Featuring Imani Gonzalez
For teachers of grades 3-8
Experience what happens when two cultures, African and American blues, collide to create an exciting new experience built on the musical elements of “repetition” and “call & response.” Explore strategies that are aligned with Writer’s Workshop to engage students in writing their own blues songs that express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Giving voice to children’s thoughts and feelings is an integral part of their social-emotional development. Writing personal narratives with an understanding of the stories told in musical forms that led to the development of jazz will encourage students to connect their emotions to the content of writing and create their own authentic blues story. Because blues music comes from a long tradition of storytelling defiance in the face of adversity, it is natural to connect the process to personal narrative writing. Teachers learn to immerse their students in the rich history of jazz, as they trace its roots and influences through African traditional chants, work songs, spirituals, ragtime, and the blues, all to create their own story.
