Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Harlem Renaissance: Awakening the Black Soul

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders explore, examine and study about the impact of the Harlem Renaissance on the American culture. They assess and explain how the Harlem Renaissance was a "rebirth" for the African American culture through art, music, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hispanic Arts: Visual Arts, Dance and Music

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Learners observe global cultures by listening to music and watching videos. In this Latin American dance lesson plan, students define merengue, salsa and other dances from the Hispanic culture while listening to Latin rhythm music....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz it Up!

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students research the history and contributions of Jazz in their local environments. They then design and create a wide variety of presentations to share with the class using as many mediums as possible.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Letters from the Japanese American Internment

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students examine letters of Japanese-American children during internment in World War II. They discover what it was like in the camps and how they were treated once they were released. They also view photographs of the camps.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Influence of Musical Folk Traditions in the Poetry of Langston Hughes and Nicolás Guillén

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students listen and explore how African-American culture relates to learning Spanish as a foreign language. Poetry, music, and history are utilized while learning about Langston Hughes and Nicolas Guillen.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning the Blues

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students take a virtual field trip to Memphis, Tennessee in their study of the blues, its characterisitics, founding fathers, and histororical influence on modern music. They compose blues lyrics that reflect present-day attitudes and...
Activity
Digital Public Library of America

Women and the Blues

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A 12-piece primary source packet sets the tone for a study of the role women played in the origins, development, and impact of blues music. Legends like Bessie Smith, Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, Mamie Smith, and Ida Cox are featured, as are...
Lesson Plan
Pace University

The Harlem Renaissance - The Journey to Freedom: An Interdisciplinary

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
The Harlem Renaissance if the focus of a carefully crafted, interdisciplinary unit designed to introduce middle schoolers to the contributions key figures made to American art and culture during the period. Class members select...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

From Remus to Rap: A History in Theory and Practice of the African-American Storytelling Tradition

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine the specific form and function of tall tales and toasts. They discover the importance of performance in the telling of a story and the importance of rhythm in the telling of toasts. They create stories of their own, in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music In America - Lesson 1

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students identify many careers within the music industry such as producer, A&R representative and recording studio engineer. They connect achievements of noted artists with their roles in the music industry.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music in America - Lesson 3

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students listen to many examples of Motown music and explain the relationship between the word "Motown" and the city of Detroit. They examine and identify distinctive musical elements of the early "Motown Sound."
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Black History Month - - Mary Seacole CV

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students commemorate black history month. Using the Internet, information books and printed web pages, students research the events of Mary Seacole's life. Students role play Mary Seacole being interviewed for a job.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ella Fitzgerald: Something to Live For

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students examine the basic characteristics of jazz, and its relationship to African-American culture and history. They listen to examples of jazz, conduct research, and create a 20th century timeline of music and historical events.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Langston Hughes and the Blues

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students explore the connections between Langson Hughes and blues music. For this African American culture lesson, students compare and contrast blues music with poetry and short stories by Langston Hughes.
Activity
Library of Congress

The Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Harlem Renaissance brought forth many American art forms including jazz, and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Using a carefully curated set of documents from the Library of Congress, pupils see the cultural...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Breaking the Code: Actions and Songs of Protest

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Harlem Renaissance: Pivotal Period in the Development of Afro-American Culture

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Young scholars examine the time period of the Harlem Renaissance. In groups, they compare and contrast the type of art before and after the movement along with the state of society at the time. After reading a book on the topic of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Language Arts, Music, Poetry: Blues Style

For Teachers Pre-K - 6th
This lesson focuses on how the blues both operates as poetry and informs the poetry of many prominent African American poets. Learners consider the poetic devices and recurring themes in blues lyrics and the significance of the poetry of...
PPT
CHPCS

The United States in the 1920s: The New Negro Movement and the Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Music, writing, and activism all tell the story of history! The resource uses these elements and more in a presentation to discuss the Jazz Age and Harlem Renaissance. Your class views biographies, discusses important events, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"ART ZOO 'Blacks in the Westward Movement', 'What Can You Do with a Portrait', and 'Of Beetles, Worms, and Leaves of Grass'"

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students study black history, examine portraits and portrait making and create their own portraits, and  investigate their natural environment. This humanities lesson provides a text that can be used to teach lessons in black...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Boombox Classroom: Native American

For Students 2nd - 3rd
In this music worksheet, students circle names of Native American tribes or nations. They answer three true/false questions. Students answer 3 multiple choice question about the history of Native America. They name 8 music notations.
Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Habari Gani: What is the News?

For Teachers K - 2nd
Display creative works of art after learning about Kwanzaa. Kindergartners hear stories about the history of Kwanzaa and its celebrations. They then create artwork, practice African dances and listen to African music.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Culture in a Musical Setting

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students discover the significance of similarities and contrasts of three separate cultures of the United States through music. They take out maps and trace the expedition of the Spanish along the coasts of Mexico and North and South...
Worksheet
Curated OER

English Lesson Plan on Barack Obama

For Students Higher Ed
For this English worksheet, students read about Barack Obama. Students engage in a variety of reading and listening comprehension activities related to the article on Barack Obama.