lesson:
The Many Roles of a Music Producer
Grades:
High
Subjects:
CTE, General Music
Activities:
Think-Pair-Share, Visual Analysis
What does a music producer do and in what ways does one hear the sound of a producer’s work in recordings?
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:
Learning Rhythm through Gospel
Grades:
Elementary
Subjects:
General Music
Activities:
Performance
How can Gospel music help students identify the musical concepts of beat, meter, backbeat, subdivision, and syncopation?
lesson:
The Evolution of Sound Recording
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
CTE, General Music, STEAM
Activities:
Interactive Tech Tools, Visual Analysis
How did multitrack recording technologies enable musicians to create a form of music that could only be realized in the studio?
lesson:
The Guitar: A Musical Transducer
Grades:
Elementary, Middle
Subjects:
CTE, General Music, STEAM
Activities:
Design and Build, Performance
How can the guitar help us understand the scientific principle of transduction?
lesson:
The Blues and the Great Migration
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History, STEAM
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Document-Based Questions, Maps, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How did the Great Migration spread Southern culture, helping to give the Blues a central place in American popular music?
lesson:
The Impact of the Electric Guitar
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
CTE, General Music, STEAM
Activities:
Gallery Walk, Interactive Tech Tools, Visual Analysis
How did the electrification, amplification and design of the guitar facilitate its emergence as a dominant instrument of popular music?
lesson:
The Science and Civics of the Flint Water Crisis (High School Version)
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History, STEAM
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Design and Build, Maps, Musical Analysis
What is the Flint water crisis, and why did it occur?
lesson:
The Beatles, a New Kind of Star
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Advisory, General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Gallery Walk, Textual Analysis, Timeline, Visual Analysis
How did The Beatles establish a new paradigm for the image of "the star," and how did that image support their global success?
lesson:
Recording and Producing the Voice
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
CTE, General Music, STEAM
Activities:
Interactive Tech Tools, Textual Analysis, Think-Pair-Share
How have singers responded as advances in studio recording techniques have enabled increased technological “perfection”?
lesson:
Sampling: The Foundation of Hip Hop
Grades:
High
Subjects:
CTE, General Music
Activities:
Maps, Musical Analysis, Visual Analysis
How is the re-use and re-purposing of existing music at the heart of the Hip Hop recording experience?
lesson:
The Music of the Civil Rights Movement
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Station Activities, Textual Analysis
How did popular music reflect the values of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and help the movement convey its message?
lesson:
Artists Protest McCarthyism
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Role Playing, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How were musicians and artists affected by McCarthyism in 1950s America?
lesson:
Sun City: A Musical Force Against Apartheid – Part 2
Grades:
High
Activities:
Gallery Walk, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
What was South African apartheid, and how did musicians unite to challenge it?
lesson:
The Beatles Work Towards Success
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
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:
Loudspeakers, PA Systems, and the “Wall of Sound”
Grades:
Elementary, Middle
Subjects:
CTE, General Music, STEAM
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Design and Build, Station Activities
What is a PA system, how does it work, and how were the Grateful Dead pioneers in live sound technology?
lesson:
Leo Fender: An Inventor Who Transformed Popular Music
Grades:
All Ages, Elementary, Middle
Subjects:
CTE, General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Design and Build, Station Activities, Timeline, Visual Design
Who was Leo Fender, what iconic musical instruments did he invent, and how did his inventions transform musical instrument design and popular music?
lesson:
Latin Music in Postwar New York City
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Maps, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How did the growth of New York City’s Latino population in the 1940s and 50s help to increase the popularity of Latin music and dance in American culture?
lesson:
The Banjo, Slavery, and the Abolition Debate
Grades:
AP/Honors/101
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Document-Based Questions, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
What is the relationship between the banjo and slavery, and how did music making by enslaved people influence the abolition debate during the 18th and early 19th century?
lesson:
Multitracking in the Countercultural 1960s
Grades:
High
Subjects:
CTE, General Music, STEAM
Activities:
Interactive Tech Tools, Textual Analysis, Timeline, Visual Analysis
How did The Beatles’ use of cutting edge recording technology and studio techniques both reflect and shape the counterculture of the 1960s?
lesson:
How Dr. King’s Birthday Became A National Holiday
Grades:
Elementary
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Textual Analysis, Timeline, Visual Analysis
How did Dr. King’s Birthday become a national holiday?
lesson:
Folk Music, Rock and Roll Attitude
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
ELA, General Music
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Textual Analysis, Timeline, Visual Analysis
How did Bob Dylan’s early experiences with Folk and Rock and Roll music influence his songwriting?
lesson:
How Records and Radio Shaped American Culture
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
CTE, General Music, STEAM
Activities:
Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How did changes in the technology of record manufacturing effect popular music, radio, and the people who consumed both?
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 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:
Thematic Lesson: Love Songs
Grades:
All Ages, AP/Honors/101, Elementary, High, Middle
Subjects:
ELA, General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Textual Analysis
Why is the Pop song such a common medium for expressing feelings about love, and how do individual songs relate to their historical moments?
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:
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:
The Journey to Marriage Equality in the United States
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Station Activities, Timeline
How did same-sex marriage become legal in the United States?
lesson:
MTV and the Disruption of Gender Norms
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Advisory, General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How did MTV help create a visual space in which artists could, inadvertently or not, challenge established ideas about gender?
lesson:
The Reclamation of the American Cowboy
Grades:
AP/Honors/101, High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Document-Based Questions, Musical Analysis, Station Activities, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How has the image and history of the American cowboy been reclaimed in the 21st Century?
lesson:
DAMN.: The Art and Importance of Storytelling
Grades:
AP/Honors/101, High
Subjects:
Art, ELA, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Gallery Walk, Musical Analysis, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How do Kendrick Lamar’s album DAMN. and the work of photojournalist Gordon Parks tell stories that bring attention to social issues?
lesson:
The Science and Civics of the Flint Water Crisis (Elementary/Middle School School Version)
Grades:
Elementary, Middle
Subjects:
Social Studies/History, STEAM
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Design and Build, Station Activities
What is the Flint water crisis, and why did it occur?
lesson:
Sound Waves, Analog Synthesis and Popular Culture
Grades:
All Ages, AP/Honors/101, Elementary, High, Middle
Subjects:
CTE, General Music, STEAM
Activities:
Interactive Tech Tools, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How did synthesizers allow musicians to create new sounds and how did those sounds reflect American culture throughout the 20th century?
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:
Blues, Poetry, and the Harlem Renaissance
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
ELA
Activities:
Gallery Walk, Textual Analysis
How does Langston Hughes’ Blues-inspired poetry exemplify the ideals of the Harlem Renaissance?
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:
The Cassette Tape Offers New Possibiliies
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
CTE, Social Studies/History, STEAM
Activities:
Role Playing, Visual Analysis
How did the cassette tape change the audience’s experience by allowing the listener to record, compile and disseminate music?
lesson:
The History of Music Videos
Grades:
High
Subjects:
CTE, General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Interactive Tech Tools, Visual Analysis
How has the relation between sound and image shifted through the history of recorded music, and how did the rise of MTV bring that relationship to a culmination of sorts?
lesson:
The Teamwork Behind the Beatles
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
CTE, General Music
Activities:
Role Playing, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How did the input of manager Brian Epstein and record producer George Martin help The Beatles develop and refine skills that aided the band in presenting their music and personalities to a mass audience?
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:
Funk Asserts Itself
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How did 1970s Funk respond to African-American life in the decade following the Civil Rights movement?
lesson:
Muddy Waters, the New Kid in Town
Grades:
Elementary
Subjects:
Advisory, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Maps, Personal Reflection
How did Muddy Waters’ music change after he moved to Chicago, and what does that say about the relationship between place and self-expression?
lesson:
Cleaning up the Plastic Beach (Middle School/High School Version)
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Art, Social Studies/History, STEAM
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Design and Build, Visual Art
How is plastic made, how does it affect our marine environments, and how can plastic waste be eliminated?
lesson:
Deadheads and Reagan’s America in the 1980s
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Document-Based Questions, Maps, Textual Analysis
Who are the Deadheads and how did their lifestyle contrast with the conservative values promoted by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s?
lesson:
Math With The Grateful Dead
Grades:
Elementary
Subjects:
Math
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Equations and Calculations, Visual Art, Visual Design
How can math be used to better understand the Grateful Dead’s success?
lesson:
The Rolling Stones: Giving America Back the Blues
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Role Playing, Textual Analysis, Visual Design
How did the early Rolling Stones help popularize the Blues?
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:
Punk as Reaction
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Art, 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:
“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:
Confronting the Climate Crisis
Grades:
AP/Honors/101, High, Middle
Subjects:
STEAM
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Interactive Tech Tools, Role Playing, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How can society lower the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere?
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:
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:
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:
Designing an Electric Guitar with Shapes
Grades:
Elementary
Subjects:
Art, STEAM
Activities:
Design and Build
How can shapes be used to design an electric guitar?
lesson:
Cleaning up the Plastic Beach (Elementary School Version)
Grades:
Elementary, Middle
Subjects:
STEAM
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Design and Build, Personal Reflection
What is plastic, how is it harmful for the environment, and how can it be used more responsibly?
lesson:
The Impact of 1960s Antiwar Music
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Role Playing, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How did antiwar protest music provide a voice for those opposed to the Vietnam War?
lesson:
Almost Emancipated: The Civil War and the Port Royal Experiment
Grades:
AP/Honors/101
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Document-Based Questions, Gallery Walk, Maps
How does the Union occupation of Port Royal highlight the complex issues behind the Civil War?
lesson:
The Musical Roots of Doo Wop
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
General Music
Activities:
Station Activities
How did Doo Wop develop as a musical genre?
lesson:
Divergent Paths in the 1990s: Gangsta Rap and Conscious Hip Hop
Grades:
High
Subjects:
ELA, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Role Playing, Textual Analysis
How did Gangsta Rap and Conscious Hip Hop respond to the social and political conditions of the 1990s?
lesson:
The Musical History of the Cajuns
Grades:
AP/Honors/101
Subjects:
ELA, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Document-Based Questions, Maps, Musical Analysis, Textual Analysis
How did the Acadians, or Cajuns, use music and dance to maintain their communal bonds after being displaced during the French and Indian War?
lesson:
Soul Music and the New Femininity
Grades:
High
Subjects:
ELA, General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Textual Analysis, Timeline
How did Aretha Franklin represent a new female voice in 1960s popular music?
lesson:
Beat Culture and the Grateful Dead
Grades:
AP/Honors/101, High
Subjects:
ELA
Activities:
Station Activities, Textual Analysis
How did beat writers like Jack Kerouac influence the Grateful Dead’s music?
lesson:
Making Music Videos with a Homemade Projector
Grades:
Elementary, Middle
Subjects:
CTE, STEAM
Activities:
Design and Build, Station Activities
How can one reproduce the effects seen in the music video for Zedd, Maren Morris, and Grey’s song “The Middle” using a homemade projector?
lesson:
The Latin Rhythms of “Despacito”
Grades:
Elementary, Middle
Subjects:
General Music
Activities:
Musical Analysis
What Latin American genres inspired Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s hit song “Despacito”?
lesson:
The Original “Going Viral”
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
CTE, General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Personal Reflection, Visual Analysis
Could a musical group “go viral” before the internet?
lesson:
Rhythm as a Representation of People and Place
How does “the beat” of popular music reflect the histories of multiethnic populations and places?
lesson:
#BlackLivesMatter: Music in a Movement
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How have musicians responded to the Black Lives Matter movement?
lesson:
Debating Dylan’s Nobel Prize
Grades:
AP/Honors/101, High
Subjects:
ELA
Activities:
Structured Academic Controversy, Textual Analysis
What are the arguments for and against Bob Dylan receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature?
lesson:
Sun City: A Musical Force Against Apartheid – Part 1
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Role Playing, Visual Analysis
What was South African apartheid, and how did musicians unite to challenge it?
lesson:
The Historical Roots of Hip Hop
Grades:
High
Subjects:
ELA, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Maps, Timeline, Visual Analysis
What are the historical roots of Hip Hop?
lesson:
Car Culture in Postwar America
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How did car culture intersect with and inspire Rock and Roll?
lesson:
The Beatles and American Segregation
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Textual Analysis
How did the Beatles take a stand against segregation while touring America? And what did it mean for popular music culture?
lesson:
How a Bill Becomes a Law: Legislating the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Document-Based Questions, Timeline
How does a bill become a law in the United States of America?
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:
The Gospel Origins of “Chain of Fools”
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
ELA, General Music
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Maps, Musical Analysis
Essential Question: How did Aretha Franklin’s foundation in Gospel music influence her recording of “Chain of Fools,” helping to establish a Soul sound and bringing black culture into mainstream America?
lesson:
“Seneca Falls, Selma, Stonewall”: The Stonewall Riots in the Fight for Equality
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Textual Analysis, Timeline, Visual Analysis
What were the Stonewall Riots, and what role did they play in ongoing struggles for LGBTQ+ equality in the United States?
lesson:
The Birth of the Microphone
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
CTE, General Music, STEAM
Activities:
Interactive Tech Tools, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How did the development of microphones in the 20th century change the way people make and listen to music?
lesson:
The American Blues in Britain
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
General Music
Activities:
Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
In what ways did American Blues affect English musicians in the early 1960s?
lesson:
Business with the Grateful Dead
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
CTE, General Music
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Creative Writing, Role Playing, Station Activities, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How did the Grateful Dead’s business practices create a dedicated fan culture and ensure the financial success of the group?
lesson:
Math with The Beatles
Grades:
Elementary
Subjects:
Advisory, STEAM
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Design and Build, Equations and Calculations, Maps, Think-Pair-Share, Timeline, Visual Design
How can the Beatles’ growth in popularity be demonstrated with math?
lesson:
The Rise of Disco
Grades:
High
Subjects:
General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Role Playing, Station Activities, Visual Analysis, Visual Design
How did Disco relate to the sentiments and social movements of the 1970s?
lesson:
The Indigenous Roots of Rock and Roll
Grades:
AP/Honors/101, High
Subjects:
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:
The Musical Roots of the Surf Sound (Elementary Version)
Grades:
Elementary
Subjects:
Art, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Station Activities, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis, Visual Art
How does the “Surf Sound” in Rock and Roll reflect early surf culture, and what are the roots of this genre of music?
lesson:
The Leadership Skills of a Music Producer
Grades:
Elementary
Subjects:
Advisory, CTE
Activities:
Performance, Personal Reflection, Role Playing
How do successful music producers practice positive leadership skills?
lesson:
The Teamwork Behind the Beatles (Elementary Version)
Grades:
Elementary
Subjects:
Advisory, CTE
Activities:
Role Playing, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How did the input of manager Brian Epstein and record producer George Martin help The Beatles develop and refine skills that aided the band in presenting their music and personalities to a mass audience?
lesson:
Women’s Perspectives in Country and Tejano Music
Grades:
AP/Honors/101, High
Subjects:
Advisory, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Personal Reflection, Textual Analysis
How did female Country and Tejano artists approach the issues of feminism and Women’s Rights in the late 20th century?
lesson:
The Roots of Progressive Rock
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
General Music
Activities:
Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How did Progressive Rock’s incorporation of classical traditions and countercultural values help to forge a unique Rock genre in the late 1960s?
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:
The Blues: The Sound of Rural Poverty
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Maps, Station Activities, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis, Visual Design
How do the Country Blues reflect the challenges of sharecropping, racial injustice, and rural poverty in early 20th-century African-American life?
lesson:
Greta Thunberg, Music, and the Climate Crisis
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Performance, Role Playing, Textual Analysis
How have musicians helped spread climate activist Greta Thunberg’s message?
lesson:
Distortion: The Sound of Rock and Roll’s Menacing Spirit
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
CTE, General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Interactive Tech Tools, Textual Analysis
What is distortion, and how did it become a desired guitar effect in Rock and Roll?
lesson:
Musical Reactions to the Vietnam War
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Gallery Walk, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How were American’s divisive opinions over the Vietnam War articulated by musicians in the 1960s and early 1970s?
lesson:
Designing Album Covers with Color Theory
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Art, CTE, STEAM
Activities:
Visual Analysis, Visual Design
What is the science behind color theory, and how is it used in fashion and album cover design?
lesson:
Mining and Union Songs in the Early 20th Century
Grades:
AP/Honors/101
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Document-Based Questions, Gallery Walk, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How do Nimrod Workman’s songs and stories about his life as a coal miner illustrate the struggles of working class people during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era?
lesson:
Italian-American Vocalists Before Rock and Roll
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Gallery Walk, Musical Analysis, Station Activities, Visual Analysis
How did the careers of Italian American vocalists in the first half of the 20th century reflect the experiences of Italian American immigrants and attitudes toward them in the wider American culture?
lesson:
Kanye and Katrina: Environmental Racism in New Orleans
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Interview, Maps
What was Hurricane Katrina, and how did black Americans articulate the frustrations they felt in its aftermath?
lesson:
Art, Music, and the AIDS Epidemic
Grades:
AP/Honors/101, High
Subjects:
Advisory, Art, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Document-Based Questions, Gallery Walk, Station Activities, Textual Analysis, Timeline, Visual Analysis, Visual Art
How did the LGTBQ+ community creatively respond to the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and 1990s, and protest government inaction in addressing the epidemic?
lesson:
Female Singer-Songwriters in the Early 1970s
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Station Activities, Textual Analysis
What did the success of the female Singer-Songwriters of the early 1970s reveal about the changing roles of women in the United States?
lesson:
New Perspectives on The Great Gatsby’s Daisy Buchanan
Grades:
High
Subjects:
ELA
Activities:
Textual Analysis
Does Lana Del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful” help humanize Daisy Buchanan of The Great Gatsby?
lesson:
Radio Before Rock and Roll
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Interview, Station Activities, Textual Analysis
How did radio influence American life in the years before the birth of Rock and Roll?
lesson:
Third Wave: Women’s Rights and Music in the 1990s
Grades:
AP/Honors/101, High
Subjects:
General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Document-Based Questions, Station Activities
What was Third Wave Feminism, why did it occur, and how did musicians address some of the movement’s demands?
lesson:
From the Stage to the Studio
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
What caused The Beatles to cease touring in 1966 and how did the innovative music they then created during their subsequent immersion in the recording studio both reflect and influence the world at that time?
lesson:
Jerry Garcia, Addiction, and Intervention
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Advisory
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Personal Reflection, Role Playing, Textual Analysis
How can you help someone struggling with addiction?
lesson:
The Roots of Heavy Metal
Grades:
High
Subjects:
ELA, General Music
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Role Playing, Station Activities, Textual Analysis, Think-Pair-Share
What are the musical and cultural roots of Heavy Metal?
lesson:
Mainstream Metal, Parental Advisories, and Censorship
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
ELA, General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Role Playing, Structured Academic Controversy, Textual Analysis, Think-Pair-Share
How was Heavy Metal involved in the 1980s controversy surrounding the creation of parental advisories for “offensive” music?
lesson:
What Walls Can’t Hold Back: Musical Resistance in Cold War Berlin
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
ELA, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Gallery Walk, Maps, Personal Reflection, Role Playing, Textual Analysis
How did music help people resist what the Berlin Wall symbolized?
lesson:
Negotiating Native Identity through Art and Music
Grades:
AP/Honors/101, High
Subjects:
Advisory, Art, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Gallery Walk, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How have Native American musicians and visual artists negotiated their identity, and what role does physical space play in these negotiations?
lesson:
The Birth of the Electric Guitar
Grades:
All Ages, AP/Honors/101, Elementary, High, Middle
Subjects:
CTE, Social Studies/History, STEAM
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Textual Analysis, Think-Pair-Share
How did the electric guitar transform Blues music from the 1940s forward?
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?
lesson:
Debating the Apollo 11 Moon Landing
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Structured Academic Controversy, Textual Analysis
What was NASA’s Apollo program and why was it controversial?
lesson:
The Rise of the “Girl Groups”
Grades:
High
Subjects:
ELA, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Structured Academic Controversy, Textual Analysis, Think-Pair-Share, Visual Analysis
Were the Girl Groups of the early 1960s voices of female empowerment or reflections of traditional female roles?
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:
Debating Cultural Appropriation
Grades:
AP/Honors/101, High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Station Activities, Structured Academic Controversy, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
What is cultural appropriation, how does it affect Native American communities, and should it be regulated by law?
lesson:
Elvis and Race in 1950s America
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Maps, Musical Analysis, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How did Elvis Presley’s early career reflect race relations and racial tensions in mid-1950s America?
lesson:
Swing Down: Afrofuturism & Flight in the Black Imagination
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Art, ELA, General Music
Activities:
Document-Based Questions, Maps, Musical Analysis, Playlists and Podcasts, Visual Analysis, Visual Art
What is Afrofuturism and what are some of the cultural traditions and historical events that inspired and reinforced it?
lesson:
Supporting Sobriety in a Musical Community
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Advisory, CTE, Social Emotional Learning
Activities:
Creative Writing, Personal Reflection, Textual Analysis, Visual Design
Who are the Wharf Rats, and how do they exemplify the practices of sobriety, peer support, and community building within a musical fan culture?
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:
The Music Behind the Red Power Movement
Grades:
AP/Honors/101, High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Document-Based Questions, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
What was the Red Power movement, and what role did Folk and Country music play within it?
lesson:
Drawing to Music
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Art
Activities:
Visual Analysis, Visual Design
How might visual artists use music as a tool for inspiration, and how might sound be reflected through art?
lesson:
The New York City Underground
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Art, General Music
Activities:
Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis, Visual Design
How did New York bands interact with the city's art scene to create something new?
lesson:
Seventies Soul: The Soundtrack of Turbulent Times
Grades:
High
Subjects:
General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Gallery Walk, Musical Analysis, Textual Analysis, Think-Pair-Share
How did changes in the Soul music of the early 1970s reflect broader shifts in American society during that time?
lesson:
The Ethics of Sampling
Grades:
High
Subjects:
General Music
Activities:
Interactive Tech Tools, Structured Academic Controversy, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
What makes a work of art “original,” and how does the use of “sampling” technology in Hip Hop challenge perceptions of “originality”?
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:
Hometown Documentaries
Grades:
AP/Honors/101, High, Middle
Subjects:
CTE, General Music, Social Studies/History, STEAM
Activities:
Film and Sound Editing, Filming, Interview, Visual Design
How can music help tell the story of your hometown?
lesson:
“Y’all Better Quiet Down”: Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ Pioneers
Grades:
AP/Honors/101, High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Station Activities, Textual Analysis
How did Black and Latinx people in the LGBTQ+ community take initiative in the Stonewall Inn rebellions, Gay Liberation Movement, and in the preservation of LGBTQ+ history?
lesson:
100 Years of Dance
Grades:
Elementary
Subjects:
General Music
Activities:
Performance, Station Activities
Why might people dance, and how have dance trends changed in America since the 1920s?
lesson:
The San Francisco Scene, 1967
Grades:
AP/Honors/101, High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Document-Based Questions, Maps, Role Playing, Textual Analysis
Why did nearly 100,000 young people descend upon San Francisco in 1967 for a “Summer of Love"?
lesson:
Almost Emancipated: Reconstruction
Grades:
AP/Honors/101
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Document-Based Questions, Textual Analysis
What is the significance of Reconstruction and what does it reveal about the freedom that the post-Civil War constitutional amendments secured for African Americans?
lesson:
Everyday Heroes: Beyoncé and United Nations World Humanitarian Day
How might Beyoncé's song “I Was Here” inspire people to serve their community and make a positive impact on the world?
lesson:
Introducing Glam Rock
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
General Music
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Textual Analysis, Think-Pair-Share
How was Glam Rock a reaction to the "seriousness" of popular music at the time?
lesson:
Dan Penn
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
General Music
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Textual Analysis
How did black artists and white songwriters and musicians interact in the Soul era, and what contributed to that interaction?
lesson:
Celebrating Community with Art and Poetry (Elementary School Version)
Grades:
Elementary
Subjects:
Advisory, Art
Activities:
Personal Reflection, Visual Art
What different types of communities exist, and how do the people in our communities impact us?
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:
Celebrating Community with Art and Poetry (High School Version)
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Advisory, ELA
Activities:
Performance, Personal Reflection, Textual Analysis
What different types of communities exist, and how do the people in our communities impact us?
lesson:
Designing a Band Logo
Grades:
Elementary, High, Middle
Subjects:
Art, CTE
Activities:
Gallery Walk, Visual Analysis, Visual Design
What is a logo, what are the elements of effective logo design, and how have musicians and bands used logos to brand themselves?
lesson:
“Twist and Shout” and Post-War Britain
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
General Music
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Role Playing, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
What role did cover songs like “Twist and Shout” play early in the Beatles's career, and how did their experiences growing up in post-WWII Liverpool and performing in Hamburg nightclubs help them to develop as a professional musical ensemble?
lesson:
Chuck Berry
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
General Music
Activities:
Station Activities, Visual Design
Why is Chuck Berry often considered the most important of the early Rock and Rollers?
lesson:
The Sound of Blue Collar Detroit
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Textual Analysis
How did Rock and Roll serve as an expressive tool for the working-class youth of Detroit?
lesson:
The Who’s Generation
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
ELA, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Role Playing, Textual Analysis, Think-Pair-Share, Visual Analysis
How did the Who represent “My Generation” in mid-1960s England?
lesson:
Dylan as Poet
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
ELA
Activities:
Textual Analysis, Think-Pair-Share
How did Bob Dylan merge poetry with popular music?
lesson:
Exploring Shapes in Pablo Picasso’s “Guitar, Sheet Music, and Glass”
Grades:
Elementary
Subjects:
Art
Activities:
Design and Build
What shapes did Pablo Picasso use to create his piece Guitar, Sheet Music, and Glass and how can similar shapes be used to create other instruments?
lesson:
“See You Again”: How We Mourn with Music
Grades:
All Ages, AP/Honors/101, Elementary, High, Middle
Subjects:
Advisory, General Music
Activities:
Textual Analysis
How does music help us remember people we are close to, or those we have lost?
lesson:
9/11: Country Music Responds
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Advisory, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Interview, Personal Reflection, Textual Analysis
How did country musicians’ responses to the September 11th terrorist attacks speak to the feelings of the American people after the tragedy?
lesson:
Assembling Hits at Motown
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Role Playing, Station Activities
How did Motown Records in Detroit operate during the 1960s?
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:
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:
Jimi Hendrix: Introducing Hard Rock
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
ELA, General Music
Activities:
Role Playing, Textual Analysis
In what ways did Jimi Hendrix help create a new "Hard Rock" sound while retaining a connection to the Blues and R&B of his past?
lesson:
Glam: The Return of the Teenager
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
ELA, General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Textual Analysis, Timeline, Visual Analysis
How was Glam Rock part of a new teenage culture in the 1970s?
lesson:
The Emergence of Grunge
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
General Music
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Textual Analysis, Think-Pair-Share
What was Grunge and where did it come from?
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:
The Birth of Hippie Culture in the 1960s
Grades:
Elementary
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Document-Based Questions, Personal Reflection, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How did the Grateful Dead reflect new ideas about life and society in the 1960’s?
lesson:
Fame and Judgement in “Funny”
Grades:
All Ages, AP/Honors/101, Elementary, High, Middle
Subjects:
General Music, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Textual Analysis
How might Tori Kelly’s song “Funny” speak to the potential pitfalls of “superstardom,” and how does it relate to past songs written about the subject?
lesson:
The Musical Roots of the Surf Sound
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
General Music
Activities:
Musical Analysis, Role Playing, Station Activities, Visual Analysis
What is the Surf sound and where did it come from?
lesson:
The Sound of the Suburbs
Grades:
High
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Charts and Graphs, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
How did the music of the Beach Boys reflect the suburbanization of postwar America?
lesson:
“Alright” and the History of Black Protest Songs
Grades:
High, Middle
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Station Activities, Textual Analysis
How have black artists throughout the 20th century used music to speak about racial injustice in America?
lesson:
Feeling the Vibrations
Grades:
Elementary, Middle
Subjects:
Advisory, STEAM
Activities:
Design and Build, Musical Analysis, Performance, Role Playing
How did the Grateful Dead make their concerts more accessible to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) community?
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:
Music and Political Movements
Grades:
High
Subjects:
ELA, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Textual Analysis, Think-Pair-Share
How did Sixties Soul help give voice to the Civil Rights movement?
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:
Singing Democracy During the Second Great Awakening
Grades:
AP/Honors/101
Subjects:
Social Studies/History
Activities:
Document-Based Questions, Role Playing, Textual Analysis, Visual Analysis
What was the Second Great Awakening, how did it change American society, and how does Sacred Harp singing exemplify its ideals?
lesson:
Counterculture in the 1960s
Grades:
AP/Honors/101, High
Subjects:
ELA, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Document-Based Questions, Structured Academic Controversy, Textual Analysis
How did the counterculture movement of the late 1960s challenge traditional American behaviors and values, and how did the Grateful Dead reflect these changing views of life and society?
lesson:
Singer-Songwriters and the Environmental Movement (Elementary Version)
Grades:
Elementary
Subjects:
Art, Social Studies/History
Activities:
Station Activities, Textual Analysis, Think-Pair-Share, Visual Art
How did the singer-songwriters of the 1960s and 70s address the concerns of the environmental movement?
