Black History Unit: Grade 2 Black Musicians & Activism
Unit Overview In this unit students will explore culture and music. Students will learn about their own community as a base for learning about and understanding other communities. Primarily, the focus will be about some history of Black music and Jazz through studying some black musicians and contribution to Jazz and the Harlem Renaissance. They will study and analyze song lyrics that were popular during that time.
The culminating project will result in a collective action project, bringing in what students have learned about how music has shaped people’s lives and how people overcome obstacles. We will advocate for a music program in our school and increased opportunities to express ourselves through art, in general (poetry, art, etc.). We will write letters, make posters/signs, and design a mural highlighting famous black musicians.
Enduring Understandings 1. Music is an art that black musicians could be famous for and excel at, even during times of segregation. 2. Some famous black musicians are (all we are studying in this unit) 3. A biography is the recount of someone’s life. With musicians, it is important to not only read about their lives, but also listen to their music. 4. Jazz musicians played specific instruments to make up a jazz ensemble (piano, brass (trumpet, saxophone, trombone), drums, double bass, clarinet) 5. Black music emerged from the experiences, spirituals, and deep emotions of the African American history.
Essential Questions ● How does music impact our lives? ● How did black musicians' talent break down barriers and help people overcome obstacles related to racial injustice? ● How does music transcend race? ● How can we use writing as a tool to advocate for the things we need, to solve problems, and to make the world a better place? ● What can we learn from black Americans/black musicians? How can they inspire us to make change in our world now and in the future?
Standards RI.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. RI.2.2 Identify the main topic of a multiparagraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text. RI.2.3 Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.
W.2.1 Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section. W.2.2 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.
SL.2.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups. - Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion). - Build on others' talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others. - Ask for clarification and further explanation as needed about the topics and texts under discussion. SL.2.2 Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media. SL.2.3 Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue.
SL.2.5 Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
Connections Resources Social Studies Through these narrative nonfiction books, students will…. Bibliography - Reading: Main texts - learn about the lives of famous black musicians Just a Lucky So and So: The Story of Louis Armstrong - learn the history of oppression of black people, alongside the Duke Ellington power of music to bring people together. Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa - gather ideas for ways they can be activists A Voice Named Aretha
Reading/Literacy Music for every musician → search youtube
Through these narrative nonfiction books, students will…. Extra - visualize passages with strong imagery Melba and Her Big Trombone - make inferences about personality Mister and Lady Day: Billie Holiday and the Dog Who Loved Her - make inferences about how events are related to one another What a Wonderful World - make text-to-text connections between characters and themes A Horn for Louis: Louis Armstrong--as a kid! (A Stepping Stone Book(TM)) - activate, add on to, or change their schema Dizzy Louis Armstrong Taught Me Scat
Growth Chart(s) Bibliography - Writing: People Rise Up and Write It Name. Instrument. Bio. First music. Influences- black or white. Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday and the Power of a Protest Song Say Something Amanda Gorman Mari Copeny
RECORDED VIDEO LESSONS: BLACK MUSICIANS AND ACTIVISM
Reading Writing Read Alouds
Week 0 LAUNCH
Lesson 1 Alicia Keys sings Lift Every Voice Publishing piece from previous unit
Lesson 2 Song study: Lift Every Voice and Sing Publishing piece from previous unit Sing a Song: How Lift Every Voice and Sing Inspired Generations
Lesson 3 BROAD overview history of black Publishing piece from previous unit music
Lesson 4 Intro to Jazz Publishing piece from previous unit
Week 1 Louis Armstrong Intro to Activism / Write to make change
Lesson 5 Louis Armstrong 1 Lesson 1 Activism 1 Read Aloud / Connections
Lesson 6 Louis Armstrong 2 Lesson 2 Write about problems To Be a Drum Mental Pictures Amanda Gorman poetry
Lesson 7 Louis Armstrong 3 Lesson 3 Write about problems When Louis Armstrong Taught Me Scat Song Study: What a Wonderful World Mari Copeny Little Miss Flint
Lesson 8 Louis Armstrong 4 Lesson 4 Be convincing Harlem's Little Blackbird: The Story of Fight for Justice Florence Mills
Lesson 9 Louis Armstrong 5 Lesson 5 Be convincing Portraits
Week 2 Duke Ellington Protest Songs / Strategies to be convincing
Lesson 10 Duke Ellington 1 Lesson 6 Tell a Story Read Aloud / Connections Sam Cooke: Change is Gonna Come
Lesson 11 Duke Ellington 2 Lesson 7 Include Important Info Dizzy Mental Pictures The Roots: Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around
Lesson 12 Duke Ellington 3 Lesson 8 Reread and Improve Little Melba and Her Big Trombone Song Study: Take the A Train Harry Belafonte
Lesson 13 Duke Ellington 4 NO LESSON ½ DAY Charlie Parker Played Bebop Fight for Justice
Lesson 14 Duke Ellington 5 Lesson 9 Mentor Text Rise Up and Write It Writing about Reading
NOT RECORDED YET!
Week 3 Ella Fitzgerald Letter Writing / Who can help solve problems?
Lesson 15 Ella Fitzgerald 1 Read Aloud
Lesson 16 Ella Fitzgerald 2 Mister and Lady Day: Billie Holiday and the Mental Pictures Dog Who Loved Her
Lesson 17 Ella Fitzgerald 3 Birth of Cool: How Jazz Great Miles Davis Song Study Found His Sound
Lesson 18 Ella Fitzgerald 4 Nina: Jazz Legend and Civil-Rights Activist Fight for Justice
Lesson 19 Ella Fitzgerald 5 Writing about Reading
Week 4 Aretha Franklin Letter Writing / Collective Action
Lesson 15 Aretha Franklin 1 Read Aloud
Lesson 16 Aretha Franklin 2 Mental Pictures
Lesson 17 Aretha Franklin 3 Song Study
Lesson 18 Aretha Franklin 4 Fight for Justice
Lesson 19 Aretha Franklin 5 Portraits / Writing about Reading
Student Growth Chart - Digital Edition
Unit Overview / Lesson Pacing
Day/ Reading Writing Notes Date
Launch
Day 1 Black musicians/black history -- (publishing fiction) https://www.youtube.com/ 2/8 - We are beginning a new study on black watch?v=DS60luWpBe0 LAUNCH musicians.
Alicia Keys sings Lift Every Voice and Sing Alicia Keys - New York - How did that make you feel?
Build Background Knowledge - What music do you listen to? What musicians do you know about? - What questions do you have? (Jamboard)
Day 2 Song Study -- https://www.pbs.org/black- 2/9 culture/explore/black-auth LAUNCH Read Aloud: Sing a Song ors-spoken-word-poetry/li ft-every-voice-and-sing/ Shared Reading: Lift Every Voice and Sing - What is the message of these lyrics? - What is a National Anthem - Why do you think this song is known as the Black National Anthem? - What questions do you have?
Day 3 Evolution of different music in Black Culture -- Morning Meeting question: 2/10 Is music old? What is culture? (Respect LAUNCH Does every group/culture have music? for All curriculum/activity)
- Songs from slavery Timeline of music genres - Spirituals/Gospel - Folk - Blues - Jazz - Rock n roll / soul - R&B - Rap & Hiphop
Day 4 Introduce Jazz: -- Scholastic - Wynton 2/11 Did you know that jazz was born in the United Marsalis introduces Jazz LAUNCH States? Did you know that the drum set was History of Jazz | Black invented by jazz musicians? Did you know that History in America the word "cool" and "hip" were originally jazz terms? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twnI44Eolf0 Set up timeline Set up growth chart - Jazz instruments
Brief look and listen of variety of Jazz Groovin' to Jazz (Ages Instruments → Black line drawings of 8-13) | National Museum of Instruments and their name American History
EXTRA THINGS NOT USED DURING LAUNCH: Integrate throughout the unit, if possible.
Harlem Clubs Cotton Club https://scalar.usc.edu/works/harlem-renaissance /index
Roots of Jazz → map https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/jazz/roots-of-jazz / Harlem map https://syncopatedtimes.com/the-harlem-renaiss ance-guide-to-historic-jazz-clubs/ - Preview musicians in this unit - Introduce growth chart/ framework for keeping track of each musician
https://www.learningforjustice.org/frameworks/t eaching-hard-history/american-slavery/classroo m-videos#keyconcept9 2:10 February Break
Week 1: Louis Armstrong
Define activism Day 5 Louis Armstrong https://americanhistory.si.e 2/22 Just a Lucky So and So: Louis Armstrong (EPIC) du/smithsonian-jazz/educ Read Aloud: Say Something ation/louis-music-class Read Aloud & Connections
TP: Students will be able to list problems that they Listen to “Dinah” 1933 see in their school or community.
Day 6 Louis Armstrong TP: Students will be able to see a problem in their Amanda Gorman 2/23 classroom or community, think about how to fix it, Inauguration: https://www.youtube.com/wa Visualize and start writing. Play video / listen to music tch?v=LZ055ilIiN4
Amanda Gorman-PBS: Song w/ “King” Joe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYAc3Zr7wFw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o41DMsV5M
FA&feature=youtu.be - think of a problem, think about how to fix
it, and write to fix it - Write a speech, song, or poem
Day 7 Shared Reading TP: Students will be able to see a problem in their Speech: 2/24 Read “What a Wonderful World” classroom or community, think about how to fix it, https://www.maricopeny.c fluency and expression and start writing. om/
Listen to What a Wonderful World - think of a problem, think about how to fix Add new information to growth chart it, and write to fix it - Write a speech, song, or poem When Louis Armstrong Taught Me Scat (my friend’s read aloud)
Day 8 Louis Armstrong TP: Students will be able to convince people to 2/25 - What was Louis Armstrong able to help you solve the problem. accomplish? / Obstacles faced? - How did music impact life? Impact on - add reasons why people should do what Black Americans? you are telling them to do or consequences if they don’t. Shared Reading/Close Reading
Teacher Model ● Model going back to my persuasive pieces Harlem’s Little Blackbird: Florence Mills - that I wrote before and adding reasons to them to make them more convincing.
Inquiry: How can you be more convincing? Worktime: Work on adding convincing reasons to pieces you already started or start a new problem.
Day 9 Portrait TP: Students will be able to convince people to 2/26 help them solve their problem. Use words from book or text to represent - add reasons why people should do what musician you are telling them to do or
consequences if they don’t.
Teacher Model ● Tie in Florence Mills- how was she convincing? How did she fight for justice?
Inquiry: How can you be more convincing? Worktime: Work on adding convincing reasons to pieces you already started or start a new problem.
Week 2: Duke Ellington
Day 10 Duke Ellington Songs/Poems Billie Holiday and the 3/1 https://amhistory.si.edu/ourstory/pdf/jazz/jazz_r Power of a Protest Song eading.pdf (Read Aloud guide) https://www.youtube.com/wa TP: Write songs/poems to address problems tch?v=Web007rzSOI - Explain problem Duke Ellington read aloud with piano background (too graphic for 2nd grade) - Why is it a problem? Give LOTS of reasons - incomplete - How can you help? Duke Ellington (high level) (EPIC) Morning Songs We Shall Not Be Moved Read aloud & connections **Tell a Little Story (voting rights) We Shall Overcome Sam Cooke “A Change Is Gonna Come” Marvin Gaye - What’s goin’ https://genius.com/Sam-cooke-a-change-is-gon on James Brown ("Say It na-come-lyrics Loud - I'm Black and I'm
Proud" (1968)
https://genius.com/707576
If I had a Hammer https://genius.com/100975 63
Day 11 Visualize TP: Write songs/poems to address problems Hiphop Speaks to Children 3/2 Play video / listen to music - Explain problem (use as inspiration) - Tell a little story
- Why is it a problem? Give LOTS of reasons
- How can you help? Harry Belafonte singer & **Include Important Information Activist
Protest Songs: The Roots: Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around Start at 1:03 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta6UmkqzZA0
Day 12 Shared Reading: TP: Write signs to address problems (follow-up Zoom guest speaker- black 3/3 Take the A Train from protest songs) musician? It don’t mean a thing if it don’t got that swing Write songs/poems to address problems Add new information to growth chart - Explain problem
- Tell a little story - Why is it a problem? Give LOTS of reasons - Include Important Information - How can you help?
Harry Belafonte - Island in the Sun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIONkwJAS1E Study lyrics
Day 13 Duke Ellington NO WRITING LESSON (HALF DAY) https://www.youtube.com/ 3/4 - What was Duke Ellington able to watch?v=rjeKvEUFXTM accomplish? / Obstacles faced? (video footage of Duke, no - How did music impact life? Impact on sound!) Black Americans? https://amhistory.si.edu/ou rstory/pdf/jazz/jazz_film.p Shared Reading/Close Reading df
Overview of Duke’s life: https://www.readworks.org/article/Famous-Afric an-Americans-Duke-Ellington/54636bb2-2b63-4 428-9d3e-c66c0bc27eb7#!articleTab:content/
Duke + race https://theconversation.com/duke-ellingtons-mel odies-carried-his-message-of-social-justice-1156 02
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DRlJWSFUA g&feature=emb_logo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLJmgzMnOj Q&feature=emb_logo
Read Aloud: Rise Up and Write It! Day 14 Synthesis Dizzy and Charlie Parker 3/5 Writing about Reading together Use words from book or text to represent Read Aloud: https://www.youtube.com/ musician - teach everything you know to others ● Look at the picture, Think about what the watch?v=-bl9GAcNflk problem might be that they are trying to
solve. Dizzy Gillespie Charlie Parker Bepop ● What kinds of writing were shown in the Little Melba and Her Big Trombone book?
text-to-text connections Writing letters to make a change TP: Set-up Post office Portrait List Problems - Who can fix these problems?
Week 3: Ella Fitzgerald
Day 15 Ella Fitzgerald TP: Write powerful letters https://americanhistory.si.e 3/8 Ella Fitzgerald (EPIC) - Imagine the person is standing beside du/smithsonian-jazz/educ you, talk to the person, then write that on ation/ellas-singing-class Read aloud & Connections the page
Day 16 Visualize TP: Be Convincing Nina Simone: Young Gifted 3/9 Play video / listen to music - Tell your opinion or tell a little story and Black https://www.youtube.com/ Mister and Lady Day watch?v=RTGiKYqk0gY
Day 17 Song Study: TP: Be Convincing 3/10 The Object of my Affection - Give a Fix-It Idea Dream a Little Dream Summertime
Day 18 Ella Fitzgerald TP: Be Convincing https://newsela.com/read/l 3/11 - What was Ella Fitzgerald able to - Include Facts (important information) ib-black-music-circuit/id/2 accomplish? / Obstacles faced? 001018903/?search_id=e1 - How did music impact life? Impact on 06477c-c872-41f0-99d7-a Black Americans? d9dc3cae8c1
https://www.readworks.org/article/The-First-Lad y-of-Song/0e1af517-e9bf-441d-84a3-3b6e572ef d4a#!articleTab:content/
Day 19 Ella Fitzgerald TP: Fix Up Letters & Mail 3/12 Synthesis : Writing about Reading How has she or any of the musicians we’ve studied inspire you?
Miles Davis: Birth of Cool: How Jazz Great Miles Davis Found His Sound text-to-text connections Nina Simone: Nina Simone Activist
Portrait
Week 4: Aretha Franklin
Day 20 Aretha Franklin Collective Action This Jazz Man (my friend’s 3/15 1. Problem brainstorm / introduction read aloud) Read aloud & Connections - draw a picture of the problem / write a list of
ways to solve this problem ● No music in school ○ Ask principal for music ○ Write letters to superintendent ○ Write letters to musicians who might help ○ Raise money for instruments ○ Paying for field trips (to musical venues) ○ Music teacher ○ Sheet music ○ Headphones ○ technology ○ Make signs to advocate for music **Convince people music is important! Cite evidence from read alouds.** Check out website: Save the Music Day 21 Visualize Choose your action and plan 3/16 Play video / listen to music (Song, speech, letter, sign, artwork)
- look at what you’ve already written - planning template: problem, solution, what type of writing will you do to solve the problem - who will you share it with?
Day 22 Song: How will you be convincing? Design and draft w/ 3/17 - Natural Woman pencil/ trace w/ pen - RESPECT
Aretha Franklin @ Kennedy Center Honors
Day 23 Aretha Franklin Revise/edit/color/decorate 3/18 - What was Aretha Franklin able to accomplish? / Obstacles faced? - How did music impact life? Impact on Black Americans?
Day 24 Writing about Reading Make sure it’s ready. Present to class, share on 3/19 Portraits flipgrid. - Choose favorite musician from the last Give to the person / mail three weeks (can also be someone from a read aloud) - Write a caption including information about that person
Black Musicians - Growth Chart PLAN
Name Instrument Timeline We listened to.. We think it is Fight for Justice important to know...
Alicia Keys Piano, voice 1981-now Lift Every Voice and Sing Empire State of Mind
Louis Armstrong Trumpet, cornet 1901-1971 Dinah -inspired by King Joe -Was mostly quiet voice Oliver and learned about race Dippermouth Blues everything from him -Song What a Wonderful World was What a Wonderful -started out poor and a statement on loving World fixed up an old cornet each other more -Armstrong was one of Potato Head Blues - known for gravelly the first truly popular voice African-American I’m a Little Blackbird entertainers to "cross Looking for a Bluebird over", whose skin color was secondary to his music in an America that was severely racially divided.
- Took a well-publicized stand for desegregation during the Little Rock Crisis - 9 students desegregating high school.
Florence Mills voice 1896-1927 I’m a Little Blackbird Looking for a Bluebird
Duke Ellington piano 1899-1974
Ella Fitzgerald voice 1917-1996
John Coltrane saxophone 1926-1967 Melba Liston trombone 1926-1999
Dizzy Gillespie trumpet 1935-1993
Miles Davis trumpet 1926-1991
Aretha Franklin voice 1942-2018