Topic: Dance

Student Edition:
The Origins of Disco

Grades: High
Subjects: ELA, Social Studies/History

lesson:
The Origins of Disco

Grades: High
Subjects: ELA, Ethnic Studies, General Music, Social Studies/History

What are the cultural, economic, and geographic origins of Disco and how has the genre been presented, remembered, and represented in popular culture?

Student Edition:
ChocQuibTown- Embracing Cultural Identity through Colombian Rap

Grades: Elementary K-3, High, Middle
Subjects: General Music, Geography, Physical Education, Social Emotional Learning

Unit Plan:
Latin Music and Culture in U.S. History

Grades: High
Subjects: Ethnic Studies, General Music, Social Studies/History

Through ten lessons, students will explore different people, music, events, and places that helped shape Latin music and culture in the United States.  Students will discover how Latin Music like Salsa, Latin Rock, Tejano, Bossa Nova, Swing, and Chicana Punk reflect the experiences of Latin people living in the...

lesson:
Mi Gente: Fania Records & New York Salsa Music

Grades: High
Subjects: General Music, Geography, Social Studies/History

What is Fania Records, and how does it reflect the history of Spanish-speaking Caribbean communities in New York City?

lesson:
Brazilian Music and Culture in the United States

Grades: High
Subjects: Ethnic Studies, General Music, Social Studies/History

What is the influence of Brazilian music and culture in the United States?

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

Grades: High
Subjects: Ethnic Studies, Social Studies/History

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

Trace It Back:
ChocQuibTown

Grades: All Ages, Elementary K-3, High, Middle
Subjects: General Music, Geography, Physical Education, Social Emotional Learning

Trace It Back:
LADAMA

Grades: All Ages, Elementary K-3, High, Middle
Subjects: General Music, Geography, Physical Education, Social Emotional Learning

Unit Plan:
LADAMA: Movement, Music, and Community in South America

Grades: Elementary K-3
Subjects: General Music, Geography, Physical Education, Social Emotional Learning

LADAMA: Movement, Music, and Community in South America introduces students to the music, dance, and culture of South America in an interactive way. Through four lessons, students learn to sing, dance, and perform the traditional rhythms of selected musical styles in Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil. In addition, they play games...

Student Edition:
Learn Joropo with LADAMA

Grades: Elementary K-3
Subjects: ELA, General Music, Physical Education, Social Studies/History

Student Edition:
Learn Cumbia with LADAMA

Grades: Elementary K-3
Subjects: ELA, General Music, Physical Education, Social Studies/History

lesson:
Joropo: Music Inspired by Nature from the High Plains of Venezuela

Grades: Elementary 4-6, Elementary K-3, Middle
Subjects: General Music, Geography, Physical Education, Social Emotional Learning

What is Joropo, and how is it inspired by nature?

lesson:
ChocQuibTown: Embracing Cultural Identity through Colombian Rap

Grades: Elementary 4-6, Elementary K-3, Middle
Subjects: General Music, Geography, Physical Education, Social Emotional Learning

How can the music of ChocQuibTown, from the Pacific Coast of Colombia, help students express and celebrate their cultural identity through Rap?

lesson:
Quitiplás: Deep Listening and Rhythm Building with Afro-Venezuelan Bamboo Drums From Barlovento

Grades: Elementary 4-6, Elementary K-3, Middle
Subjects: General Music, Geography, Physical Education, Social Emotional Learning

What is Quitiplás, how does it incorporate the natural world, and how is it an example of polyrhythm?

lesson:
Ciranda: The Brazilian Music and Dance that Creates Community

Grades: Elementary 4-6, Elementary K-3, Middle
Subjects: General Music, Geography, Physical Education, Social Emotional Learning

What is Ciranda, and how can group singing and dancing help us feel like a part of a community?

lesson:
Colombian Cumbia: African, Indigenous, and Spanish Roots of Rhythm

Grades: Elementary 4-6, Elementary K-3, Middle
Subjects: General Music, Geography, Physical Education, Social Emotional Learning

What is Cumbia, and how do you play its traditional rhythms?

Trace It Back:
Drake

Grades: AP/Honors/101, High, Middle

Trace It Back:
Rosalía

Grades: AP/Honors/101, High, Middle

Trace It Back:
Beyoncé

Grades: AP/Honors/101, High, Middle

lesson:
100 Years of Dance

Grades: Elementary 4-6, Middle
Subjects: General Music

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

lesson:
Indigenous Music from Wounded Knee to the Billboard Charts

Grades: AP/Honors/101, High, Middle
Subjects: ELA, Social Studies/History

In what ways did the music of Native Americans mark them as outsiders from the developing narratives of “American-ness” in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and how did the federal government attempt to use music as a tool to force assimilation?

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:
The Rise of Disco

Grades: High
Subjects: Art/Design, General Music, Social Studies/History

How did Disco relate to the sentiments and social movements of the 1970s?

lesson:
Dancing the Twist on Television

Grades: High
Subjects: Social Studies/History

How did teen dance shows and the Twist influence American culture?