Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs: Jazz Is About Freedom

For Teachers 9th - 10th
One of the objectives in this lesson plan focus on how jazz contributed to the political awareness of the American public concerning lynching. Using Billie Holiday's anti-lynching song Strange Fruit, young scholars will learn about...
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Jazz and Ww Ii: A Rally to Resistance, a Catalyst for Victory

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Lesson plan that teaches the roles that jazz music and jazz musicians played in the war effort and that demonstrates the effect that the war had on jazz in America.
Website
Other

Oculus Magazine: Early Jazz

For Students 9th - 10th
Written for an audience accustomed to rock, this is a good history of Jazz, from the late 1800's, when the form supposedly took shape, to recommended recordings and books.
Website
Library of Congress

Loc: Photographs From the Age of Jazz

For Students 9th - 10th
This William P. Gottlieb Collection from the Library of Congress contains over 1600 photographs of celebrated jazz artists and documents the jazz scene from 1938 to 1948.
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: A Brief History of Jazz!

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A lesson plan that helps learners explore the roots of jazz music and some of the important jazz musicians in history.
Article
Scott Alexander

Red Hot Jazz: Louis Armstrong Orchestra

For Students 9th - 10th
Includes brief history of Louis Armstrong and his orchestra, a photo, and a complete discography list.
Handout
PBS

Pbs: Biography of Dizzy Gillespie

For Students 9th - 10th
This PBS biography about trumpeter and jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie includes photos, multiple audio features, and links within the text to other famous musicians.
Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center: Musical Harlem

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
The Kennedy Center's ArtsEdge offers a great unit for introducing jazz to young scholars. Its use of Harlem as the "glue" which binds together elements such as jazz history and jazz terminology, makes it particularly effective for the...
Website
Curated OER

National Park Service: Jazz Origins in New Orleans Pre 1895

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the origins of jazz music as it began in New Orleans before 1895. With its unique history and culture, New Orleans provided many opportunities for the development of jazz to thrive and grow.
Website
Curated OER

National Park Service: Jazz Origins in New Orleans: 1895 1927

For Students 9th - 10th
Dive into the rich history of jazz as it progressed in New Orleans. Focusing on the time from 1895 to 1927, this site highlights key musicians and influences that helped shape this American artform.
Article
Read Works

Read Works: Passages:"new Orleans and the History of Jazz "By Loren Schoenberg

For Students 11th - 12th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] This article "New Orleans and the History of Jazz "by LorenSchoenberg focuses on the beginnings of New Orleans and its history of Jazz. A comprehension question set follows the passage. 11-12.3 Text...
Website
PBS

Pbs: Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns

For Students 9th - 10th
The companion website for a documentary film about jazz is home to a storehouse of resources and unique features about the historical, cultural, and artistic significance of jazz. With a timeline of key events in the history of jazz,...
Activity
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Smithsonian Jazz: Duke's Music Class

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about jazz from the master, Duke Ellington. Three activities explore his role as jazz composer, orchestra leader, and pianist.
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.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs: Jazz Music and the Crisis Over School Desegregation

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Working in cooperative groups, your young scholars will learn how jazz musicians expressed the Civil Rights era in their music. This lesson focuses on the Civil Rights movement in Little Rock, Arkansas. Also, they will learn to about the...
eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: The Jazz Age: Redefining the Nation 1919 1929: A New Generation

For Students 11th - 12th
Looks at the new morality that emerged in the 1920s. It changed the role of women and the perception of African Americans, the latter facilitated by the Harlem Renaissance and its impact on the music and dance of the Jazz Age. Also...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs: Jazz Is About Collaboration: Jim Crow Laws: Segregation

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Engage your students in discussion about segregation and the Jim Crow laws with this in-depth lesson plan. Using jazz music, you will contrast the ways in which America's most significant contribution to the arts depended on...
Article
Other

Acid Jazz: But Is It Jazz?

For Students 9th - 10th
A lengthy article discussing the validity of Acid Jazz as a genre.
Website
Other

Oculus Magazine: Free Jazz

For Students 9th - 10th
A short description of the free jazz movement, and a timeline of important movements in jazz.
Website
Other

All About Jazz: Where to Begin?

For Students 9th - 10th
A guide to help a newcomer to jazz become familiar with the genre.
Website
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Comission

Explore Pa History: Jazz in Pennsylvania

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore the history and influences of jazz in the state of Pennsylvania. Resource includes links to audio clips and video from artists, and stories of jazz from around the state.
Handout
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Comission

Explore Pa History: Dorsey Brothers

For Students 9th - 10th
A succinct biographical sketch that examines contributions to the jazz and swing eras by noted musicians, band leaders, and Pennsylvania natives, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey.
Handout
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Comission

Explore Pa History: Billy Eckstine

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn of the historical contributions of jazz musician, band leader, and Pennsylvania native, Billy Eckstine in this succinct biography.
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...

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