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  Match Game | Duke's Music Class | Teacher Lesson Plan

Teacher Lesson Plan

"Duke Ellington is the quintessential American composer."
--Albert Murray, critic

Encourage your students to consider the life and music of Duke Ellington in the same manner as that of any other great composer or person of accomplishment; that is, within the context of his times and the work he produced that has stood the test of time. Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (1899-1974) was a multi-talented musician who would became famous as a composer, jazz bandleader, as a pianist.

As a bandleader, his record of keeping an outstanding ensemble together and getting the best out of his musicians for over 40 years has seldom been equaled. He was famous also for his skills as a pianist who influenced an entire generation. Duke Ellington's vast body of compositions are a testament to his greatness as a composer who wrote music that went beyond the category of "jazz" and became symbolic of the originality and wide-reaching influence of African American and American music worldwide.

A. General Objective: To introduce students to the music and legacy of Duke Ellington as a major American musician and composer.

B. Specific Objectives:

1. To introduce students to a variety of Ellington compositions.
2. To identify those elements that made the sound of the Ellington orchestra unique.
3. To identify members of his band whose talents were featured in his compositions.

The "Duke Ellington Matching Game" is a musical biography of Ellington featuring six compositions from his career as a composer, bandleader, and pianist. The activity "Duke Ellington's Music" focuses on specific musicians for whom he wrote music that gave his orchestra a sound and style unique in American music.

Time: A minimum 45-minute class period.

Format: Students may explore these activities independently as a homework assignment, or you may lead them in a classroom activity.

Independent study: Direct students to the SJMO website at www.SmithsonianJazz.org and instruct them to explore the "Duke Ellington Matching Game" and "Duke Ellington's Music." You may ask them to complete the chart at the beginning of the matching game activity and their written work from the music activities so that you can correct their answers.

Classroom study: Before presenting this activity to the class as a group activity, students may be sent to www.SmithsonianJazz.org to explore these activities independently. It is not necessary for students to have visited the site before participating in the classroom activity.

Materials Required for Classroom Study

1. Hard copies of the pictures and paragraphs downloaded from the "Duke Ellington Matching Game" section.
2. PC with internet access and speakers.
3. Paper and pencil for each student, for the writing activities.

Procedure for Classroom Study

Duke Ellington Matching Game: Paste the pictures to a wall. Invite students to observe the pictures carefully and discuss their content. They should read each paragraph and decide which picture corresponds to each paragraph. As they decide, tape the appropriate paragraph underneath each picture. Finally, listen to the audio clips and decide which one corresponds to each paragraph.

Duke Ellington's Music:
For each activity do the following:
a. Read the text and directions out loud and play the listening examples for students to hear.
b. Stop and allow students to complete the writing exercises.

The National Standards for Arts Education

Music Standards, Grades 5-8

	Content Standard #6:	Listening to, analyzing, and describing music
	Content Standard #7:	Evaluating music and music performances
	Content Standard #8:	Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts

Music Technology Standards, Grades 5-8

Curriculum and Scheduling #3

Teachers employ instructional strategies that appropriately utilize the unique capabilities of technology

United States History Standards, Grades 5-8

Standard #29:

Understands the struggle for racial and gender equality and for the extension of civil liberties

Language Arts Standards, Grades 5-8

	Standard #1:	Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
	Standard #3:	Uses grammatical and mechanical conventions in written compositions
	Standard #8:	Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes

For further learning...

Cobblestone: The History Magazine for Young People (May, 1993).
     Peterborough, NH: Cobblestone Publishing, Inc.
     Special issue on Duke Ellington. For readers aged 9-14.

Old, Wendie C. Duke Ellington: Giant of Jazz. Springfield, N.J.: Enslow
     Publishers, 1996. 128 pages. For readers aged 12 and up.

Woog, Adam. The Importance of Duke Ellington. San Diego: Lucent
     Books, 1996. 112 pages. For readers in grades 7-10.