Genre: R&B
Student Edition:
Black Radio and the Civil Rights Movement
lesson:
Black Radio and the Civil Rights Movement
How did Black radio empower Black Americans, aid the Civil Rights Movement, and influence U.S. society?
Trace It Back:
Miguel
lesson:
Contemporary Latin Artists and Activism
How are contemporary Latin artists pursuing activism and promoting positive change in their communities?
Student Edition:
Student Activism and Music During the Civil Rights Movement
Student Edition:
Music of the Civil Rights Movement
lesson:
Student Activism and Music During the Civil Rights Movement
How did activism by Black students challenge Jim Crow segregation during the Civil Rights Movement, and what unique role did music play as an organizing tool?
lesson:
Music of the Civil Rights Movement
How did music advance the goals and inform the tactics of the Civil Rights Movement?
Trace It Back:
Aretha Franklin
Trace It Back:
Missy Elliott
lesson:
Identifying and Resisting Jim Crow with Words and Songs
How have works of literature and music by Black Americans shared an empowering theme of identifying and resisting Jim Crow?
Unit Plan:
Math and the Music Industry
Math is inherent in the music industry. Whether calculating touring costs, analyzing industry data, or determining fan engagement on social media, math interprets numerous aspects of the music industry. Through five lessons, students practice math skills within the context of the music industry. Utilizing important artists as case studies, students...
Trace It Back:
Whitney Houston
Student Edition:
Using Ratios to Identify Social Media Engagement
Trace It Back:
The Beatles
lesson:
Using Graphing to Analyze Music Industry Data
How can graphing be used to analyze music industry data?
Student Edition:
Segregation and the Founding of Asbury Park
lesson:
Part 1: Segregation and the Founding of Asbury Park
What does the founding and early history of Asbury Park reveal about practices of segregation in the Northern United States?
lesson:
Signature Style in Art and Album Covers
How have visual artists worked with musicians without compromising their style?
Trace It Back:
Nina Simone
Trace It Back:
Janelle Monáe
Student Edition:
Music as a Window to the Past
Trace It Back:
Gary Clark Jr.
Trace It Back:
H.E.R.
lesson:
The Musical Roots of the Surf Sound (Elementary Version)
How does the “Surf Sound” in Rock and Roll reflect early surf culture, and what are the roots of this genre of music?
Trace It Back:
Amy Winehouse
Trace It Back:
Prince
lesson:
How a Bill Becomes a Law: Legislating the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
How does a bill become a law in the United States of America?
Trace It Back:
Beyoncé
lesson:
Singer-Songwriters and the Environmental Movement (Elementary Version)
How did the singer-songwriters of the 1960s and 70s address the concerns of the environmental movement?
Trace It Back:
Mavis Staples
Trace It Back:
Lizzo
Trace It Back:
Jamila Woods
lesson:
Debating the Apollo 11 Moon Landing
What was NASA’s Apollo program and why was it controversial?
lesson:
Distortion: The Sound of Rock and Roll’s Menacing Spirit
What is distortion, and how did it become a desired guitar effect in Rock and Roll?
lesson:
“Alright” and the History of Black Protest Songs
How have Black artists throughout the 20th century used music to speak about racial injustice in America?
lesson:
Learning Rhythm through Gospel
How can Gospel music help students identify the musical concepts of beat, meter, backbeat, subdivision, and syncopation?
lesson:
Muddy Waters, the New Kid in Town
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:
The Civil Rights Movement: A Document-Based Question
In what ways did the Civil Rights Movement mark a turning point in United States history?
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:
The Impact of the Electric Guitar
How did the electrification, amplification and design of the guitar facilitate its emergence as a dominant instrument of popular music?
lesson:
“Hound Dog” and 1950 Race Relations
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 Gospel Origins of “Chain of Fools”
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:
The Beat as an Object of Celebration and Concern in Segregation-Era America
How has “the beat” been an object of both celebration and concern in the history of popular music?
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:
Producing the Sounds of a Changing South
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:
The Rise of the Electric Guitar
What factors led to the rise of the electric guitar as the dominant symbol of Rock and Roll?
lesson:
Assembling Hits at Motown
How did Motown Records in Detroit operate during the 1960s?
lesson:
Singer-Songwriters and the Environmental Movement
How did the singer-songwriters of the 1960s and 70s address the concerns of the environmental movement?
lesson:
Dan Penn
How did black artists and white songwriters and musicians interact in the Soul era, and what contributed to that interaction?
lesson:
The Influence of Rhythm and Blues
What did R&B bring to early Rock and Roll, and how was early Rock and Roll different?
lesson:
Rhythm and Blues Hit the Airwaves
How did Dewey Phillips and Hunter Hancock help bring Rhythm and Blues music to mixed race audiences?
lesson:
Soul Music and the New Femininity
How did Aretha Franklin represent a new female voice in 1960s popular music?
lesson:
The Memphis Sound and Racial Integration
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:
Music and Political Movements
How did Sixties Soul help give voice to the Civil Rights movement?
lesson:
The Birth of the Electric Guitar
How did the electric guitar transform Blues music from the 1940s forward?
lesson:
The Sound of Blue Collar Detroit
How did Rock and Roll serve as an expressive tool for the working-class youth of Detroit?
lesson:
The Impact of 1960s Antiwar Music
How did antiwar protest music provide a voice for those opposed to the Vietnam War?
lesson:
Dion and the Teen Idols
What role did the so-called "teen idols" of the late 1950s play in bringing Rock and Roll into mainstream American culture?
lesson:
Dancing the Twist on Television
How did teen dance shows and the Twist influence American culture?
lesson:
The Rise of the “Girl Groups”
Were the Girl Groups of the early 1960s voices of female empowerment or reflections of traditional female roles?