Lesson Paths & Learning Objectives

1. Shifting Landscapes: Blues Lyrics from the Countryside to the City

   • Explain the history of storytelling in African music traditions and its connections to the blues.
   • Explain how the musical elements and lyrical content of the blues changed as African Americans moved across the United States.
   • 30+ minutes

2. The Blues Stanza

   • Identify and describe the lyrical structure of the blues stanza.
   • Describe the main purpose of the blues stanza.
   • 30 minutes

3. Write Your Own Blues Lyrics!

   • Explain why words have been so important to the making of Black culture in America.
   • Identify and describe important considerations when writing lyrics for the blues.
   • Compose and perform their own blues lyrics.
   • 30+ minutes