[ Lesson Toolkit ]

Throughout American history our music has reflected the mood and opinions of the era.  Through exploration of sheet music, students will analyze issues of concern related to Industrialization and Reform.  Students will have the opportunity to create original lyrics and song covers that relate to the era.

Essential Question

How does society respond to change?

Context

Students have prior knowledge of Industrialization and major reform movements of the Progressive Era.  These reforms include the following topics: women's suffrage, temperance, labor concerns, conservation, corruption in government, big business abuses, immigration, civil rights and the displacement of Native Americans.

Objectives

• Identify historical events referenced in music.
• Examine pieces of sheet music and identify context, purpose, and perspective with regard to the political, social, and economic conditions existing at that time.
• Examine ways that music is used to shape public opinion.
• Create lyrics and music covers for an original song illustrating a historical topic of the era.

Time Required

Recommended Grade Level

Curriculum Fit

Resources Used

• Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920.
• Music For the Nation: American Sheet Music, 1870-1885
• African-American Sheet Music, 1850-1920
• America Singing: Nineteenth-Century Song Sheets
• Touring Turn of the Century America, Detroit Publishing Company
• Votes for Woman, Suffrage Pictures, 1850-1920
• Northern Great Plains, 1880-1920
• Taking the Long View, Panoramic Photographs, 1851-1991
•  The United States Constitution

1. Display copy of the First Amendment on the chalkboard or overhead.  Focus on the free speech clause and ask students to brainstorm ways that Americans demonstrate their rights of free speech.  Some ideas might include the following:  newspaper editorials, demonstrations, literature, art, boycotts, banners, poetry and music.

 
2. Explain that our lesson will focus on how Americans have used music and song lyrics to express opinions that have influenced change throughout history. Warning:  Some material in the American Memory collection contains bias and stereotypes indicative of different historical eras.  This should be discussed with students before they search collections.

 
3. Using an example of sheet music chosen from the teacher gallery, conduct a whole group analysis using a music analysis sheet.

 
4. Referring to recent study of Industrialization and the Progressive Era, students should identify specific areas of reform from those historical periods.

 
5. Form groups of 3-4 students.  Assign or have students select a specific area of reform.  In groups, students should use the mind map to identify key words and related terms associated with this reform.  This map will be useful when students perform searches of the American Memory collection.

 
6. Explain to students that they will be searching the Library of Congress American Memory Collection for primary sources sheet music related to their chosen reform topic.  Model the correct method for searching the two sheet music collections.
• Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920
• Music For the Nation: American Sheet Music, 1870-1885
• African-American Sheet Music, 1859-1920
• America Singing: Nineteenth Century Song Sheets

 
7. Each group should locate one song related to their reform topic and print a hard copy for analysis.

 
8. Using music analysis worksheet, each group should review and analyze the piece of sheet music.

 
9. As a class, students share results of search and analysis.

 
10. Students return to cooperative work groups to compose original song lyrics about this reform topic, or teachers may decide that groups can choose another topic to broaden knowledge of reform.  Students may use the song lyric sheet as a guideline for composing their songs.

 
11. Students should search selected Library of Congress American Memory collections to locate a visual image related to their original song.  This image will be used to create a cover design similar to those that accompanied historical sheet music.

• Touring Turn of the Century America, Detroit Publishing Company
• Votes for Woman, Suffrage Pictures, 1850-1920
• Northern Great Plains, 1880-1920
• Taking the Long View, Panoramic Photographs, 1851-1991

Allow time for students to practice song presentations.  Students should share original lyrics, song covers, and discuss the impact of  songs on making change, and its use as a vehicle of free speech throughout our nation's history.

• Teacher observation of collaborative work.
• Teacher observation of effort in locating on-line resources.
• Evaluation of final project using a rubric.
• Student self-evaluation of process and project.

• This lesson can be used to analyze song lyrics from other historical eras.
• Students can perform original Reform songs in a concert.
• Students can compile a song book of original lyrics related to any historical topic or era.

chix@tmn.com and pebaron@aol.com.

May 2, 2000