Curated OER
Whitman and Lincoln
Learners determine if Lincoln and Whitman ever met and write a dialogue between the two men. In this Whitman and Lincoln lesson, students read Whitman's poem "Beat! Beat! Drums!" and connect it to the events of Lincoln's presidency....
VH1
Lessons for Hight School Music Classes: Lesson 2
Art and music have been vehicles for statements of civil unrest for hundreds of years. Upper graders critically analyze several pop songs or music movements from the 1980s that exemplify politically charged motives. They...
Curated OER
Women's Roles in Post World War II
Students discuss the role of women before, during, and after World War II. In this equality instructional activity, students plan how to make the workforce more equal among men and women after World War II. They research World War II and...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Yankee Doodle: How Has It Changed over Time?
Grab your feathers and your hat! And perhaps some macaroni! It's time to investigate the evolution of "Yankee Doodle Dandy." Groups do a close reading of sheet music covers, lyrics, and even YouTube videos to see how this political song...
Curated OER
Feel the Beat of the Drums
These percussion instruments have a rich history and a variety of uses.
Curated OER
The blues highway: An integration of music with geography
Learners analyze the movement of the blues from rural Mississippi to urban Chicago and how place and the environment affected the development of the blues. They define the blues, where it originated and how and why it moved to Chicago....
Curated OER
A Picture's Worth a Thousand Notes
Students listen to classical music and create a listening map for each piece. In this classical music lesson plan, students select a piece of classical music and create a visual map for the piece. Students set their pictures to music in...
Curated OER
West Virginia State Museum Lesson Plan: West Virginia Music
Students compare and contrast music about West Virginia. In this West Virginia history lesson, students analyze popular music so that they may gain an understanding of the relationships between songs and history. Students then create...
Annenberg Foundation
Egalitarian America
What does a true American represent? Scholars investigate the equal rights era of the 1960s and 1970s in the 20th installment of a 22-part series on American history. Using photographic, magazine, written, and video evidence, groups...
Curated OER
A Song for Every Headline - Lesson 1
Students identify popular songs from 1968 and make connections with the year's current events They recognize popular music as a reflection of the culture. They focus on songs of the Vietnam War era.
Curated OER
Give Peace a Chance
Students research protest songs of the Vietnam War era. They search for information on the artists and motivation for the lyrics. They interview people who remember the music from that era and bring back information they found.
Curated OER
Do We Need a Permanenet International Criminal Court?: War Crimes, Violence, International Law and Politics, Nuremberg
In this lesson, students explore the history, relevance and current application of international tribunals for war crimes. Students look at cases from the Nuremberg trials, Tokyo trials and the Bosnian War.
Curated OER
Music-Follow the Drinking Gourd
Fourth graders study the song "Follow the Drinking Gourd." In this dance lesson, 4th graders listen to the book by the same name, listen to the music, and in small groups create a short dance illustrating a stanza from the song.
PBS
The Sixties: Dylan Plugs in and Sells Out
Before Woodstock, there was Newport. Get plugged in to the social changes of the 1960s with a lesson that looks at Bob Dylan's performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival as a symbol of the radical changes that marked the era.
PBS
Hidden Messages in Spirituals
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...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Immigrant Discrimination
For a class learning about Chinese and Irish immigration in America, here's a great starting lesson plan. It has your critical thinkers examining song lyrics, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and a political cartoon, and finally...
Curated OER
Rockin’ the World: Rock and Roll and Social Protest in 20th Century America
Young scholars explore protest songs. In this interdisciplinary lesson plan, students examine issues-based music by summarizing lyrics and revealing inferences, generalizations, conclusions, and points of view found in the songs.
Curated OER
P.O.W.: Products of War
Tenth graders are introduced to concepts of war through musical lyrics. They demonstrate and understanding of the role of segregation in US military policy and practice.
Curated OER
The History of Rock and Roll: Part 1 - Rock and Roll Explodes Music Reflects The Times
Students examine technological advancements in music and broadcast over the decades.
Curated OER
Lessons in Drama: Learning About American Political Thought
Students develop critical thinking skills so that they may produce their own written plays or music from their thoughts and feelings. They express their thoughts based on what has been presented to them over the duration of the course.
Curated OER
Music: Follow the Drinking Gourd
Fourth graders use movement to express a concept. In this interdisciplinary lesson, 4th graders listen to the book, Follow the Drinking Gourd, which demonstrates the types of 'communication' used by slaves traveling the Underground...
Curated OER
Virtual Museum
Ninth graders explore various time-periods in American history. They select important events, people, places, and artifacts to explore. Students present their information to the class using PowerPoint.
Curated OER
Windows of Wisconsin (History)
Fourth graders research the history of Wisconsin. They explore Wisconsin's culture, sovereignty and environment. Using multiple computer technology resources (computer, scanner, camera, internet), 4th graders develop a book on the...
Curated OER
Images of Secession
Analyze political cartoons and historical events. Middle schoolers utilize primary resources to increase their comprehension of the topic of secession. They utilize graphic organizers to take notes, compare, and analyze political...