History Explorer Results (20)
Related Books (15)
Resource Type(s):
Lessons & Activities, Worksheets
Examine examples of persuasive writing from Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, then composepersuasive statements about an environmental cause. Part of an OurStory module entitled Discover and Protect Nature, this activity includes student handouts and background information. OurStory is de
Resource Type(s):
Interactives & Media
In this episode of the History Explorer podcast series, Ken Kimery, executive director of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, discusses the importance of the Jazz Oral History Project. Ken explains the history of the program and its importance, as well as gives some tips about how to cond
Resource Type(s):
Interactives & Media, Lessons & Activities
Explore jazz through listening activities, interviews with musicians, and background information on SmithsonianJazz.org. Prominently featured on this site are two suites of learning activities: one focusing on Duke Ellington for elementary students and one focusing on Louis Armstrong for middle a
Resource Type(s):
Reference Materials, Lessons & Activities
Children and adults can enjoy exploring the story behind one of America’s pioneers of jazz music, Duke Ellington, through children's literature, museum collections, and hands-on activities. Focused around Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra, a picture book biography of t
Resource Type(s):
Lessons & Activities
Use two online music tools to try your hand at picking instruments to change the mood of a song. Part of an OurStory module entitled Duke Ellington and Jazz, this activity includes instructions, discussion prompts, links, and background information. OurStory is designed to help children
Resource Type(s):
Lessons & Activities
Use this guide to actively read Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra, a picture book biography of the Washington, DC native and jazz pioneer. Part of an OurStory module entitled Duke Ellington and Jazz, this activity includes discussion prompts, a glossary, and bac
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
This upright transposing piano was made in 1940 by Weser Brothers, New York, for Irving Berlin (1888–1989). Like many Tin Pan Alley pianists, Berlin was self-taught, preferring to play on the black keys. “The key of C,” he once said, “is for people who study music”. The transposing mech
Resource Type(s):
Lessons & Activities
Dance is just one way to turn music into something you can see. Your computer can take music and turn it into a different kind of visible art. Part of an OurStory module entitled An American Story in Dance and Music, this activity includes step-by-step directions for exploring your compu
Resource Type(s):
Reference Materials, Lessons & Activities
In 1943, Martha Graham, Aaron Copland, and Isamu Noguchi created Appalachian Spring, a ballet that told the story of an American pioneer community. By using this OurStory module, children and adults can enjoy exploring this history through children's literature, museum objects, and hands
Resource Type(s):
Primary Sources, Lessons & Activities
Take a close look at a famous picture of Martha Graham, then grab your camera and make your own dance photo with a friend or family member. Part of an OurStory module entitled An American Story in Dance and Music, this activity includes a primary source photograph, guided looking questio
Reading Level:
Early Elementary School
An illustrated picture book of Ella Fitzgerald’s rendition of the nursery rhyme. Cut paper, mixed media and computer techniques form the city-scape backgrounds.
Reading Level:
Late Elementary School,Middle School
Get to know Aaron Copland, great American composer of the 20th-century in this richly illustrated biography.
Reading Level:
Early Elementary School,Late Elementary School
Take a peek behind the scenes of one of America's modern masterpieces: Appalachian Spring. This book tells the story of the three artists who collaborated to create it.
Author:
Andrea Davis Pinkney
Reading Level:
Late Elementary School,Early Elementary School
A brief picture book on the career of this jazz musician and composer who, along with his orchestra, created music that was beyond category.
Reading Level:
Late Elementary School,Middle School,High School
An overview of jazz from its African origins through to hip-hop. Each two-page section includes a prose poem, a historical timeline, and a painting.
Reading Level:
High School
A compilation of stories, interviews, biographies, and other sources and organized them by general topics (importance of a good nickname, stage fright, etc).
Author:
Carole Boston Weatherford
Reading Level:
Pre-School,Early Elementary School
Young children tap their feet, clap the beat, and are introduced to the rhythm of jazz as they read or listen to this story told in rhyme.
Reading Level:
High School
A look at how jazz is history and its history key to the development of American culture since the early 1900s, and the role of the arts in history.
Reading Level:
Early Elementary School
A story of Miles Davis as a teenager searching for Charlie Parker in New York City.
Reading Level:
Late Elementary School,Middle School,High School
This biography follows the career and life of Miles Davis:from his childhood to adulthood and his musical growth along the way.
