Search results

A renaissance of jazz and poetry

The Harlem Renaissance was the birth of a creative plethora in all fields of art for African Americans. The poetry and jazz composed during or inspired by this era naturally complemented each other. Furthermore, many of the themes from the musical and literary worlds are universal and provide a great lesson on how two different works can have a parallel theme.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8–12 English Language Arts and Music Education)

By Janet Fore.

The second grade world of Louis Armstrong

Second grade students will explore the music of Louis Armstrong via booktalks, compact disc recordings, digital video disc recordings, and may pursue internet web-questing through Marco Polo (http://www.marcopolo-education.org) and http://www.redhotjazz.com as a bonus!

Format: lesson plan (grade 2 Music Education)

By Dirk Robertson.

Wet your kinders' chops on the sound "op"!

Students will explore the sound “Op” with a reading of Charlie Parker Played Be-Bop by Chris Raschka and a showing of the PBS Between the Lions episode #130 “Be Bop,” which also features the Charlie Parker book and explores the “op” sound.

Format: lesson plan (grade K English Language Arts)

By Dirk Robertson.

Dance of the times: African-American expression of jazz

Explores jazz dance as a social dance form and a uniquely expressive art of African-American culture from the 1920's and 1930's. Students will learn about the complexity of African-American experiences that generated the dance and musical style. The activities develop students' understanding of jazz dance while integrating visual, audio, and kinesthetic learning styles.

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Dance Arts Education)

By Shelese Douglas.

Jazzy sentences

This is an interesting activity to help students jazz up or make their sentences more interesting by adding adjectives, adverbs, more vibrant verbs, and descriptive nouns.

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 English Language Arts)

By Helen Potts.

Feel in the blanks

The following lesson is designed to function as a review of beginning, middle, and end and an introduction to individualized imagination, creativity, and perspective as it relates to the development of dialogue (i.e. improvisation).

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)

By Lei Knight.

Call and response singing

This lesson is a study of call and response singing, especially as it relates to African-American spirituals.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Music Education)

By Melody Moore.

African American history

A guide to lesson plans, articles, and websites to help bring African American history alive in your classroom.

Format: bibliography/help

Romeo and Juliet: The Balcony Scene (Act 2, Scene 2)

O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Lesson will help struggling readers to comprehend figurative language and overall meaning in the famous balcony scene. It will also compare text to two media depictions. This lesson has been created with exceptional children and limited English proficient (novice low) students in mind.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts and English Language Development)

By Elizabeth Mackie and Vicki Moats.

Collection Connections

In American Memory: North Carolina educator's guide, page 7

In this installment of the American Memory Guide, learn to find teaching resources associated with the Library of Congress's primary source collections.

Format: article

By Melissa Thibault.

Holding a poetry slam

Introducing students to “the competitive art of performance poetry” builds enthusiasm for literature among even reluctant readers. This article explains how a high school in Cleveland County, North Carolina, held its first poetry slam.

By Nancy Blalock.

The George Moses Horton Project: Celebrating a triumph of literacy

The only American poet to publish books of poems while living in slavery, George Moses Horton is an inspiration for the power of literacy in our lives.

By Marjorie Hudson.

From documents to digitization

To design a research project using primary sources from the Web, you'll need to know what's out there and how to find it. This article explains what's available, why, and where.

Format: article

By David Walbert.

Hidden stories: A three-part lesson in African American history, research, and children’s literature

In this high school lesson plan, students will create a timeline of African American history, review a work of children's literature, and then create their own works of children's literature drawing on a primary source document pertaining to the life of an ordinary African American.

Format: lesson plan (grade 11–12 English Language Arts)

By Edie McDowell.

Resources on the web

America's Jazz Heritage

Audio and video documenting the history of American jazz. (Learn more)

Format: website/general

Provided by: Smithsonian Institution

Jazz in America - The National Jazz Curriculum

Lesson plans, a comprehensive jazz resource library, a teacher’s manual, assessments and more can be found on this site that celebrates the rich heritage of jazz. (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz

Jazz

Using audio, video, and interactive features to highlight the history, the influences, the people, and the places that brought one of America's greatest cultural achievements to fruition. (Learn more)

Format: website/activity

Provided by: PBS

Jazz Greats Digital Exhibits

Read biographies, explore the library's collections, and listen to recordings of musical works of the great jazz musicians: Count Basie, Fats Waller, Mary Lou Williams, and Benny Carter. (Learn more)

Format: website/general

Provided by: Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers Univ ersity Libraries

William P. Gottlieb, Photographs from the Golden Age of Jazz

This online collection presents William Gottlieb's photographs, annotated contact prints, selected published prints, and related articles on the jazz legends of the 1930s and 1940s. (Learn more)

Format: website/general

Provided by: Library of Congress

Ellington, music, and color

This series of lessons encourages students to explore the work of Duke Ellington, the composer whose name is synonymous with Swing, Jazz, and the Big Band Sound. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Music Education)

Provided by: The Kennedy Center-ArtsEdge