Connect the ideas of jazz improvisation and art to writing poetry. Learners collaborate and write different lines of poetry, imitating the jazz styles of improvisation and freewriting. Take a close look at the poems "Tenebrae" by Yusef...

What do Johann Sebastian Bach and Miles Davis have in common? Much more than class members might imagine. The comparison of these two famous composers is just one lesson in a unit that investigates many facets of the music industry...

Students analyze the impact of jazz on the novel, "Invisible Man," by Ralph Ellison. They read and discuss excerpts of the novel, write an essay on the influence of jazz on Ralph Ellison as a writer, and view video excerpts on jazz...

The Harlem Renaissance brought forth many American art forms including jazz, and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Using a carefully curated set of documents from the Library of Congress, pupils see the cultural...

Students describe ways in which the principles of students or citizens working together are interrelated with those of musicians working together. They demonstrate their knowledge of the concept of "swing" in various jazz styles.

Learners develop an understanding of the role of a musician, composer, and conductor. In this musician lesson, students examine the District of Columbia quarter and see that Duke Ellington is on the reverse side. They define performer,...

Duke Ellington, jazz, and jive kick-off a fun and creative lesson on responding emotionally to music. The class will learn about jive talk used in the 1920s and the life and music of Duke Ellington. They'll listen to a selection of his...

Young scholars view a piece of impressionist art, listen to a piece of jazz music and then write a piece about the picture in the style of beat poets. They compare their writing and look for differences in their perceptions.

Really? Rapping The Odyssey? Really. A discussion of the oral tradition of story telling and its links to Epic poetry sets the stage for a series of activities that encourage improvisation to integrate music into other classrooms....

Students examine the musical style of Thelonius Monk, particularly Misterioso. They write in their journals how the song sounds and fits with the way Monk dresses. They journal about how their own music might sound if they wrote jazz music.

Learners read the book Ray Charles by Sharon Bell Mathis. For this biography lesson, students read about the life of Ray Charles. Learners answer pre-reading questions about senses, strengths, and weaknesses they have. The lesson...

Learners practice identifying different genres of music by creating posters.  For this music appreciation lesson, students research Duke Ellington and complete worksheets based on his style of music, Jazz.  Learners collaborate...

Students explore the history of swing music. For this music history lesson, students research the Dorsey Brothers, Billy Eckstine, and William Strayhorn to learn about swing music. Students define swing, develop a timeline of events in...

Students listen to, analyze, and describe music. They explain relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.

For this everyday editing worksheet, students correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about Duke Ellington. The errors range from capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and grammar.

Looking for a project list to conclude a study of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? The six suggestions included in the menu (a song, thematic box, CD case, book jacket, blog, scene) could be assigned to individuals or groups....

In this things people couldn't do worksheet, students read context clues about famous people to determine which words in a word blank complete sentences. Students choose four answers to fill in the blanks.

In this vocabulary meanings worksheet, students demonstrate comprehension of vocabulary from a word bank by logically filling in the blanks to complete sentences. Students choose ten multiple choice answers.

Students create and perform Corridos which are oral tradition ballads. In this Passing Down Family History Through Oral Tradition lesson, students interview family members using a predetermined list of questions. In addition, students...

In this completing the sentences worksheet, students use the words in the word pool and context clues to fill in the blank spaces. Students write 10 answers.

In this reading worksheet, students read each line and at the end of the line they write "correct" if the line is correct and if there is a word that should not be there, they write that word. Students complete this for 15 lines and then...

Students discover how storytelling can shape a person's tradition.Students examine different methods of storytelling such as music, biographies, and African folktales. They then demonstrate their knowledge of storytelling by writing...

In this expressing ability worksheet, learners read 4 short passages about famous people who had something specific that they couldn't do. Students choose a word from the word bank and fill in the blank to complete the sentence that...

Learners 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.