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Presenters: Jerry Neeman, Nancy Welniak, Jan Keller |
Email Address: jneeman@esu10.org nwelniak@esu10.org |
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Presentation Date: March 28, 2006 |
Web site URL: |
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Meet Your Presenters: Jerry Neeman has taught instrumental music in Nebraska for 28 years with the last 10 being at Ord Public Schools. Mr. Neeman has played principle trumpet in the Hastings Symphony, lead trumpeter in the New Flock Jazz Band, and has played drums in the Green River Band. Recently he has soloed as a blues guitar player and singer at such places as the Comstock Rock Festival, KZUM radio in Lincoln, Arnold Blues Festivals, and numerous clubs in Nebraska. The slide guitar is a major influence and he feels that you should always sing and play from your heart and that the song's message is very important. Nancy Welniak has served as the creative writing/language arts instructor at Ord Public Schools for the past 12 years. Mrs. Welniak has participated in distance education training, involved her class in a William Kloefkorn enrichment lesson - Jerins Portraits, and has taken her students to MONA as a followup to that lesson. Jan Keller received her Bachelors of Art Education and a Bachelors of Speech and Drama Education from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in May of 1993. She fulfilled her Masters of Art Education degree in June of 2003. Ms. Keller is currently in her 13th year of teaching at Ord High School where she teaches 9-12 Art and Speech. Jan has displayed her paintings in galleries across Nebraska and takes pride in knowing her paintings hang in homes across America. Her favorite achievement is that of an art educator. Jan states, "Art feeds our creative side and allows the students to express their feelings and emotions. Art connects the students to our past, our present, and the future." Mr. Neeman, Ms. Welniak, and Ms. Keller will be presenting the Blues, Art, and Poetry lesson for the third year over distance learning. |
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Lesson Description: The focus of this lesson is the blues and how they both operate as poetry and influence the poetry of many prominent African American poets. This lesson will begin with an examination of blues lyrics and contemporary lyrics as poetry; students will consider the poetic devices and recurring themes used in the lyrics. This examination will help them understand the impact of blues music on many African American poets, both formally and thematically. In addition, the lesson will highlight the basic musical form of a blues song and examine both the content and form of lyrics in blues songs. |
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Lesson Objectives: By completing this lesson, the student will be able to:
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As a way to reinforce student understanding of poetic devices, the first exercise considers use of these devices in song lyrics, both from popular music and the blues. Start by asking students to bring in the lyrics to one of their favorite songs (reminding them, of course, of the importance of selecting a song appropriate for classroom study). Using their song selections, have students identify poetic devices within the lyrics. Some devices include: alliteration, imagery, metaphor, personification, simile, rhyme, repetition, allusion, hyperbole, euphemism, and paradox. Similar to the songs brought in by students, a number of poetic devices also appear in blues songs. Use the list of lines from blues songs and as a class, identify the devices evident in each. The list is part of your packet. An optional activity would be to use Robert Johnson's "Cross Road Blues" and have students list all of the devices they hear employed. If necessary, lyrics can be obtained at <http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history//lavender/crossroadblues.html> The blues impacted the writing of many African American poets such as Langston Hughes. Use his poem "The Weary Blues" and ask students to analyze the poem as they have examined lyrics in the previous activity. You will find a copy of the poem in your packets. Discuss the idea that this poem reads very much like a song. Ask why poets like Hughes would have been so influenced by the blues. Share facts from Hughes' life to help explain his connection. I will include a brief list in the packet. More information can be obtained from any American Literature classroom text. Inform students that several elements of the blues can be found in works of African American literature. Specifically, much of this literature uses the traditional blues song forms. If your time allows, you can refer to the "Understanding the 12-Bar Blues" essay in packet. This essay shares the subject matter of the blues, including hard times, love, oppression, alienation, and the search for identity. The essay honors blues singers, places and instruments. It addresses the suffering of African Americans and incorporates the rhythm and music of African American vernacular speech. You can briefly discuss how "The Weary Blues" incorporates these ideas. If you desire, you can use the additional poems by Langston Hughes to analyze blues elements. In your packet you will find copies of "To Midnight at Leroy's," "Blues Fantasy," and "Po Boy Blues". |
You will find the following items in your packets:
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Jerry Neeman's overview : We will learn about lyric format, AAB format, and story format using live music. We will learn about floating verses and plagiarism. We will learn about the chord structure of the blues - the 1, 4, and 5 chords mainly. We will dicuss the importance of poetry when writing lyrics. We will dicuss the importance of music, especially the blues in dealing with important social issues such as the death penalty and racism. The students will be asked to write their own lyrics to express themselves. Assign students to select a prominent theme in society today and write either a poem or a blues song about it. Whether students select a poem or a song, they should make sure to incorporate a blues format. AAB blues format is easiest; "Po Boy Blues" could serve as a poetry model, while "Cross road Blues represents a good blues song model. They should also incorporate a minimum of four poetic devices in their poem or song. In your packet you will find a blues songs list that can be used as practice in identifying issues, incidents, and struggles important to the black community. If students struggle to identify a prominent societal theme, assign them to write about an event or daily occurrence in life. |
Link to "Strange Fruit' lyrics by Billie Holiday - go to GOOGLE and search for "strange fruit lyrics billie holiday" the song "Strange Fruit' by Billie Holiday on CD in packet Link to Huntsville Death Penalty - go to GOOGLE and search for "huntsville death penalty" and it should take you to the web site <http://members.aol.com/gabi20uhl/page7b.html> Link to lyrics for "Ellis Unit One" - go to GOOGLE and search for "ellis unit one steve earle lyrics" Steve Earle song "Ellis Unit One" on CD in packet If desired, have students locate links to lynching - go to GOOGLE and search for "lynching in america" |
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Assign students to select a prominent theme in society today and write either a poem or a blues song about it. Whether students select a poem or a song, they should make sure to incorporate a blues format. AAB blues format is easiest; "Po Boy Blues" could serve as a poetry model, while "Cross Road Blues" represents a good blues song model. They should also incorporate a minimum of four poetic devices in their poem or song. |
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