Handout
Countries and Their Cultures

Countries and Their Cultures: Multicultural America: Welsh Americans

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides an overview of the traditional culture and lifestyle of Welsh Americans. (Note: Content is not the most current.)
Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: Today in History: September 12: H. L. Mencken & Saint Mihiel Offensive

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the life and career of H.L. Mencken and an overview of the Saint-Mihiel Offensive, which began on September 12, 1918, in France. In addition, find links to other sites in the Library of Congress pertaining to the offensive in...
Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Rap/hip Hop

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia entry gives a brief history of rap and hip hop and the influences of the music on modern culture.
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Music and u.s. Reform History: Stand Up and Sing

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Throughout American history, popular music has reflected the mood and opinions of the times. By exploring sheet music, students analyze issues related to industrialization and reform to answer the essential question, "How does society...
Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Us History: 1945 1980: Popular Culture and Mass Media in the 1950s

For Students 9th - 10th
In the 1950s, financial prosperity allowed young Americans to participate in a shared culture of rock and roll music, movies, and television.
Handout
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: American Culture in the 1920s

For Students 9th - 10th
The First World War had a crippling effect on any notions of positivity in the artists, writers, and intellectuals of that time and they became known as the Lost Generation. This page discusses this group of people, the emergence of jazz...
Lesson Plan
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 32: The John Travolta Syndrome

For Teachers 9th - 10th
The songs and movies of modern times have had a major influence on fashion. Coincidentally, many of these important fashion-influencing films of recent times had one thing in common: John Travolta. From the white leisure suits ofSaturday...
Article
Musicals 101

Musicals 101: History of the Musical Stage: Ziegfeld Follies

For Students 9th - 10th
This article gives a history of the Ziegfeld Follies, with information on its creator Florenz Ziegfield, its origin, and the performers. The site also includes thumbnails of pictures of the Follies.
Website
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 25: Vietnam Revisited

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Using music, videos, and interviews are effective ways to study the Vietnam War era. The music from the late 1960s and early 1970s offers wonderful insights into how many Americans felt about the times. Through the use of personal...
Lesson Plan
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 19: Runaway Slaves

For Teachers 6th - 8th
The Underground Railroad was a significant part of American History. It served as a lifeline to hundreds of slaves who risked their lives to escape the horrors of bondage. Through readings of primary sources and listening to music,...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs: Cole Porter: You're the Top

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A high school lesson plan designed to delve deeper into the life of Cole Porter and the meaning in his music.
Website
PBS

Pbs: The Story of Jazz

For Students 9th - 10th
A supplement to a ten-part film series on jazz, this resource describes the growth and development of jazz music from the gritty streets of New Orleans to the Lincoln Gardens on Chicago's south side, where Louis Armstrong first won fame,...
Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: America on Stone

For Students 9th - 10th
Features an extensive collection of lithographs that portrays everyday life in the 19th century and attitudes about race and ethnicity. These prints play a major role in helping us understand America's past. Subjects covered include...
Activity
Digital History

Digital History: Avant Garde

For Students 9th - 10th
Synopsis of the huge cultural shifts that occurred in America in the 1920s in art, music, literature, and among intelligentsia.
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Guide to Black History: Taj Mahal

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Handout
Other

Classical Music Navigator: Forms and Styles

For Students 9th - 10th
This alphabetized list of musical forms and styles briefly defines and describes the types of musical sounds and genres created throughout history.
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History: Anthropology: Sounds of the Silk Road

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Travel the tales and sounds of the Silk Road through this resource and understand how music shaped Asian, and eventually, western cultures. You can create your own music to share with your friends, and gain knowledge about common...
Interactive
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Within These Walls

For Students 4th - 8th
If these walls could talk! Explore American History through one house that has experienced over 200 years of history. This interactive site has pictures of artifacts, primary sources, and music from 1757-1945. Be a detective and guess...
Website
Other

Parlor Songs Academy: Music as Propaganda in World War I

For Students 9th - 10th
Scroll through the history of the use of popular music as propaganda until reaching the lengthy section about how music was used, not just in the United States, but throughout the world as propaganda in World War I. Find the lyrics and...
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Poetry of Liberation

For Students 9th - 10th
This unit examines poetry of the postmodernism period, focusing on the Beat Movement, Black Arts Movement, feminism, and other related movements and periods in recent literary history. An extensive list of authors, time line, video, and...
Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: A Vision of Puerto Rico

For Students 9th - 10th
A virtual look at a wide-ranging mix of art and artifacts that visually represent Puerto Rico's culture and history. With thematic overviews of everyday life on the island, music, families, and religion along with many useful educational...
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
PBS

Pbs: Independent Lens: Strange Fruit: Protest Music Past and Present

For Students 9th - 10th
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,...
Website
Other

Lone Star College Kingwood: American Cultural History: The Twentieth Century

For Students 9th - 10th
A comprehensive look at life in the twentieth century complete with timelines and photos. Decades are broken down by art and architecture, books and literature, educational movements, fads and fashion, historic events and technology,...

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