Bluegrass Lesson Plans

The bluegrass music world lost two important icons in 2011 in the persons of Hazel Dickens and Carlton Haney. In their memory, the Foundation for Bluegrass Music will be funding grants and/or scholarships this year and has set August 15, 2011 as the deadline to apply for these resources.

A one-time fund of $10,000 has been earmarked with the following guidelines for applicants: up to $5,000 in memory of Dickens to fund public projects and/or education scholarships that foster "artistic" development involving deserving young people, and up to $5,000 in memory of Haney to fund public projects and/or education scholarships that foster bluegrass music "business" development involving deserving young people.

Click here to read more.

BLUEGRASS IN THE SCHOOLS

Below you will find award-winning lesson plans you may use to incorporate bluegrass music into your classroom or home school. They have been organized by content categories and grade levels in order to easily identify a lesson plan that fits your needs.

If you have new content you would like to submit, be sure to read about
the Lesson Plan Competition offered by Foundation for Bluegrass Music.

Discover Bluegrass DVD

The following lesson plans have been developed to go along with IBMA's educational DVD - Discover Bluegrass: Exploring American Roots Music.

Age level: grades 3-8

DVD Lesson Plan 1
DVD Lesson Plan 2
DVD Lesson Plan 3
DVD Lesson Plan 4
DVD Lesson Plan 5
DVD Lesson Plan 6

Early Elementary, K-grade 2

Froggie's Wedding with "Frog & Friends" - Subject: Music

Steady Beat & Fiddle Tunes - Subject: Music

Crawdad Hole with the "Crawdad" Actors - Subject: Music

Upper Elementary, grades 3-5

The Fox & The Hound Dog - Subject: Music, English/Language Arts, Technology

Even 3rd, 4th and 5th Graders Can Play Guitars - Subject: Music

The Instruments & Sounds of Bluegrass - Subjects: Citizenship, Language Arts, Mathematics

Bluegrass Vocal Harmony and the "High Lonesome Sound" - Subject: Music

Middle School, grades 6-8

Perspectives on a Legend: Exploring & Analyzing John Henry, Man and Music - Subject: Language Arts

Beyond Jam Sessions: Hosting a Bluegrass Festival Subjects: Music, Social Studies, Science, Math, Technology

Bluegrass Band On The Road - Subject: Math

Star Quest - Subjects: Language Arts, Technology

Bluegrass and Break-ups - Subject: Language Arts

Jed's Tennessee Journey (Tennessee Land Form) - Subjects: Social Studies

Do You Hear What I Hear - Subjects: Music, Visual Arts, Language Arts, Technology

"I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow" : Bios of Bluegrass - Subjects: Music, Visual Arts, Social Studies, Language Arts, Technology

"The Good Times Are Past And Gone" : The History of Bluegrass - Subjects: Music, Visual Arts, Social Studies, Language Arts, Technology

Where in the World are Gibson & Martin G'Tar? : Bluegrass Around the World - Subjects: Music, Visual Arts, Social Studies, Language Arts, Technology

"Be Good To My Little Baby Girl" : Taking Care of our Bluegrass Instruments - Subjects: Music, Visual Arts, Language Arts, Speech,Theater, Technology

Immigration in the Mid-19th Century - Subject: Social Studies

High School, grades 9-12

Bluegrass Murder Ballads: Comparisons & Compositions - Subjects: English, American History, Voice & Instrument, Criminal Justice

Bluegrass Topics for the National History Day Contest - Subjects: Social Studies/Language Arts

Brothers, Sisters & The Lyrics of Bluegrass - Subject: Language Arts

Informative Speech - Subjects: Language Arts, Public Speaking

John Steinbeck's Use of Music in The Grapes of Wrath - Subjects: Language Arts

UTunes Your History as a Song - Subject: Social Studies

Grant Application News