In this lesson, students will discuss how the ideals of the Harlem Renaissance and Locke's New Negro were exemplified by the poetry of Langston Hughes. Specifically, they will examine how Hughes incorporated the vernacular tradition of the Blues in his work, and identify the literary techniques Hughes employs to make his poetry so vivid.

This lesson explores several of the recording mediums used throughout the early 20th century. Along the way, students learn how sound waves travel, how the human brain converts those waves to recognizable sound and how inventors learned to capture them on wax, magnetic tape, and finally as digital information. From there, this lesson then investigates the creative impulses and scientific developments that turned multitrack recording from a dream to a reality. Students also get hands-on experience using the Soundbreaking Mixing Board TechTool, which allows them to be sound engineers, playing with "the mix" of a multitrack studio.

This lesson investigates how electrifying the guitar was a contributing factor to the emergence of a sound that came to define Rock and Roll and, to a large extent, mid-20th century American popular culture. Featuring content from the PBS Soundbreaking episode, "Going Electric," which includes the guitar playing of luminaries Charlie Christian, Pete Townsend, Muddy Waters and Jimi Hendrix, this lesson examines the spirit of curiosity, adaptation and invention that characterized the early 1950s and in the 1960s led to the guitar's emergence as a versatile and attractive instrument for musicians and as the quintessential Rock and Roll icon.

This lesson introduces students to the Telharmonium, the Theremin, the Moog and the component on which all of their sound syntheses are formed: the sound wave. Students learn what a sound wave is, how it travels and how our bodies convert it into intelligible sound. Using the Soundbreaking Sound Wave TechTool, students learn to recognize four basic waveform shapes by sound and sight. This lesson also explores the role the synthesizer played in relation to people's perceptions of technology and culture in the 1970s, 80s and beyond.

This lesson explores the technology of "records" and what it meant to the people who consumed them. Students will learn how a record works and why a needle on a disc can record and play back music. Moreover, students will investigate how these technological changes had far reaching effects, even in the domestic setting. Finally, this lesson follows the 45 rpm and LP record through the airwaves of both AM and FM radio, using excerpts of broadcasts by the pioneering DJs Alan Freed and Tom Donahue and investigating how the possibilities and limitations of each medium and their respective places on the radio dial provide a framework for historical analysis.

In this lesson, the music and visuals of the Gorillaz album Plastic Beach is used to introduce students to the issue of plastic waste. Students are asked to calculate the percentage of plastic that goes unrecycled internationally, and illustrate a model of polyethylene to better understand why the molecular makeup of plastic creates both benefits and drawbacks. Finally, they evaluate various projects that are currently being undertaken to curb plastic waste, and develop their own similar program or project that they could employ on a local level.

In this lesson, students explore band logos as examples of graphic design, and consider how logos derive meaning through association with the bands they symbolize. Guided by a handout that introduces Five Principles of Effective Logo Design, students study images of band logos and analyze their effectiveness. Armed with a new sense of what might make logos effective, students then design logos for their own fictitious, or real, bands.

In this lesson, students begin by examining the ways their sense of identity might be affected by social pressures associated with different spaces. By watching clips from RUMBLE, students then discover how musicians Robbie Robertson, Stevie Salas, and Taboo have negotiated their Native identities, and compare these musician's journeys with those of earlier Native Americans.

In this lesson, students explore the principles of synesthesia through drawing to music. By viewing and analyzing artwork based on multi sensory perception, students will become aware of the role of the senses in art, and how sensory stimulation such as listening to music can be used as a tool for inspiration. Guided by a handout outlining the basic elements and principles of art, students will engage in active discussions about how sensory perceptions can be interpreted through color, line, and form. They will then apply these reflections on their own artistic work.

In this lesson, students identify basic shapes and types of lines, and analyze how Pablo Picasso's might use such shapes and lines in Guitar, Sheet Music, and Glass. Drawing upon Guitar, Sheet Music, and Glass as an inspiration, students than cut out and paste shapes to create their own cubist collage of a musical instrument.

In this lesson, students understand the principles of transduction and the role of transducers by looking at the history of the guitar. They begin by examining how an acoustic and electric guitar function, and then construct their own "digital" guitar from cardboard, conductive tape, and a Makey Makey circuit board. After performing their own "riffs" on their digital guitars, they discuss how each type of guitar transduces sound waves, electrical currents, and/or digital signals.

In this lesson, students listen to Flint-based rapper Jon Connor's song "Fresh Water for Flint" to better understand the sense of frustration and injustice people living in the city felt during the water crisis. Students then experiment with creating their own water filtration system to better understand the scientific and engineering principles behind water treatment. Lastly, they consider the biological effects of lead poisoning and determine specific, political, economic, and scientific causes behind the Flint water crisis.

By exploring historical accounts of events surrounding the Boston Tea Party, students learn about the sources and methods that historians use to reconstruct what happened in the past.

Reading Robert Browning's poem "My Last Duchess," students will explore the use of dramatic monologue as a poetic form, where the speaker often reveals far more than intended.

Starting from atoms, see how many molecules you can build. Collect your molecules and see them in 3D!

Build fractions from shapes and numbers to earn stars in this fractions game or explore in the Fractions Lab. Challenge yourself on any level you like. Try to collect lots of stars!

Build fractions from shapes and numbers to earn stars in this fractions game or explore in the Fractions Lab. Challenge yourself on any level you like. Try to collect lots of stars!

Build an atom out of protons, neutrons, and electrons, and see how the element, charge, and mass change. Then play a game to test your ideas!

This lesson highlights the changing relationship between the city center and the suburb in the postwar decades, especially in the 1950s. Students will look at the legislation leading up to and including the Federal Highway Act of 1956. They will also examine documents about the history of Levittown, the most famous and most important of the postwar suburban planned developments.

This lesson unit is intended to help teachers assess how well students are able to create and solve linear equations. In particular, the lesson will help you identify and help students who have the following difficulties: solving equations with one variable and solving linear equations in more than one way.