VH1 Road to Fame: Harry Connick Jr.

What gives New Orleans its special character? Its flavor? Its texture? Its sound? Is it the beignets and chicory coffee at Cafe Du Monde on Decatur Street in the French Quarter, or the mansions in the Garden District? Is it the Shotgun...

Ninth graders participate in a discussion about the migration out of the Atlantic region in Canada. With a partner, they interview those who have left the area and identify the pros and cons of starting over in a new place. ...

Students sing songs by Harry Connick Jr. and then learn different musical terms.

Young scholars are divided into groups of employees of a jazz radio station and a classical radio station. They role play their own broadcasts.

Students sing a vocal improvisation on a 12-bar blues progression. After watching a video on Harry Connick Jr., students try their own scat singing on the two-measure break.

Students examine musicians of the past and examine their music.

Henry David Thoreau and Linda Ronstadt? Ann Tyler and Pete Townshend? Joyce Carol Oates and Pearl Jam? This richly detailed plan pairs classic literature with contemporary music and asks learners to analyze how the theme of conformity is...

Students, through class discussion, identify the characteristics of musicians and their music that help make them successful. Josh Groban is used as an example. They list positive adjectives to describe themselves and then their peers.

Upper graders listen to and watch a documentary about an all female group Antigone Rising. They discuss how females are portrayed in the rock world, the type of music they play, their song lyrics, and what they note in the documentary....

Elizabeth Peyton is an artist who creates images of people (often famous) that she doesn't personally know. These images become part of her imagined community. Learners analyze her work, her community of imagined friends, and then create...