Teacher's Guide:

Lesson Sequences Overview

Suggested Grade Levels 4 through 8

To download a pdf version of the teacher's guide, click here.

About the Delta Blues Museum:

Since 1979, the Delta Blues Museum has preserved, interpreted, and encouraged a deep interest in the story of the blues. The museum is located in the city of Clarksdale, near the famed "Crossroads" at the intersection of Highways 61 and 49, in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, known as the land where the blues began.

The Delta Blues Museum is Mississippi's oldest music museum. Through funding by the City of Clarksdale, admissions, memberships, gift shop revenue, granting agencies and donations, the museum uses these public and private funds to carry out its mission of preserving and teaching the Blues.

About the Explore and Learn Feature

The Delta Blues Museum's unique Explore and Learn modules are designed to give a vivid and graphic overview of the essential facts of a blues master's life and music. Now, we are excited to introduce additional educational resources to enhance the learning experience! Each Explore and Learn (with the exception of Explore the New World) includes a new lesson sequence for classroom use. Each lesson provides a comprehensive view of the E&L subject, using texts, audio, and video from the Delta Blues Museum, as well as other significant resources that are devoted to the blues. These new resources help further the Museum's mission statement by reaching even more teachers and students and supporting their exploration of the history and heritage of the unique American musical art form of the blues.

Lesson Sequences Overview

All lesson sequences layer reading, writing, and thinking to support students as they learn about notable musicians, places, and events that have influenced the blues throughout history. Depending on class length, each lesson will take 3 to 5 days. Embedded throughout are activities designed to promote student engagement and collaboration.

While each lesson is designed as a standalone, you may wish to use several in a sequence (e.g. chronological order) or in other ways to complement your curricular goals. Each lesson incorporates activities suitable for social studies, English Language Arts, and music classes.

Grade Level

The lesson sequences are designed for upper elementary and middle/junior high students in grades 4 through 8. Younger students will need more scaffolding when working with some of the texts; older students will benefit from additional information found in the "Other Possible Resources" section found at the end of each lesson sequence.

Technology and Media

Lessons rely on several media samples, including images, field recordings, songs and videos. To maximize the learning experience, access to a projector with quality speakers or a smart board is necessary. Note that most of the videos are on the YouTube platform which is sometimes blocked by district filters, and teachers are encouraged to preview the media resources to ensure accessibility.

Standards

Each lesson sequence addresses several K - 12 Common Core State Standards listed below.
College and Career Readiness (CCR) Anchor Standards for English Language Arts:
1, 2 (key ideas and details)
4 (craft and structure)
7, 8, 9 (integration of knowledge and ideas)
10 (range of reading)
CCR Anchor Standards for Writing: 1, 2, 4, 9
CCR Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening: 1, 2, 3, 4
CCR Anchor Standards for Language: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Lesson sequences also address themes in the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies: I, II, III, IV, V

Want more?

To help build background knowledge about the blues in general, see this overview from PBS.

Mississippi Blues Trail Curriculum | Mississippi Arts Commission

The Mississippi Blues Trail, now with more than 200 markers, celebrates the state's rich musical heritage by sharing stories of blues musicians and landmarks across the state and beyond. The accompanying MS Blues Trail Curriculum brings the blues to the classroom through an arts-integrated approach in six core areas: Music, Meaning, Cotton, Transportation, Civil Rights and Media.

PBS Blues Classroom | Experience Music Project

The Blues seven-part film series premiered on PBS in 2003. The Blues National Educational Outreach Campaign, created by Experience Music Project, provides teaching strategies and resources for teachers to assist in the integration of blues music, culture, and history into the classroom.

This publication was made possible through support provided by the National Park Service through Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area Partnership, Inc. and its Fiscal Agent, Delta State University, under the terms of Agreement No. H5041-10-0022. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s)and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Park Service, the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area Partnership, Inc. or Delta State University