Curated OER
George Gershwin
Students explore the life and accomplishments of George Gershwin. They listen to Latin rhythms and practice the rhythmic parts. Students identify Latin instruments George Gershwin added to the orchestra. After practice, they perform a...
Curated OER
"The Block": Romare Bearden's and Mine
Students study Bearden's style of collage and create their own collage that reflects their neighborhood. They are read "The Block" and poems about neighborhoods and write one about theirs.
Curated OER
Coyote and Anansi
Students explore the structure of folktales. In this coyote and Anansi lesson, students discuss the attributes of folktales as they read versions of tales featuring coyote and Anansi. Students collaborate to write and perform their own...
Curated OER
Creating an Anthology
Student compile a poetry anthology. In this literature lesson plan, pupils examine notable poetry anthologies. Students then select a theme to build their anthologies of 10 poems pertaining to their chosen theme.
Library of Congress
Loc: Omaha Indian Music
A fascinating site of traditional American Indian music. Listen online to the 44 wax cylinder recordings from 1895-97! Listen also to interviews of the tribe giving background information.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Music Across America
This curriculum unit devoted to the study of American music features five lesson plans that help students identify instruments, recognize styles and genres of American music and begin to comprehend the rich diversity of American music.
PBS
Pbs: American Roots Music
If teaching a unit about the history of popular music in America, this PBS web site supporting their four-part TV broadcast of a few years ago would make a great resource. Includes lesson plans and oral histories too.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Music of the United States
Very thorough resource for music in the United States. History, genres, and references can be found on this site. Includes sample audio recordings.
Black Past
Black Past: Rap/hip Hop
This encyclopedia entry gives a brief history of rap and hip hop and the influences of the music on modern culture.
PBS
Pbs: Independent Lens: Strange Fruit: Protest Music Past and Present
Listen to audio clips of songs of protest from eight eras of U.S. history. Explore the lyrics, learn about the songwriters, and gather background information on the music that served and continues to serve as a catalyst for thought,...
Other
Classical Music Navigator: Forms and Styles
This alphabetized list of musical forms and styles briefly defines and describes the types of musical sounds and genres created throughout history.
PBS
Pbs: American Roots Music: Lesson Three: Gospel Music Meets a Wide Audience
The third lesson deals with the emergence of gospel as a form of popular music among a general public. Gospel is a musical genre with roots in the African American church, particularly in the South. Between the 1940s and the 1960s,...
Library of Congress
Loc: Patriotic Melodies
The Library of Congress site profiles 26 American patriotic songs with commentary, supporting visual material, and recordings of "America the Beautiful," "Fanfare for the Common Man" and the like.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Ragtime
Wikipedia offers the definition, historical context, revival, and composers of the ragtime style of music.
Other
Kansas State Univ.: Music and Race in 20th C. America
Short but interesting combination of music and race and its influence on American culture from the Kansas State University. Provides most important songs, artists, and lyrics. Unusual page.
Other
Kurt Weill Foundation for Music
Celebrate the Kurt Weill Centenary with sections on Kurt Weill and Lotta Lenya, Chronology of Career, Further Reading, Catalog of Worksby Title, by Date, by Genre, Discography, and images. Weill-Lenya Research Center
Cengage Learning
Gale: Hispanic Heritage Biographies: Carlos Santana
In the late 1960s, when the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane and other rock genres were raging, Carlos Santana and his band Santana introduced the music scene to a new Latin-based rock sound featuring an Afro-Cuban beat. This...
Other
Art of the States
Listen to complete high quality music files from many of America's composers and performers. You can search by composer, performer, genre, instrumentation or time period.
University of Michigan
University of Michigan: Chico's Salsa Virtual Tour
This multimedia tour of Salsa dancing includes general background information, a chronology of salsa, sound and video clips, biographies on salsa artists, and resources for further reading and research. Also included is a "Salsa...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Guide to Black History: Taj Mahal
This entry from Encyclopedia Brittanica's Guide to Black History features Taj Mahal, an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and one of the pioneers of what came to be called world music. He combined blues and other African-American...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Buddy Guy
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Buddy Guy, an American blues musician noted for his slashing electric guitar riffs and passionate vocals.
Other
Database of Award Winning Children's Literature
This is a phenomenal resource. It allows the user to create a reading list of quality children's literature based of choices such as reading level, type of book, genre, ethnicity, gender, etc. In addition, one can determine if a book won...
PBS
Pbs: Blues Road Trip
Come and trace the migration of the blues through the United States. This site features an in-depth look at the origins of the Blues throughout its development across the Deep South of the US and beyond.
PBS
Encyclopedia of Composers & Songwriters
A great resource for learning about some of America's greatest composers and songwriters. From Irving Berlin to George Gershwin, among other, this resource provides biographies, pictures and some video.