Geo-Blues
| Subject: Music/Geography |
| Grade: Elementary |
| Presented by: Peggy Clay, Florence, Alabama (and NGS, Washington, D.C.) |
| Geography Themes: Place, movement, regions |
| Geography Standards: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10 |
| Skills: Poem and/or lyric writing, rhythm |
| Objectives: 1. Explore and define Blues music and its history. 2. Use a United States map and other research materials to chart the life of W.C. Handy. 3. Analyze findings and speculate as to why, when, where, and how the Blues began. 4. Synthesize their findings into a timeline. |
| Method: As a whole group, and then in cooperative groups, students will explore Blues music, its history and connection with geography. Students will then write their own Blues song and perform it as well as research and chart the life of the founder of Blues, W.C. Handy. |
| Materials: Overhead projector Transparency of handout Tape recorder; tapes of blues music Books (see resource lists) Encyclopedias Map of the United States Handout – Twelve-bar Blues poem |
| Procedures: 1. Play taped excerpts of blues music. Encourage discussion of the mental images that students get while listening to the blues. Some questions you might ask students are: (a) Have you ever had the blues? (b) What was the reason? (c) How did you feel? (d) How would your feelings sound musically? 2. Distribute the handout. Using the first version, have students read the 12-bar blues aloud. Then have students read the second version in a sing-song fashion. Have them pat the rhythm with their hands or feet as they read. (#’s 3 and 4 can be done in cooperative learning groups.) 3. Using the handout, ask students to explore their feelings and write their own Blues poem or song. 4. Using books, encyclopedias, the Internet, and an U.S. map, have students plot the path of W.C. Handy’s life across the United States. Using the same information, develop a timeline for the Blues. |
| Closure: Discuss the hardships of W.C. Handy’s life and how that may have a connection with why he wrote Blues music. |
| Evaluation: Have students share their Blues poem or song. Have them classify the poem or song according to the five themes of geography. |
| Extension: Assign three children to act as mayors of St. Louis, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; and Florence, Alabama. Ask the “mayors” to explain to the class why W.C. Handy should be their “most famous citizen.” |
| Notes: Students will understand that the Blues is a unique American music form. Students will gain an awareness of the connection between the Blues and geography. |
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