Stand Up and Sing

Examine three speeches while teaching Aristotle's appeals. Over the course of three days, class members fill out a graphic organizer about ethos, pathos, and logos, complete an anticipatory guide, read speeches by Martin Luther King Jr.,...

Was the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II constitutional? Who was more American: Japanese-Americans who dissented against the internment or those who supported the war effort? Class members do a close reading of...

After reading a series of primary source documents detailing the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, class members craft newspaper columns assessing the strengths and weaknesses of each man's vision, and present their...

How does one become a catalyst for change? What are the challenges faced by those who take a stand for change? What part do the arts play in cultural change? Using primary and secondary sources from the 1920s and 1930s, class members...

After reading excerpts from Frederick Douglass' autobiography, your pupils will draw on what they've learned about the cruelty of slavery in order to write and present an anti-slavery speech or editorial.

America was founded by dreamers, and the American dream still resonates in our country today. Track the American dream from its Puritan beginnings to its optimistic descendants with a instructional activity that focuses on speeches by...

Students examine events of historical significance in music. In groups, they are given pieces of sheet music and work together to try to determine the social and political conditions of the time based on the lyrics. They write their own...

Students journal and respond to the question," How does society respond to change?" They create original lyrics to their own song that reflects the context of the Progressive Era.

Students explore basic human rights as they explore music by black artists. In this human rights lesson, students examine music as a cultural reflection of the justice issues. Students analyze Jamaican roots reggae of the 70s, American...

Students examine pieces of sheet music and identify context, purpose, and perspective with regard to the political, social, and economic conditions existing at that time. They create a cover illustrating a topic of the Progressive Era.