eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: The Jazz Age: Redefining the Nation 1919 1929: A New Generation

For Students 11th - 12th
Looks at the new morality that emerged in the 1920s. It changed the role of women and the perception of African Americans, the latter facilitated by the Harlem Renaissance and its impact on the music and dance of the Jazz Age. Also...
Website
Other

Mad River Theater Works: The Ballad of John Henry [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Scroll down this study guide to find the lyrics to the Ballad of John Henry, which was collected from individuals in the West Virginia mountains in the 1920's. Discusses the different versions of the song and the history behind it.
Activity
Smithsonian Institution

Anacostia Museum: The Renaissance: Black Art of the Twenties

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides an informative description of the "Black Arts of the Twenties," which was better known as the Harlem Renaissance. Learn about the culture, art, music, and writings of this period.
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Etta Baker

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Etta Baker, an American folk musician who influenced the folk music revival of the 1950s and '60s with her mastery of East Coast Piedmont blues, a unique fingerpicking style of...
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Carl Van Vechten

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about Carl Van Vechten, a U.S. novelist, music and drama critic, and an influential figure in New York literary circles in the 1920s.
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Guide to Black History: Duke Ellington

For Students 9th - 10th
Biography of Duke Ellington, one of the originators of big band jazz, and a noted composer.
Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Jackson, Mahalia

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia article tells the high points of Mahalia Jackson's life. She was a world-renowned gospel singer whose influence was felt in the civil rights movement.
Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Bert Williams

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia article gives a good overview of the life of Bert Williams, a black entertainer of the early 1900's who broke many color lines.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Teachers: February One (Lessons on the Greensboro Sit in of 1960)

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Find two lesson plans developed for a PBS documentary about the Greensboro Four, whose sit-in at a whites-only Woolworth's lunch counter was a key event in the unfolding history of the civil rights movement. The lessons ask students to...
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Wayne Shorter

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Wayne Shorter, an African-American musician and composer, a major jazz saxophonist, among the most influential hard-bop and modal musicians and a pioneer of jazz-rock fusion music.
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: De La Soul

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features De La Soul, an American rap group whose debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising (1989), was one of the most influential albums in hip-hop history.