Bring the sounds of the deep South vocal blues to the classroom with a Smithsonian Folkways activity. In preparation, scholars listen to and count the 12 bar blues patterns in several works and identify the I, II, IV, and V chords as...

B.B. King and Muddy Waters are two of the most famous blues performers of all time. In this music lesson, middle schoolers study the early careers and lasting musical contributions of both artists, each of whom carried the blues on to...

Young scholars take a virtual field trip to Memphis, Tennessee in their study of the blues, its characterisitics, founding fathers, and histororical influence on modern music. They compose blues lyrics that reflect present-day attitudes...

Upper graders listen to the blues. They discuss blues scale, read a description of the blues, and work together to write an original piece. A lesson like this ties into American history and African-American musical contributions very...

High schoolers analyze the movement of the blues from rural Mississippi to urban Chicago and how place and the environment affected the development of the blues. They define the blues, where it originated and how and why it moved to...

Contemplate what music learners listen to and why they listen. Can they find poetry within music lyrics? Specifically hone in on blues lyrics and ruminate upon the social issues prevalent in the themes. Particular song lyrics coincide...

Students determine the best solvent system for separating a methylene blue/sodium fluorescein mixture by thin layer chromatography. They conduct an initial TLC separation using ethanol and a different solvent mixture and analyze the data...

Watching Great Performances’ Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Chicago launches an investigation into and discussion of how the electric guitar and guitarists have changed the sound of the blues over time. An engaging way to...

The blue king crab and the red king crab live in the same range but never in the same region. The third lesson plan in the series of five focuses on the blue king crab and the impact the changes in water temperature is having on its...

Learners examine how American Jews affect music and entertainment. They identify problems between immigrants and their children. They relate the Jewish American issue to those of African Americans.

It turns out blue is not just for the Smurfs! Introduce young geneticists to the Fugate family, known throughout Kentucky for their unusual skin tone. A two-day lesson from K20 explores dominant and recessive traits through partner...

Music composition can be easy with a little software assistance. The class uses Garageband to listen to, write, sing, and record a blues song. They listen to the song provided through the software, write their own lyrics to the song,...

Students explore the conditions needed to grow Texas Blue Bonnets. In this Blue Bonnet planting lesson, students recognize the differences in Texas Blue Bonnet. Students record their findings in a graphs and analyze their results.

Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...

Use a container full of water as a prism and show that as light is bent, the individual colors from different wavelengths become visible. This explains why the sky appears to be blue midday, and why as the sun nears the horizon, it looks...

In this reading worksheet, students answer 10 multiple-choice questions about the book. For example, "What caused the death of the old sea elephant?"

Students explore the connections between Langson Hughes and blues music. In this African American culture lesson, students compare and contrast blues music with poetry and short stories by Langston Hughes.

Enable students to use the blues to explore urbanization, technology, and their effects on everyday life in the 20th century. Musicians were among the large number of people who, between 1914 and 1945, participated in the Great Migration...

Explore the extraordinary creatures of the ocean! Learners create Florida Blue Crabs (imitation of course) using blue paint and their hand prints. This is a cute supplementary project perfect for an ocean-themed unit or preschool...

High schoolers use the internet to research a recent Blue Angels plane crash. As a class, they list the various ways journalists list the facts of an incident and which one is most effective given different scenerios. They write a story...

Brenda Z. Guiberson’s nonfiction book, Cactus Hotel, launches a series of activities that model for readers how to determine the main idea in a passage.  Class members engage in an online interactive game to test their...

21st-century learners live in such a visual world that many are unused to letting their minds imagine the picture that words create. An excerpt from Carl Sagan's lecture, "The Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space,"...

Some art can be difficult to interpret. Critical thinkers analyze the forms, techniques, purpose, and meaning found in the abstract piece, Blue Water. They engage in small group discussions in order to form a hypothesis as to the nature...

Nearly anything can inspire art. Analyze The Blue Room by Susanne Valadon to help your learners understand that art is everywhere. They'll discuss the line, shape, color, and mood of the piece while attempting to better grasp its...