center: Duke Ellington: Biography

For Students 9th - 10th
A useful biographical note of Duke Ellington.
Unit Plan
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Documents Gallery: Ellington and Strayhorn

For Students 9th - 10th
Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, two of the greatest jazz composers, collaborated on hundreds of works. As you explore this exhibition, you will have an opportunity to view original music scores, listen to audio clips, and view videos...
Website
Other

The Duke Ellington Society

For Students 9th - 10th
The Duke Ellington Society maintains this wealth of information on Duke Ellington and his works including news, information on the singers who worked with him, audio clips, and links to other Ellington sites.
Website
Other

Amg: All Music Guide: Duke Ellington

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource presents an overview of the musical career of Duke Ellington tells the chronological story of his rise to fame as an American jazz musician.
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Smithsonian Jazz: Duke Ellington

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
This site provides audio clips, photos, and biographical information of this legendary composer and performer. A match game teaches and tests your knowledge of Ellington.
Activity
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Smithsonian Jazz: Duke's Music Class

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about jazz from the master, Duke Ellington. Three activities explore his role as jazz composer, orchestra leader, and pianist.
Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Ellington, Edward "Duke"

For Students 9th - 10th
Duke Ellington's prominence as one of the greatest American composers and key figure in the development of the genre of jazz is highlighted in this encyclopedia entry.

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