Curated OER
Jazz in America
Students explore Bebop in America by listening to music and answering questions.
Curated OER
Jews and Blues
Students examine how American Jews affect music and entertainment. They identify problems between immigrants and their children. They relate the Jewish American issue to those of African Americans.
Curated OER
Bessie Smith
For this jazz history worksheet, students respond to 7 essay and short answer questions about the life and accomplishments of Bessie Smith.
Curated OER
Ella Fitzgerald: Something to Live For
Students examine the basic characteristics of jazz, and its relationship to African-American culture and history. They listen to examples of jazz, conduct research, and create a 20th century timeline of music and historical events.
Curated OER
Visualizing Jazz Scenes From the Harlem Renaissance
Students identify themes of selected nonfiction, fiction, poetry and art to Harlem Renaissance jazz and describe the impact of jazz on African-American literature of the Harlem Renaissance
Curated OER
Black American Musicans: Precursors of Jazz
Young scholars trace the course of Black music from the 1900's to the beginning of the jazz age. They realize that when education is defined as enlightened training for a place in society and for individual personal development, it was...
Curated OER
Musical Roles
Students watch a videotape on the musical career of Aretha Franklin and explore the different careers in the music industry.
Curated OER
African Americans Seen Through the Eyes of the Newsreel Cameraman
Fifth graders learn about this history of jazz music. In this musical influences lesson, 5th graders read God Bless the Childand listen to a recording of it. Students create a KWL chart on jazz and early 1900s music and dance. Students...
Curated OER
VH1 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll Lesson 3
Young scholars examine female artists who perform in the genres of rhythm & blues, jazz, soul, and hip-hop/rap. They compose lyrics and melody in one of these genres.
Curated OER
Harlem Renaissance
Students investigate the African American culture in the 1920's and the Harlem Renaissance. They read and analyze poems written by poets of the Harlem Renaissance, listen to jazz music and identify the characteristics of the music, and...
Curated OER
A Jazz Talk Show
Students analyze and describe music while connecting it to history and culture. They gain experience in theatre arts skills and writing. They use the Internet to do research in order to find out the most about this subject.
Penguin Books
Up Close: Ella Fitzgerald
A reading of Tanya Lee Stones' biography of Ella Fitzgerald lets middle schoolers get up close and personal with the First Lady of Jazz. Stone recounts details of Fitzgerald's life from her early days through her experiences as a teenage...
Library of Congress
The Harlem Renaissance
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...
Curated OER
Harlem Renaissance and Toni Morrison's Jazz
Young scholars study the historical time of the Harlem Renaissance, including key events and figures. They read literature that weaves fiction and history and survey some of the references to the Harlem Renaissance in the novel, Jazz, by...
Curated OER
Listen Up! Swinging with some Big Band Music
Students read about the music and life of Glenn Miller. They listen to Miller's "Jeep Jockey Jump" and analyze the piece for instrumentation, formal structure and stylistic characteristics.
Curated OER
Behind the Music 2000
Students discuss copyright issues and how technological advancements have affected music.
Curated OER
Jazz: An Expression of Cooperation - Lesson 3
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.
Curated OER
Jazz: An Expression of Democracy
Students watch a video segment about the distinguishing characteristics of jazz. They describe those characteristics and the relation between the culture of jazz and democracy. They improvise simple rhythms and melodies.
Curated OER
Women in Jazz
Students watch a video: "VH1 Millennium Jazz Festival From The White House" to become familiar with prominent women in jazz. They discuss the vocally oriented nature of jazz and the contributions made by women on and off stage.
Look! We're Learning!
Ella Fitzgerald Biography Mini-Unit
Before there was Beyonce, before there was Madonna, before there was Cher, there was Ella. Introduce Ella Fitzgerald, The First Lady of Jazz, with a reading comprehension exercise that presents a brief biography of her life and then asks...
PBS
The Harlem Renaissance
A reading of Walter Dean Myers' "Harlem" sets the stage for studying the literature, art, and music of the Harlem Renaissance. The lesson begins with a review of the social, political, and economic conditions of the 1920s and 1930s that...
Curated OER
The Prairie Dog That Met the President
Students study the history of jazz music. They listen to various examples of jazz music and complete a worksheet in which they must identify the individual instruments they hear and identify characteristics of the genre of jazz music.
Curated OER
Ella Fitzgerald
Students examine the life and music of Ella Fitzgerald. They participate in a matching game, explore an Internet website, and write in response to Ella Fitzgerald's music.
SoundTree
When The Saints Go Marching In: A Lesson for Middle School Keyboard Lab Students
After listening to a variety of interpretations of "When the Saints Go Marching In," partners compose and then perform their own renditions of this classic before joining a full-class jam session.