Rockin’ the Schools - Class Descriptions and Materials

Rockin’ the Schools 2009-2010 Class Descriptions

Core Programs: Offered Tuesday - Friday at 10:00 am and 11:30 am

“Shake, Rattle and Roll:” The Building Blocks of Music
Suggested Grade Level: K-4
Download (PDF):
Pre-Visit Guide
Related Ohio Academic Standards
In the Museum Guide

This class is designed to teach elementary school students about the four basic elements of music - rhythm, pitch, volume, and color - in order to learn how musicians have used these elements to create some of the greatest rock and roll songs ever. Students participate by singing, clapping, dancing, rocking and rolling along with recordings of upbeat and fun songs such as Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock” and the Isley Brothers’ “Shout” - while they learn! Video performances of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees are used to teach students about the history of rock and roll music and help them apply analytical skills as they watch and listen.
Related Standards: Fine Arts-Music, Science, English-Language Arts

Rock and Roll Band! Meet the Instruments
Suggested Grade Level: K-4
Download (PDF):
Pre-Visit Guide
Related Ohio Academic Standards
In the Museum Guide

In this exciting, interactive class, elementary school students examine the instrumentation of a rock band, discovering the low notes of the bass guitar, the pounding rhythms of the drums and percussion, the melodies and harmonies of guitars, keyboards, and more. Students have fun learning about the characteristics of the instruments and their sounds - and even perform along with the band! By investigating how musicians arrange the various instruments of a band, students discover how the different parts of classic rock and roll songs are created. This class includes historic video performances by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees, as well as live performances and demonstrations by the Rock Hall education ensemble. At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum kids really do get a chance to ROCK!
Related Standards: English-Language Arts, Science, Fine Arts-Music, Technology

The Roots of Rock and Roll: An American Journey
Suggested Grade Level: K-4 / 5-8
Download for K-4 (PDF):
Pre-Visit Guide
Related Ohio Academic Standards
In the Museum Guide

Download for 5-8 (PDF):
Pre-Visit Guide
Related Ohio Academic Standards
In the Museum Guide

In the 1950s a new and electrifying musical style called rock and roll swept the airwaves and grabbed the hearts of teenagers across the United States. This revolutionary music actually grew from strong roots in older styles such as blues, gospel, country, and rhythm and blues. Students examine classic video performances and recordings to see how musicians brought these earlier musical styles together, and in the process, connected diverse aspects of American culture. Students explore the various geographical regions of the United States, focusing on several key cities where the roots of rock and roll flourished. The Roots of Rock and Roll is offered at two different grade levels. K-4 students will enjoy singing along with the Rock Hall education ensemble and using U.S. maps. Students in grades 5-8 will dig deeper into the cultural meanings behind this music and analyze musical characteristics of each style.
Related Standards: Social Studies, Fine Arts-Music

“Tell Me Something Good:” Music and the Language Arts
Suggested Grade Level: 1-4
Download (PDF):
Pre-Visit Guide
Related Ohio Academic Standards
In the Museum Guide

Many songs tell stories, describing characters and their adventures in particular places at particular times. This class looks at some of the great stories of rock and roll and examines how lyrics can establish a setting, introduce characters, and develop a plot. Through exciting recorded performances by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees like Aretha Franklin, the Beatles, and Chuck Berry, students learn how narrative can be developed. They will act out undersea adventures on a “Yellow Submarine” and imagine what it would be like to be “Johnny B. Goode” by drawing what they hear and read in the lyrics, all while learning to summarize and retell the stories told through rock and roll.
Related Standards: English-Language Arts, Fine Arts-Music

Rock and Roll and the Science of Sound
Suggested Grade Level: 5-8
Download (PDF):
Pre-Visit Guide
Related Ohio Academic Standards
In the Museum Guide

We typically think of music as an art form, but every note we hear can be understood in relation to the laws of science. This class examines the basic acoustic principles in the sounds of rock and roll by investigating how all sounds are created by vibrations, how sound travels to our ears through moving air molecules, and how sounds can be represented in a graph by using an oscilloscope or a computer. Students will learn how the musical notes of instruments are determined by frequency and amplitude and how the shape of a waveform determines an instrument’s timbre. Musical examples showcase Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees and illustrate how we perceive the various elements of sound. The class concludes with a live demonstration of digital audio software in which audience volunteers get to record and manipulate their own voices.
Related Standards: Science, Fine Arts-Music, Mathematics, Technology

“The Message:” The Birth of Hip-Hop Culture
Suggested Grade Level: 5-8 / 9-12
Download (PDF):
Pre-Visit Guide
Related Ohio Academic Standards
In the Museum Guide

In the early 1970s the Bronx borough of New York City was home to the beginning of hip-hop culture. By the 1980s, rap recordings took the voices of inner-city life into the mainstream, spreading it around the United States. Since then, parts of hip-hop culture - including the MC, the DJ, the graffiti writer and the break dancer - have become some of the most important forms of expression for young people on the planet. In this class, students will learn about this history, along with the musical tracks and vocal raps of “old school” artists such as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Afrika Bambaataa, and Queen Latifah - musicians who sent a “message” to American audiences about what life was like in inner-city communities. Explore the history of the sound that changed American popular music forever.
Related Standards: English-Language Arts, Social Studies, Fine Arts-Music

From Four Tracks to Break Beats: Music and Technology
Suggested Grade Level: 5-8 / 9-12
Download (PDF):
Pre-Visit Guide
Related Ohio Academic Standards
In the Museum Guide

Since the 1950s, rock and roll has been shaped by the craft and artistry of songwriters and performers who use innovative music technology to significantly impact the sound of music. In this class, we will see how Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees have used technology to record, manipulate and create the ever-changing sounds of popular music. Students take part in in-depth discussions of the earliest tape recorders used by Jerry Lee Lewis at Sun Records and the break beat textures of Grandmaster Flash’s DJ scratching. This class includes several live demonstrations in which students analyze the impact of music technology on a given sound. Don’t miss this chance to gain insight into the world of music production in a variety of styles - from rock to hip-hop.
Related Standards: Science, Fine Arts-Music, Technology

“Fight the Power:” Music as a Social Force
Suggested Grade Level: 7-12
Download (PDF):
Pre-Visit Guide
Related Ohio Academic Standards
In the Museum Guide

In many times and places, people have used music as a powerful tool for social change. The story of rock and roll overlaps with some of the most turbulent times in U.S. history. In the 1960s alone, American society was being torn apart by debates over the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement, and the Women’s Liberation movement. Since that time and well into the present, musicians have entered such debates by spreading messages of revolution, protest, and empowerment through musical styles as diverse as folk, rock, and hip-hop. This class features songs from the 1960s to the present that have challenged audiences to consider the alternatives and make changes in our society. Students explore recordings and videos of legendary artists to examine expressions of social commentary contained in lyrics, performance styles, and historical images.
Related Standards: English-Language Arts, Social Studies, Fine Arts-Music

“Takin’ Care of Business:” A Rock Band Finance Simulation
Suggested Grade Level: 7-12

Students know exactly what music is on their iPods, but they rarely understand that the artistry and glitter of superstardom depends upon a complex business network that must remain financially stable. This class will take students behind the scenes with a real-world simulation that puts them in the shoes of a rock band’s tour manager. In the class activity, students will apply mathematical and financial concepts to help manage a fictional band through a cross-country tour. This will involve weighing some serious financial concerns: What expenses might they have to budget for? Where will the money come from? How will they respond as managers when ticket sales are lower than expected? Any number of scenarios might affect the tour budget and thus “their” company’s bottom line.
Related Standards: Mathematics, Social Studies, Fine Arts-Music

Specialty Programs: Offered during specified months only Tuesday - Friday at 10:00am and 11:30am

November and December
American Music Master 2009: Janis Joplin and the Counterculture
Suggested Grade Level (SGL): 7-12
In celebration of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s 2009 American Music Masters series, this class examines the 1960s counterculture movement in the United States and the dynamism that Janis Joplin brought to it as a performer and musician. Students will explore the counterculture as an outlet that offered unique opportunities for personal freedom and generated innovative political and artistic responses to the turmoil of the 1960s. Artists such as Joplin were vigorous proponents of racial integration, women’s rights and political change. Students will watch historical performances and analyze important artifacts that illustrate the power and creativity that Joplin displayed in her approach to music, art, politics and style, and see how her music helped to shape the new sights and sounds of an entire generation.
Related Standards: Fine Arts-Music, Social Studies, Language Arts

January and February
Black History Month Program
Suggested Grade Level: 5-8 / 9-12
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum celebrates Black History Month with a special program honoring the contributions of African-Americans to music and society in the United States. The program illustrates the powerful impacts of African-American Inductees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame whose musical innovations and entrepreneurship forged new styles, instruments, messages, and more. Students enjoy examining landmark performances that speak across the generations in vintage video clips and classic recordings while connecting ways that the Inductees’ lives and art portray important historical moments. The specific class topic will be announced on our website.
Related Standards: Fine Arts-Music, Social Studies

March and April
Women’s History Month
Suggested Grade Level: 5-8 / 9-12
Although the music industry has typically been male dominated, women, too, have been successful performers, producers, songwriters, and record label owners. Women have played, and continue to play, an important role in shaping the history of popular music – both onstage and behind the scenes. In celebration of Women’s History Month, students will examine the significant contributions women have made to rock and roll, then and now, through recordings and video performances of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees and other legendary female artists. The specific class topic will be announced on our website.
Related Standards: Fine Arts-Music, Language Arts, Social Studies

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