BLUEGRASS IN THE SCHOOLS

Deadline to enter lesson plan: November 30, annually.  Call 888-GET-IBMA, 615-256-3222 or email nancyc@ibma.orgfor more info--including sample lesson plans for your review!

As a part of our missionto helpmoreyoung people discover bluegrass music, the Foundation for Bluegrass Music hosts an annual Bluegrass Lesson Plan Competition.

Thecompetition is designed to encourage and reward the creation of instructional units at all gradelevels that will expose students to the sounds and the analysis of bluegrass music. Lesson plansarejudged by a team ofexperienced teachersfamiliar with the genre, with the aim ofhonoringplansthatdeliver high quality instruction in an interesting way, while conforming to educational standards nation-wide and also being easily adaptable byotherteachers who may or may not be familiar with the genre.

The Lesson Plans Competition underlinesthe organization’sintentto build curriculum materials in a variety of content areas that will build awareness and appreciation of bluegrass music as a unique American art form.

The first place winner will receive $750. The second place winner will receive $500 and the third place lesson plan will receive $350.  Additional plans may be noted as "Honorable Mention." All award recipients will be honored with a plaque, onstage at the IBMA Special Awards Luncheon during annual World of Bluegrass events in Nashville, Tenn.  The top lesson plans will be posted on the Foundation for Bluegrass website, for use by teachers and home schooling parents around the world.  

November 30 is the annual deadline to submit lesson plans. Judges review lesson plans from December– January, and winners are announced in February.  In addition to their prize money and having lessons posted online at ibma.org,teachers who write winning lesson plans will receive a plaque and will be recognized at the Special Awards Luncheon at the next World of Bluegrass event in Nashville, Tenn. NOTE:  Winners of the current year's Lesson Plan Competition cash prizes (1st-3rd place) will have their "jersey's retired" for a year in order to recognize more teachers. Prize recipients may enter a new lesson plan two years after a win.  

Additional info:

• Both single class lesson plans and multi-class units of study are welcome for submission.
• K-12 lesson plans may include classes in the following five content areas: Music (instruction or appreciation), Science & Math, Language Arts, Technology and Social Studies.
• Plans will be judged for suitability and relevance, accuracy of information, degree of actively engaging and stimulating students, organization, evaluation measures, and to what degree they address state educational standards.  (A guidelinelistof sample educational standards utilized in most states will be available to teachers.) 
• Rather than recognizing specific exceptional individual bluegrass programs, this competition will be evaluated on how well thelesson plans might transfer easily to other teachers and other school systems.

Lesson plans from home schooling parents and also university students studying to be teachers are welcome.

Download the Application: click here

Congratulations to the following teachers
with Winning Lesson Plans for 2011:

1st Place: "Bluegrass and Ukulele?  Uke Crazy!" grades 3-12; Music, ELL (English Language Learners); by Karisa Hoover; Glencliff Elementary School; Nashville, Tenn.

2nd Place: "The British Isle's Influence on Bluegrass Music;" grades 8-10; General Music, Music Appreciation, Music History; by Damon Postle, Trinity Episcopal School; Charlotte, N.C.

Congratulations to the following teachers
with Winning Lesson Plans for 2010:

1st Place: "Bluegrass Murder Ballads: Comparison & Composition;” grades 9-12; English Language Development (ESL), English (adaptable for Genre or American Literature), American History, Voice & Instrumental Music, Criminal Justice career classes; by Deborah Wilbrink; Cane Ridge High School; Antioch, Tenn.

2nd Place: "Froggie’s Wedding with ‘Frog and Friends;’”grades Pre K – 2, Special Ed; General Music; by Mary Munsey, Watauga Elementary School, Abingdon, Va.

3rd Place: "Perspectives on a Legend: Exploring and Analyzing John Henry, Man and Music;”grades 6-8; Language Arts; by Kathleen Safi; Florida Virtual School’s Connections Academy; Orlando, Fla.

*Honorable Mention:  “The Fox and the Hound Dog;”grades 3-5; Music Appreciation, English/Language Arts, Technology; by David Ashdown; Home Schooling parent/ Community Learning Center co-operative; Saratoga Springs, N.Y. 

“Bluegrass Topics for the National History Day Contest;”grades 7-12; Social Studies (or Humanities/combination Social Studies & Language Arts); by Tom Petersen; Kenmore Junior High School; Kenmore, Wash.

Congratulations to the following teachers
with Winning Lesson Plans for 2009:

1st Place: "Bluegrass Vocal Harmony & the 'High, Lonesome Sound,'" grade 5, Music, by Debra A. Shawver, Marshall Elementary, Oxford, Ohio

2nd Place: "Crawdad Hole, with the 'Crawdad Actors,'" grades Pre K - 2, by Mary Munsey, Watauga Elementary School, Abingdon, Va.

3rd Place: "Jed's Tennessee Journey," grade 7, Social Studies, by Julie Mitchell, Lake Forest Middle School, Cleveland, Tenn.

*Honorable Mention (in alphabetical order):

"Bluegrass Music: A Truly American Heritage,"grades 2-6, Social Studies & Music, by Cindy Gray, Dodson Elementary School, Reno, Nev.

"Brothers, Sisters & the Lyrics of Bluegrass;" grades 8-10; Language Arts; by Cathy Goode; Concord Conservatory of Music; Concord, Mass. 

A series of lesson plans for grades 6-8:

"Do You Hear What I Hear?" "Be Good to My Little Baby Girl: Taking Care of Bluegrass Instruments," "The Good Times Are Past and Gone: The History of Bluegrass," "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow: Bios of Bluegrass," "Where in the World are Gibson and Martin G'Tar? - Bluegrass Around the World"

"Beyond Jam Sessions: Hosting a Bluegrass Festival;" Music, Visual Arts, Communication Arts, Technology; by Julie Bryant; Southwest Baptist University; Bolivar, Mo.

"Even 3rd, 4th & 5th Graders Can Learn Guitar!" grades 3-5, Music Performance, by Mark Panfil, Pinehurst Elementary School, Lake View, N.Y.

"Steinbeck's Use of Music in The Grapes of Wrath," grades 10-12, Language Arts with Music Integration, by Michelle Gunderson, Netterlhorst School for the Fine & Performing Arts, Chicago, Ill.

"Your History as a Song," grades 8-11, Social Studies, by Joe Overman, Cincinnati, Ohio

Congratulations to the following teachers
with Winning Lesson Plans for 2008:

"Bluegrass & Break-ups;" by Kathleen Stark; Keystone Heights Jr./Sr. High School; Keystone Heights, Fla.; English & language arts; grades 7-9

"The Instruments & Sounds of Bluegrass;" by Kathy Larison; Central Academy Non-Graded Elementary School; Middletown, Ohio; mathematics, citizenship & language arts; grades 3-4