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Hank Williams: My Inspiration
Students research Hank Williams and explore his life and career. In this Hank Williams activity, students complete Internet research, listen to example songs, and watch a movie all to analyze Hank Williams. The ultimate goal is to decide...
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25 Greatest Protest Songs - Lesson 3
Students analyze the lyrics of protest songs as a catalyst for social change. They discuss the influence of music on behavior and explain the use of music as a means of self-expression.
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Storytellers: The Dixie Chicks
Students explore an important moment in the course of American History through critical listening. Students analyze the lyrics of one work by the Dixie Chicks. Students have a better understanding of the way music can mirror social...
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Guantanamera: A Poem and a Song
Students compare revolutionary actions of Jose Marti and Pete Seeger. In this Cuban folk song lesson, students listen to the song "Guantanamera" and discuss the content. Students read articles on the poet and the songwriter and create a...
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Breaking the Code: Actions and Songs of Protest
Students listen to and discuss the purpose of protest music. They analyze an editorial cartoon related to Jim Crow and read questions from the literacy tests given to African-Americans. They work together to write a song about the...
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Early Industrialization
Eighth graders analyze primary source documents emphasizing young people in factory labor (mill workers during 1840-1860). They study hours of labor, ages of laborers, reasons for working, and working conditions. They write a poem or song.
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Bob Dylan: No Direction Home
Students hold panel discussions on selected topics about the 1960s and their impact on modern-day events. As visual reinforcement, they watch the film about Bob Dylan and research the music of the period as well as his musical...
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I'm British But... 3
Young scholars watch the documentary "I'm British But..." and examine how and why cultures can conflict with each other. They read and discuss the lyrics to the song playing throughout the documentary, answer questions related to the...
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Let Freedom Sing: A patriotic Program for Grades 1-6
Students understand information and stories contained in patriotic songs. In this patriotic music lesson, students participate in grade appropriate lessons to understand the music and lyrics of patriotic songs. Students perform the...
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Civil War
In this Civil War worksheet, students listen to the song "Civil War" and complete 11 sentence completions based upon the information from the lyrics.
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Corrido of the Uprooted Ones
In this primary source analysis learning exercise, students analyze the song "Corrido of the Uprooted Ones." Students respond to 3 short answer questions about the lyrics of the song.
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Using Cross-Genre Comparisons to Find the Message in Hip-Hop
Students analyze two cross -genre songs written in the early 1980s for lyrical content and social commentary. They consider the artistic merit of hip hop music in today's culture.
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Realism in Music, The Underground Railroad
Students complete a unit of 9 lessons to learn about realism in music during the time of the Underground Railroad. In this music realism lesson, students learn about coded lyrics in the slave songs. Students complete 9 lessons using...
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Feminism Does Not Have to be an F-Word
Students analyze social activism messages in music. For this feminism lesson, students explore selected music that expresses sentiments voiced in the women liberation movement in the United States. Students compare the lyrics of the...
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Democracy…Not Yet!
Students analyze the concept of democracy. In this democratic values lesson, students analyze the lyrics of selected popular music that address issues that challenge the role of United States as a world leader. Students create exhibits...
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Know Thyself: Reflections of the Adolescent Identity Crisis in Rock and Roll
Twelfth graders define themselves through music. In this psychology lesson, 12th graders identify James Marcia's 4 states of identity and identify songs that reflect each of the states.
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Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum
Students explore the American dream. In this contemporary music lesson, students analyze the lyrics of songs by Neil Diamond, Bruce Springsteen, and David Massengill. Students create 3-D representations of the American dream and write...
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Duke Ellington and the Rise of Jazz in New York
Students consider how Duke Ellington impacted the rise of jazz music. In this jazz music lesson, students listen to a lecture regarding the life and work of Ellington. Students also watch a video regarding Ellington and discuss music of...
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Hank Williams: Still Singing After All These Years
Students research the life and music of Hank Williams. They take a quiz on country music, watch a video about Hank Williams, research Williams' song lyrics, create a poster and write a bio poem about his life and work.
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Expressions of Anti-Racism through Painting: The Puerto Rican Community from West Side Story to Connecticut
Pupils create a graffiti wall using their own name or personal symbol. They examine their own understanding of the film as a source of inspiration and listen to the music from the soundtrack as an effective motivation. They make...
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Introductory Lesson on Prejudice
Students define prejudice. In this cultural diversity lesson, students analyze the lyrics of "Carefully Taught," from Broadway's South Pacific and then discuss and debate the attributes of prejudice.
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On The Banks
Fourth graders write and perform an original song about Indiana. After learning the lyrics of the song "On the Banks of the Wabash," students write lyrics to their own song about Indiana with assistance from the instructor. They...
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The Cold War in Popular Music
Students analyze pop culture songs to identify cold war themes and chart. They comprehend and explain why the Cold War took place and ended and assess its significance as a 20th century event. Students conduct a song analysis of the...
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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...