Lesson Plan Overview
African-American writer Langston Hughes not only wrote about music, his poetry and prose are often compared with popular music in the ways he used rhythm and approached certain themes. Among the lesson plans for teachers compiled by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s Education Department are two that help explore this connection. Rhythmic, Lyrical Protests of the African American looks at the influence of literature on a number of African-American popular music genres, including hip-hop, and postulates that Hughes may have been the very first rap artist. Langston Hughes and the Blues examines, among other things, the influence popular Black music had on Hughes. In addition, Using Hip Hop to Introduce Allusion discusses lyrical and musical allusions in hip-hop, a form, according to the lesson plan, best suited to illustrate the literary term because of its foundation in appropriating pre-existing sounds and words. For elementary teachers, 8-Rap employs hip-hop rhyming and word games to work on language and communication skills. Using Cross-Genre Comparisons to Find the Message in Hip-Hop draws comparisons between the social protest of songs like “The Message” and the songs of Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. “And Still I Rise” Proud Black Women traces back the lyrical lineage of Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill to writer and poet Maya Angelou. People Everyday: Introduction to Literary Analysis and Music Literacy uses the Arrested Development song as a starting point to help students identify literary devices and themes in music. Finally, Syncopation and Rhythm in Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Rap Music looks for-and finds-the block rockin’ beats of classical music.
Exhibition Essays
Lesson Plans
Little Richard's Black Jacket With Appliques
Photo by Design Photography
