The Blues and History Educational Resources K12 Learning, United States, History Lesson Plans, Activities, Experiments, Homeschool Help

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Have you ever listened to a song repeatedly, only to discover much later what the song was actually about?

It can be surprising, shocking, or disappointing to know what was on an artist's mind when they composed our favorite songs!

In the centuries before history textbooks were ever imagined, before people could read and write like they do today, music was an important way to communicate past events and their impact on real human communities.

We have carried that tradition into the present.

Browse through these Songs about historical events. Click on a song, and the factsheet for that song will open.

Read the historical connection for your selected songs. Then, choose two or three that you thought were especially interesting.

Write a reflection and include answers to the following questions.

What was the name of the song?
Who performed it? Who wrote it?
What was the historical connection?
Why was that connection meaningful for you?
What more would you like to know about that historical event?

Share your reflections and discuss them with someone. Ask them about a song they can remember that had a historical connection and why they felt it was so meaningful.

Boogie on over to the Got It? section to listen to and interpret some classic songs!