TeachRock

Trace It Back:
Desi Arnez

Student Edition:
The Zoot Suit: Style and Swing in the Wartime Economy

lesson:
The Zoot Suit: Style and Swing in the Wartime Economy

What was the cultural, social, and historical significance of the zoot suit during the period of World War II?

Student Edition:
Latin Music and Puerto Rican Migration to New York City

lesson:
Latin Music and Puerto Rican Migration to New York City

What is the history behind Puerto Rican migration to New York City in the 1940s and 1950s, and how did Puerto Rican migration affect American Popular Music?

Trace It Back:
Louis Armstrong

lesson:
100 Years of Dance

Why might people dance, and how have dance trends changed in America since the 1920s?

lesson:
World War II and the Shrinking of the Ensemble

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:
Radio Before Rock and Roll

How did radio influence American life in the years before the birth of Rock and Roll?