Lesson Planet
Search educational resources
  • Sign In Try It Free
  • AI Teacher Tools
    • Discover Resources Search reviewed educational resources by keyword, subject, grade, type, and more
    • Curriculum Manager (My Content) Manage saved and uploaded resources and folders To Access the Curriculum Manager Sign In or Join Now
    • Browse Resource Directory Browse educational resources by subject and topic
    • Curriculum Calendar Explore curriculum resources by date
    • Lesson Planning Articles Timely and inspiring teaching ideas that you can apply in your classroom
    • Our Story
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Testimonials
    • Contact Us
  • Pricing
  • School Access
    • Your school or district can sign up for Lesson Planet — with no cost to teachers
      Learn More
  • Sign In
  • Try It Free

Hi, what do you want to do?

Create a lesson plan
Create a lesson plan
Generate resources with 80+ AI teacher tools
Generate resources with 80+ AI teacher tools
Search 200,000 instructional videos
Search 200,000 instructional videos
Find a teaching resource
Find a teaching resource
Pbs: American Roots Music WebsitePbs: American Roots Music Website
Publisher
PBS
Resource Details
Curator Rating
Educator Rating
Not yet Rated
Grade
9th - 10th
Subjects
Visual & Performing Arts
2 more...
Resource Type
Websites
Audiences
For Administrator Use
2 more...
Lexile Measures
0L
Website

Pbs: American Roots Music

Curated by ACT

If teaching a unit about the history of popular music in America, this PBS web site supporting their four-part TV broadcast of a few years ago would make a great resource. Includes lesson plans and oral histories too.

3 Views 0 Downloads

Concepts

civil rights, country music, folk music, louisiana, bob dylan, elvis presley, native american music

Additional Tags

american popular music, bluegrass, bluegrass music, cajun, cajun music, cowboy music, ethnic music, gospel music, hillbilly, history of music, history of popular music, honky tonk, music and history, musical genre style, pbs, protest music, social causes, social studies connections, tejano, zydeco, african-american music, alan lomax, american folk music, american roots music, arlo guthrie, b.b. king, bela fleck, bill monroe, bonnie raitt, buddy guy, carter family, earl skruggs, fisk jubilee singers, flaco jimenez, grand ole opry, hank williams, james cotton, jimmie rodgers, lead belly, mahalia jackson, memphis, merle haggard, mewport folk festival, pete seeger, willie nelson, woody guthrie, anti war music, music genres

Classroom Considerations

  • Knovation Readability Score: 5 (1 low difficulty, 5 high difficulty)
  • This resource is only available on an unencrypted HTTP website.It should be fine for general use, but don’t use it to share any personally identifiable information

See similar resources:

Lesson Plan

The Roots of Prohibition: Examining the Effort to Prohibit Alcohol in America

Curated OER
Five segements from Ken Burns' documentary series Prohibition, easily accessed on the PBS website, are at the center of a terrific short unit on the roots of America's ambivalent relationship with alcohol. Engage your secondary...
9th - 12th Career & Technical Education
PPT

Popular Music of Brazil: Samba

Curated OER
Samba music is a musical mixture of both African and Brazilian sounds and rhythms. Explore this art form with your class using this easy-to-follow slide show. They'll learn about Samba's roots, beats, characteristics, instruments, and...
9th - 10th Visual & Performing Arts
Article

Pbs: American Roots Music: Historical Background

PBS
What is American roots music? The term "American roots music" may not be a familiar one, and requires some explanation. At the beginning of the 20th Century, the term "folk music" was used by scholars to describe music made by whites of...
9th - 10th Visual & Performing Arts
Lesson Plan

Pbs: American Roots Music: Lesson Three: Gospel Music Meets a Wide Audience

PBS
The third lesson deals with the emergence of gospel as a form of popular music among a general public. Gospel is a musical genre with roots in the African American church, particularly in the South. Between the 1940s and the 1960s,...
9th - 10th Visual & Performing Arts
Lesson Plan

Pbs: American Roots Music: Lesson One: Finding the Story in the Song

PBS
In this instructional activity, students will identify and discuss themes expressed in song lyrics, analyze the social use and historical meaning of a song, and write a verse of a song drawing on contemporary events.
9th - 10th Visual & Performing Arts
Handout

Pbs: American Experience: The Carter Family: Will the Circle Be Unbroken

PBS
From the American Experience series on PBS, this is "The Carter Family: Will the Circle Be Unbroken", a comprehensive multi-media look at the early American popular country music group.
9th - 10th Visual & Performing Arts
Lesson Plan

Country's Music

Curated OER
Jazz, Blue Grass, Hip Hop, Swing. Gospel, R&B, Ragtime, Disco. So many music genres born in the USA. After reading an article about the fate of New Orlean's Jazz after Hurricane Katrina, class members investigate the life cycles of...
6th - 12th Social Studies & History
CCSS: Adaptable
Lesson Plan

Pbs: The Blues Classroom

PBS
Access the educational resources developed by a Seattle-based museum to supplement the PBS documentary series "The Blues." Includes background essays on the blues; biographies, video clips, and sound clips from the series; a blues...
9th - 10th Visual & Performing Arts
Handout

Pbs American Masters: Muddy Waters

PBS
Take a look into the life of blues artist Muddy Waters (1913-1983 CE). With an informative biography and an interactive career timeline, you will enjoy learning about this music legend.
9th - 10th Visual & Performing Arts
Website

Loc: Dolly Parton and the Roots of Country Music

Library of Congress
Explore the roots of country music through a timeline of Parton's life and a timeline of country music. Excellent information on Appalachian and Bluegrass music is also provided.
9th - 10th Visual & Performing Arts
Try It Free
© 1999-2026 Learning Explorer, Inc.
Teacher Lesson Plans, Worksheets and Resources

Sign up for the Lesson Planet Monthly Newsletter

Open Educational Resources (OER)

  • Health
  • Language Arts
  • Languages
  • Math
  • Physical Education
  • Science
  • Social Studies
  • Special Education
  • Visual and Performing Arts
View All Lesson Plans

Discover Resources

  • Our Review Process
  • How it Works
  • How to Search
  • Create a Collection

Manage Curriculum

  • Edit a Collection
  • Assign to Students
  • Manage My Content
Contact Us Site Map Privacy Policy Terms of Use