Folklife Resources for Educators

Materials Related to Bluegrass music

There are 3 titles in this list.

Bluegrass in the Schools
by International Bluegrass Music Association
http://www.ibma.org/events.programs/schools/lessonplans.asp

Lesson plans and activities for the K-12 curriculum introducing students to bluegrass music. Topics include the musical instruments and sounds of bluegrass, vocal harmonies, song lyrics, bluegrass festivals, the history of bluegrass, and in-depth study of individual bluegrass songs and ballads.

Sponsoring Organization:
International Bluegrass Music Association
2 Music Circle South, Suite 100
Nashville TN 37203
(888) 438-4262
http://www.ibma.org/about.ibma/index.asp

Junior Appalachian Musicians: Celebrating the Musical Heritage of the Southern Appalachians
by Junior Appalachian Musicians, Inc.
http://www.jaminfo.org/index.html

Web-based educational resources for grades K-12 providing lesson plans, instructional videos, and sound recordings to encourage students to participate in and learn about stringband, old-time, and bluegrass music and dance traditions of the Southern Appalachians. Includes instructional audio files and videos for performing old-time music on banjo, dulcimer, fiddle, guitar, and mandolin, plus interviews with old-time musicians.

Sponsoring Organization:
Junior Appalachian Musicians, Inc.
608 W. Stuart Dr.
Galax VA 24333
(276) 238-0526
http://www.jaminfo.org/index.html

Show-Me Traditions: An Educators Guide to Teaching Folk Arts and Folklife in Missouri Schools
by Eleutario, Susan
http://maa.missouri.edu/mfap/articles/showme_new.pdf

Educational guide with eight lesson plans and accompanying activities for fourth and fifth grade students that introduces concepts of folk arts and folklife in general and Missouri traditional art forms and artists in specific. The guide is organized as follows: Section I: Defining Folk Arts and Folklife; Section II: Discovering Folk Arts in Everyday Life; and Section III: Folk Artists in Missouri. Background information is provided on Missouri traditional arts and artists from the fields of Bluegrass music, Colombian-American dance and costume, Ozark riverways and boats, Irish-American music and dance, cowboy and spoken word poetry, German-American bobbin lace making, Missouri fiddling and old-time dance, and African-American storytelling. Site includes links to audio and video recordings plus additional background resources. Missouri curriculum connections are noted for Communication Arts, Social Studies, Fine Arts, Music, and Physical Education. (56 p. PDF)

Sponsoring Organization:
Missouri Folk Arts Program
21 Parker Hall
Columbia MO 65211-2330
(573) 882-6296
http://maa.missouri.edu/mfap/