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African American Poetry: Family and Traditions
Students are introduced to the elements of African-American poetry. As a class, they are read different types of poems to discover there are different styles of poems and practice rhyming words. They share information on their family...
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African American Music
Students investigate a variety of sites to gather relevant information for a
presentation about African American musical forms in this general Music lesson for middle school and high school. Resource links are provided to aid instruction.
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Conveying Message Through Musical Composition
Students listen to and discuss various protest songs from the 1960's, and write original lyrics for a song addressing global or societal issues. They write a paragraph evaluating the efficacy of the song to convey a message.
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Lesson: Looking Closer: The Artwork of Shinique Smith
A critical discussion regarding the nature of Shinique Smith's second-hand clothing art is the foundation for the lesson. Critical thinkers fully analyze the meaning behind her work, taking close consideration of where the clothing came...
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Musical Roles
Pupils watch a videotape on the musical career of Aretha Franklin and explore the different careers in the music industry.
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Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music in America - Episode 3: Can I Get A Witness: Lesson 2
Students watch a video on spiritual music, then engage in a discussion about the artists and styles mentioned in the video. They discuss vocal improvisation, and engage in a call and response to "This Little Light Of Mine.'
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Musical Impressions
Students listen to two examples of bluegrass music and try to identify the instruments that they hear and the subtle differences between the two songs. They describe their impressions of the selections, then conclude by comparing and...
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VH1 Legends Sam Cooke Lesson 3
Learners examine Sam Cooke's transition from gospel to pop music as they study his style. They dance the Cha Cha and the Twist.
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Music in West Africa
Students explore power and the symbols of power in West African music. They discuss the music of West Africa and compare it to African American music of today. In addition, they investigate musical instruments of Africa, identify the...
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Ray Charles
Learners read the book Ray Charles by Sharon Bell Mathis. For this biography lesson, young scholars read about the life of Ray Charles. Learners answer pre-reading questions about senses, strengths, and weaknesses they have. The lesson...
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"The Block": Romare Bearden's and Mine
Young scholars 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.
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West Virginia Def PB Wants You!
Students write, adapt, and compose a song related to the West Virginia State Museum. In this music lesson, students create a composition for a work of visual art. Students incorporate major and minor melodies.
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Sam Cooke - Lesson 1
Young scholars identify the impact of the social injustices and Civil Rights movement on Cooke's life and career. They create lyrics to a familiar song that express a personal struggle or concern.
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Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story - The Birth of Soul
Young scholars analyze various kinds of music. In this music lesson, students listen to music clips to determine the kind of music each clip is then they participate in a class discussion about the music and prepare a presentation.
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VH1 Legends Sam Cooke Lesson 2
Young scholars examine the reasons and controversy regarding Sam Cooke's transition from gospel to pop.
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From Sacred to Secular: Exploration of Vocal Styles/Crossing between styles - Lesson 2
Students identify some of Aretha Franklin's vocal qualities and techniques. They have a discussion of styles of music they heard on the video, including gospel, jazz, pop, rhythm and blues, and opera.
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A Song for Today - Lesson 3
Learners analyze musical and topical elements in popular songs and compose song as a classroom effort. They write a short paragraph evaluating the effectiveness of the song in conveying the message of the lyrics.
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Get On Board This Train
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 lesson.
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Is it Folk Dance?
In this folk dance worksheet, students determine the characteristics of folk dancing and the dances that would fit that definition. They learn the actual dance concepts behind folk dancing.
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Crossroads Blues
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...
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Soundtrack to War
Pupils discuss the important role of music in lives of soldiers stationed in Iraq. They identify and demonstrate skills in creating compositions with limited resources, similar in concept to the soldiers viewed in the documentary.
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Stylistic Aspects of Spiritual Singing
Students sight-read a piece of music and analyze two unfamiliar pieces of music. They discuss performance aspects of a piece of music.
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Learning the Blues
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...