eBook
Blackdog Media

Classic Reader: "Two Hearts That Beat as One" by Frank Norris

For Students 9th - 10th
"Two Hearts that Beat as One" is the first of four in the collection about the Three Black Crowes by Frank Norris. Read the full text on this site.
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: Monk, Thelonius

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia entry gives a brief account of Thelonius Monk, jazz pianist, and his influence on the jazz scene.
Website
Library of Congress

Loc: Lyrical Legacy: 400 Years of American Song and Poetry

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore eighteen American songs and poems each represented by an original primary source document, along with historical background information and, in many cases, sound recordings and alternate versions.
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...
Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center: Lift Every Voice and Sing

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Explore and analyze "Lift Every Voice and Sing" , a poem by James Weldon Johnson, which was set to music and is considered the "Black National Anthem."
Article
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Jazz and the African American Literary Tradition

For Students 9th - 10th
Article explores the influence of jazz on African American literature from the early history of jazz, noted jazz artists, the black-white tensions within jazz, to its literary influence after World War II.
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Louis Jordan

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Louis Jordan, an American saxophonist-singer prominent in the 1940s and '50s who was a seminal figure in the development of both rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The bouncing, rhythmic...
Website
Other

The Minstrel Show: Preface

For Students 9th - 10th
Richard Moody does a fine job with a general description of a minstrel show. He gives background information on the history and development over the years. There are many links in the left-hand column for more information.
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Will Smith

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Will Smith, an American actor and musician whose charisma, clean-cut good looks, and quick wit helped him transition from rap music to a successful career in acting.
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Stevie Wonder

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief biographical sketch of Stevie Wonder, an African-American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, a child prodigy who developed into one of the most creative musical figures of the late 20th century.
Lesson Plan
Yale University

Yale New Haven Teachers Institute: A Guide Through the Culture of the Blues

For Teachers 9th - 10th
An extraordinary curriculum unit to teach blues and all its cultural implications.
Website
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Aretha Franklin

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the life history of the "Queen of Soul", Aretha Franklin. In 1987, she was the first woman inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Handout
PBS

Pbs American Masters: Sarah Vaughan

For Students 9th - 10th
An informative biography of jazz singer Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990 CE) is presented highlighting her long musical career.
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.
Lesson Plan
Varsity Tutors

Varsity Tutors: Web English Teacher: Langston Hughes

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This resource focuses on the works of famous African-American author, Langston Hughes.
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Run d.m.c.

For Students 9th - 10th
Biographical details on Run-D.M.C., the American rap group that brought hip-hop into the musical and cultural mainstream, introducing what became known as "new-school" rap.
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Snoop Dogg

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about the life of American rapper and songwriter, Snoop Dogg, who became one of the best-known figures in gangsta rap in the 1990s and was for many the epitome of West Coast hip-hop culture.
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Sam and Dave

For Students 9th - 10th
Biographical details on Sam and Dave, the American vocal duo who were among the most popular performers of soul music in the late 1960s and whose gritty, gospel-drenched style typified the Memphis Sound.
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: The Soul Stirrers

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica's Guide to Black History features the Soul Stirrers, an American gospel group who were one of the first male quintets and one of the most enduring male groups. Several singers emerged from the...
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Celia Cruz

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Celia Cruz, a Cuban singer who reigned for decades as the "Queen of Salsa Music," electrifying audiences with her wide-ranging, soulful voice and rhythmically compelling style.
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Clyde Mc Phatter

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Clyde McPhatter, an American rhythm-and-blues singer popular in the 1950s whose emotional style anticipated soul music.
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.

Other popular searches