History Explorer Results (31)
Related Books (17)
Resource Type(s):
Reference Materials
"The National Museum of American History has over 2 million items in its collections, spanning every topic you could think of. And from wooden crosses to baseball uniforms to costume butterfly wings, our collections show that Latinx people have been an important part of U.S. history since the nation
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts
Custom-made in 1989 by the Minneapolis, Minn., firm of Knut-Koupee Enterprises, this Yellow-cloud electric guitar was designed and used by Prince. The musician's distinctive personal symbol adorns both the top and the side of the fingerboard. Custom work for famous instrumentalists and musicians
Resource Type(s):
Interactives & Media, Worksheets
Though not as well-known as figures such as Duke Ellington or Ella Fitzgerald, John Levy made significant contributions to jazz music, both as a bassist and as the first black personal manager in jazz. In this episode of History Explorer, Sarah Coffee interviews Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orche
Resource Type(s):
Primary Sources, Interactives & Media, Lessons & Activities, Worksheets
Introduce students to using oral histories as primary sources with these interviews with jazz musicians recorded by the Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities. The resource includes a guide for teachers and links to oral histories, and
Resource Type(s):
Primary Sources, Interactives & Media, Lessons & Activities, Worksheets
In this lesson, students will learn about the Jim Crow era in American history through an oral history interview with jazz legend John Levy. The resource set includes photographs and newspaper clippings in addition to the oral history excerpts, a teacher guide, and a student worksheet.
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
This kit of guided listening activities and streaming music offers an engaging way of introducing students to jazz. It traces Louis Armstrong's career as a musician, from influences in African rhythms and New Orleans marches through performances in the 1960's and 70's. It could also be used as an
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
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:
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:
Early Elementary School
The story of Louis Armstrong as a boy and how he was sent to The Colored Waif's Home, where a music teacher discovers Louis' musical talent and gives him a cornet.
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.
