lesson:
Rock and Roll and the American Dream
Grades:
High
Subjects:
ELA, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
What is the American Dream and how did Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash personify its ideals?
lesson:
“Hound Dog” and 1950 Race Relations
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
General Music
Activities:
Maps, Musical Analysis
How does the story of “Hound Dog” demonstrate music culture’s racial mixing as it differed from mainstream American life in the 1950s?
lesson:
The Memphis Sound and Racial Integration
Grades:
High
Subjects:
ELA, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Gallery Walk, Maps, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How has Memphis music culture provided one example of art’s capacity to challenge the racial boundaries that have so often structured American life?
lesson:
Producing the Sounds of a Changing South
Grades:
High
Subjects:
General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Gallery Walk, Textual Analysis
How did the recordings Sam Phillips produced at Sun Records, including Elvis Presley’s early work, reflect trends of urbanization and integration in the 1950s American South?
lesson:
Gospel Music and the Birth of Soul
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Textual Analysis
How did Gospel influence American popular music?
lesson:
The Rise of the Electric Guitar
Grades:
High
Subjects:
General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Four Corners, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis, Visual Design
What factors led to the rise of the electric guitar as the dominant symbol of Rock and Roll?
lesson:
Fear of the American Teenager
Grades:
High
Subjects:
ELA, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Role Playing, Structured Academic Controversy, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
What made the teenager a source of anxiety during the 1950s?
lesson:
Considering the Future of Rock and Roll
Grades:
High
Subjects:
ELA, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Role Playing, Textual Analysis
How is Rock and Roll's power, at least in part, a result of its being born on the margins of society?
lesson:
Rock and Roll Goes to the Movies
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Station Activities, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How did movies help to introduce Rock and Roll culture to mainstream audiences in the 1950s?
lesson:
The Beatles and Teen Culture
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How did the Beatles’ image as a “rock band” affect young people in America?
lesson:
Dion and the Teen Idols
Grades:
High
Subjects:
ELA, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Role Playing, Visual Analysis
What role did the so-called "teen idols" of the late 1950s play in bringing Rock and Roll into mainstream American culture?
lesson:
The Black Origins of Punk
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
ELA, General Music
Activities:
Creative Writing, Station Activities
How did the bands X-Ray Spex, Bad Brains, and Death define Punk on their own terms?
lesson:
The Emergence of Folk Rock
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Musical Analysis
What is Folk music? To what extent did Folk Rock sustain the spirit of Folk music?
lesson:
The Roots of Country Rock
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
General Music
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Textual Analysis
How did Country Music influence Rock and Roll and the musicians who made it?
lesson:
Ritchie Valens
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
General Music
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Role Playing
How did Ritchie Valens meld traditional Mexican music and Rock and Roll?
lesson:
Liverpool: The Birthplace of the Beatles
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Maps, Station Activities, Textual Analysis
How did growing up in post-WWII Liverpool influence the Beatles?
lesson:
Punk as Reaction
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Art/Design, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Role Playing, Station Activities, Visual Analysis, Visual Design
How was Punk Rock a reaction both to the commercialization of Rock and Roll and to the social climate in late 1970s Britain?
lesson:
Dancing the Twist on Television
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Role Playing, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How did teen dance shows and the Twist influence American culture?
lesson:
World War II and the Shrinking of the Ensemble
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Role Playing, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How did wartime restrictions and other factors cause popular music ensembles to shrink in size during the 1940s, helping to set the stage for the small “combos” of Rock and Roll?
lesson:
How to Study Rock and Roll
Grades:
All Ages, AP/Honors/101, Elementary, High, Middle
Subjects:
ELA, General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Textual Analysis, Timeline, Visual Analysis
How can teachers help students analyze and understand Rock and Roll?
lesson:
Beatlemania
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Four Corners, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
What were the factors that contributed to the rise of Beatlemania?
lesson:
The Influence of Rhythm and Blues
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Textual Analysis
What did R&B bring to early Rock and Roll, and how was early Rock and Roll different?
lesson:
Introducing New Wave
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
General Music
Activities:
Musical Analysis
What did Punk Rock provide that opened the door for New Wave acts? And what are some among the defining attributes of New Wave?
lesson:
Bo Diddley: The Grandfather of Hip Hop?
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Textual Analysis
How were Bo Diddley’s recordings an anomaly in relation to 1950s Pop music, and how is his rhythm-driven sound and self-presentation a precursor to Hip Hop style?
lesson:
“Blowin’ in the Wind” as a Rallying Cry
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
ELA, General Music
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Textual Analysis, Timeline
How does the song “Blowin’ in the Wind” use poetic devices to communicate an open-ended yet powerful message about the human condition, without ever losing its historical specificity?
lesson:
The Beat as an Object of Celebration and Concern in Segregation-Era America
Grades:
High
Subjects:
General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Structured Academic Controversy, Textual Analysis
How has “the beat” been an object of both celebration and concern in the history of popular music?
lesson:
The Beatles Work Towards Success
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Math, Social Studies/History, STEAM
Activities:
Equations and Calculations, Maps, Textual Analysis, Timeline, Visual Analysis
How did The Beatles' rigorous work schedule during the years 1960-63 build their strengths as performers, as musicians, and as a band?
lesson:
The Indigenous Roots of Rock and Roll
Grades:
AP/Honors/101, High
Subjects:
ELA, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Document-Based Questions, Interactive Tech Tools, Role Playing, Station Activities, Textual Analysis
What does Link Wray’s biography say about how Native Americans lived in the first half of the 20th century, and what role did Wray’s upbringing have on his music?
lesson:
Ritchie Valens (Elementary School Version)
Grades:
Elementary
Subjects:
General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Personal Reflection, Textual Analysis
How did Ritchie Valens meld traditional Mexican music and Rock and Roll?
