Second graders read The Piano and become familiar with racial discrimination.  In this racial discrimination book lesson plan, 2nd graders answer comprehension question to focus on the importance of the book.  Students discuss...

Eighth graders examine the lives of the Gullah-Geechee people. In this unique cultures lesson, 8th graders explore music, language, and slavery of the Gullah-Geechee people from the southern low-country in the United States. Students...

The crossroads, and the decisions made and entities met there, are a common theme in literature, pushing readers to examine the choices and encounters that shape life experience. The theme has also been explored in blues music, most...

Learners analyze sculpture, poetry, and music to gain an understanding of historical events. In this critical thinking skills lesson, students take a closer look at African-American history as they examine "Lift Every Voice and Sing'"...

Students identify artwork by Romare Bearden and to explain his techniques. They look for cut and pasted papers and images, paint, ink and pencil designs, shapes and spaces and the rhythms therein. They listen to music by looking at...

Students engage in a lesson which is designed as a literacy connection to science lessons on the effects of water on plants. This lesson uses an excellent Reading Rainbow episode on the effect of drought, and then rainfall, have on the...

Pupils become familiar with the characteristic form and sound of the blues, then learn about the history and evolution of the blues in relationship to the African-American experience. Students examine the structure and language of blues...

Students examine and discuss the African American Spiritual in a choir setting. They also sing the spiritual "Get On Board This Train" while using terms and techniques studied in the instructional activity.

Learners have an appreciation of Langston Hughe's poetry and his use of jazz rhythms, have the ability to read poetry closely, and freewrite to gain a fresh perspective on music and literature.

In this music worksheet, students read an excerpt from the movie The Sting and identify the American composer, Scott Joplin, who found ragtime jazz music heard in the movie. They also respond to eight questions related to the excepts read.

Tenth graders investigate three American leaders from the Civil Rights Movement while they examine the early 1960's and the topic of racial equality. They listen to music from the era, read speeches, and look at images of Martin Luther...

Students learn where Jazz came from and why it is an important part of America's history.

Introduce young learners to the read-aloud process with a short biographical passage about Ray Charles. After listening to the passage, class members respond to factual, inferential, and evaluative questions, and then create a timeline...

Before there was Beyonce, before there was Madonna, before there was Cher, there was Ella. Introduce Ella Fitzgerald, The First Lady of Jazz, with a reading comprehension exercise that presents a brief biography of her life and then asks...

Individuals expressed the Harlem Renaissance in diverse forms of art, ranging from poetry to photography to painting. Learners explore pieces using a carefully curated collection from the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Included lessons ask...

Slaves laboring in the cotton fields of the old South singing joyously may have convinced overseers that their workforce was happy and content, but in truth, these spirituals contained secret codes. After viewing a short video about...

Some enslaved people decided to run for their liberation. Using lyrics of songs they sang, young historians look at these anthems of freedom. An assessment asks them to write the story of escape from the perspective of an enslaved...

Students examine the history of blues music and discover how it relates to the music of today. As a class, they listen to the drum songs of Africa and compare it to the use of drums in pop music today. Using the internet, they research...

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...

Sixth graders gain an appreciation for the different cultures that inhabit the Earth by focusing on the people of Africa

Students examine how Louis Armstrong's fame spread from the African American community to the whole world. They examine how his singing style influenced both popular and jazz musicians by participating in guided listening of his musical...

Students listen to examples of fiddle music and violin music to determine the similarities and differences between the two musical forms. A video link is included in this introductory lesson to fiddle music (Part One of Two).

Second graders experience artistic perception of rhythm in music and see how to move their bodies and tap their sticks to the rhythm of a particular song.