West Side Story and Romeo & Juliet—two classics in their own rights that help young literature lovers better analyze different works. Learners research and compare the characters and story elements of West Side Story and Romeo...

High schoolers will learn to appreciate the civil rights movement with a focus on Little Rock, Arkansas. They will also acknowledge Louis Armstrong's unparalleled contributions to American music.

Students survey bebop, cool jazz, and hard bop. They explore how bebop, cool jazz, and hard bop reflected American culture and society in the 1940s and 1950s.

Learners encounter how to work together as a group to accomplish a common goal. They gain more experience in doing research using library reference materials as well as internet sources. Each group is responsible for making a bulletin...

Students identify general business terms such as entrepreneur, corporation, marketing, demographic, promotion and distribution. They identify many Black music industry leaders and their contributions.

Fifth graders explore cool jazz and how it reflected American culture in the 1940's and 1950's.

For many people, Barack Obama's presidency was the next step in Martin Luther King, Jr's dream of America's future. Explore the dreams of Americans past and present, as well as the young Americans in your class, with a set of activities...

Students complete an Individual Artist Information Sheet on famous 1950's Rock and Roll musician. They read one of the chapeters on "Elvis Pressley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Rockabilly, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Everly Brothers, or...

In this English folk music worksheet, students read an article pertaining to the history of folk music in England from the times of the Industrial Revolution until the 1970s.

Students explore Stephen Sondheim's contributions to musical theatre in the context of the dramatic cultural shift that occurred in American life in the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

Learners watch a segment of the PBS Ken Burns JAZZ documentary about Buddy Bolden creating the "Big Four." They compare and contrast the rhythms of marches and jazz based on the examples in the film, and explore notation, subdivision of...

Students discuss the effect music videos have had on the role of the music. They examine how developments in technology have effected the music industry.

J-Peezy to hang? Would John Proctor by any other name be as brave? High school scholars update scenes from Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” and perform them before the class. After viewing and enjoying the modern trappings of their scenes,...

Students examine how pop art compliments music. In this arts lesson, students explore the elements of pop art and replicate those elements in their own piece of art.

Students follow resource links to study the history of art censorship in the US. They study the work of the FCC and the Hip-Hop 4 Peace campaign.

Students explore history of technological advances in making, recording, and listening to music that have intrigued and inspired musicians and scientists for decades.

Students analyze art and decide if the images are an attempt to celebrate or criticize American Popular Culture of the fifties and sixties and discuss how successful "Pop Art" mirrored society. Students also discuss the difference...

In this English folk music worksheet, 8th graders read about the characteristics, instruments, and purpose of traditional music. They read about the history of folk music and contemporary uses of this type of music. They answer 10 short...

Students listen to the Louis Armstrong song, "What Did I Do to Be So Black and Blue?" and consider it as a protest song. They write in their journals about Armstrong, his music, and civil rights.

Students explore fashion through the 20th Century. They create a poster about their assigned era. Students teach their classmates about the fashion of the assigned period. They describe the fashion trends, current events, popular music...

Learners analyze the impact of American Bandstand on race relations. In this race relations instructional activity, students use the music and dance show American Bandstand to learn about race relations. Learners categorize pivotal...

Students study African history, anthropology and culture using the lens of the art object, Ntan Drum. Lesson and instruction is differentiated for elementary, middle and high school students.

In this music history worksheet, students discover the musical "West Side Story" by first reading a summary of the plot. Students answer 5 questions about the story line. Students then read and analyze the lyrics to "America" and discuss...

Students use the internet to research the origins of rock and roll. In groups, they gather information on Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, his life and music. They work together to create a video on the 1950s and Elvis.