Relevant discussion questions and hands on activities

The discussion questions are much more open ended to allow and compel the students to articulate their feelings and knowledge about arts, creativity, culture, social norms, etc. These questions provide an opportunity for the teacher to individualize the learning and instruction by allowing the students to choose which questions they want to address. Students can work individually or in a group composed of others who share their interests. Teachers can balance the assignments based on interest as well as specific standards that specific students need to master.

Samples

1. (Standards ELA 5,6; CC 7) Using the model set forth by Marsalis, create a dialogue between yourself and a professional such as a teacher, firefighter, police officer, nurse, doctor, salesperson, etc., in which you express the concept of swing using terms and dynamics of that profession.

2. (Standards RI 7; CC 7) Discuss some music/songs that you would identify as the blues. What characteristics of the blues do these songs have? How do you respond emotionally and intellectually to these songs?

3. (Standards RI: 1, 2, 5, 6 ; ELA: 4, 5, 8 ; CC: 2, 6, 9) Choose some music selections from your parents’ or grandparents’ age After listening to the selections, discuss how your music differs from theirs. Compare to current music. Which music presents an air of optimism? What do the words indicate about the values of the culture?

Moving To Higher Ground

“Wynton Marsalis is absolutely the one to write this book. Here he is as young as morning, as fresh as dew, and already called one of the jazz greats. He is not only a seer and an exemplary musician, but a poet as well. He informs us that jazz was created, among other things, to expose the hypocrisy and absurdity of racism and other ignorances in our country. Poetry was given to human beings for the same reason – [This book] is an absolute joy to read.”
– Maya Angelou

Contents (174 pages)

Introduction: Now, that's jazz
Chapter 1: Discovering the joy of swinging
Chapter 2: Speaking the language of jazz
Chapter 3: Everybody's music: the blues
Chapter 4: What it takes – and how it feels – to play
Chapter 5: The great coming together
Chapter 6: Lessons from the masters
Chapter 7: That thing with no name
Afterword: Conversation between Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Wynton Marsalis

ISBN: 978-0-8129-6908-5

Arts, Rhetoric, and Swing

“This beautifully written teachers' guide provides ready-to-use discussion points and essay questions along with clearly identified standards and terms. It makes me wish I were a student once again, learning the incredible connections between the arts, coming alive for the first time to the pulse of life in jazz and the written word.”
–Nancy Nestor-Baker PhD
The Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology

Contents of Teacher's Edition (80 pages)

Language Arts Standards Alignment
Essential Questions
Unit and Lesson Plans
Bloom's Taxonomy Objectives
Biographical Information
Synopsis of Text
Chapter by Chapter Summary and Analysis
Persuasion and Rhetoric
Aristotelian Triad
Aristotle's Three Appeals
Studying Moving to Higher Ground through Philosophy of Art
Assessments
Video and Audio Supplements
Glossary of Literary and Rhetorical Terms

ISBN (Student Edition):
978-0-9887358-1-1
ISBN (Teacher Edition):
978-0-9887358-0-4

Menu