In this video from the American Masters film Ralph Ellison: An American Journey, scholars discuss the author’s ideas about jazz music. Ellison recognized jazz as an art form that represented the complexity of America’s multicultural democratic society. This resource may be used alongside Ellison’s Invisible Man, but is also well suited for use in a lesson, unit, or course on African American literature.

Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.

Dried meat has long been a staple for Indigenous communities throughout the world. The process and practice of using time, heat, and seasonings to create something that is safe, satisfying and sustainable is a delicate balance that Indigenous people have mastered for Millenia. And that's science!

Learn about the work of artist Roberto Juarez. Inspired by his memories of childhood, Juarez combines collage, painting, and printmaking to make large-scale artworks. In the related activity, students will work with these techniques to create their own mixed media piece. The video and discussion will take one class session. The art activity will take 3 or more class sessions.

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For more studio tours and other arts content from WMHT, visit AHA! A House for Arts. AHA! A House for Arts features the stories of artists, makers, and creative institutions right here in our backyard and across the country. A celebration of all things creative, AHA! features everything from the traditional to the innovative.

You may have never thought of pedaling your sofa down the street to visit your neighbors, but that was the idea behind DekoSofa, a kinetic, multimedia sculpture that traveled around BLINK, a festival of art and light held in Cincinnati. Festival-goers were invited to join one of the artists on the three-person mobile sofa, complete with coffee table and chandeliers. The entire rig was decorated with neon lights in the style of Japanese dekotora trucks (decorated trucks) and included a multimedia mural of a creature crawling out of the Chesapeake Bay.

Students are introduced to traditional folk music in this animation of the French song, “L'Arc en Ciel” which means "the Rainbow." Students learn the colors of the rainbow in French while following the adventures of a singing bumblebee.

Students in Fred Whittaker’s class create a bulletin board display filled with pictures of themselves and similar pictures of Jews who died in the Holocaust. The project helps students make deep connections to the people lost in the Holocaust.

Over six million Jewish men, women, and children were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. When we read that fact, it is hard to understand what it actually means. The scale of the tragedy is simply too overwhelming. It is only when we recognize that each one of those six million people was an individual—someone just like us—that we begin to understand.

Many of the photos we see of the Jewish people during the Holocaust show prisoners who are starving. But what did these people look like before the Holocaust? Did the children love their families and play with their friends? Did they go to school and ride bicycles?

Before undertaking this project, watch the video, Holocaust Pedagogy, in which Fred Whittaker introduces best practices in Holocaust education.

The three video collections here offer educators a detailed exploration of different ways to approach the topic in the classroom. Murals of the Holocaust describes a summer program that offers an art-integrated history course on Germany and the Holocaust. Juliek’s Violin focuses on three pieces of classical music, including music from the scene in Elie Wiesel’s Night where Juliek plays the violin in the concentration camp. Teaching the Holocaust explores how two middle school educators approach the teaching of Holocaust history to their students.

Let’s learn about the different building blocks of music: beat, rhythm, harmony, and melody. Using these building blocks, we can be brave musicians and make our very own musical sound. Join us while we experiment with the elements of music and then watch as our special guest, Ms. Foster, shows us how to build shoebox houses with everyday items we find around the house.

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Presented by VPM.

Songs and Stories with Mary and Mike uses music and story as the joyful pathway to learning for young children while integrating and modeling the state's new EC learning standards for literacy, math, and social-emotional learning as well as the National Standards for Music Education. The show forges connections across the greater community by featuring guest teachers, artists, musicians, authors, and community members. With every music selection, book selection, and guest spotlight, Mary and Mike strive for a rich, diverse, beautiful representation of all people and cultures. The message to beautiful learners is clear: they are loved, they are valued, and they can do amazing things.

Learn to sing a song that reminds us of a big spinning wheel. We will also meet a new instrument that makes its sound by spinning—a hurdy-gurdy! Then watch as our special guest, Ms. Thomas, shows us how to make our very own spinning toy—a whirligig! Come spin with us!

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Presented by VPM.

Songs and Stories with Mary and Mike uses music and story as the joyful pathway to learning for young children while integrating and modeling the state's new EC learning standards for literacy, math, and social-emotional learning as well as the National Standards for Music Education. The show forges connections across the greater community by featuring guest teachers, artists, musicians, authors, and community members. With every music selection, book selection, and guest spotlight, Mary and Mike strive for a rich, diverse, beautiful representation of all people and cultures. The message to beautiful learners is clear: they are loved, they are valued, and they can do amazing things.

Learn about the five senses. Mary and Mike are out and about, using their five senses to explore a city park. Mary collects leaves and watches the squirrels busily gathering acorns, while Mike eats snacks from his bag. Back in the studio, they find new ways to make music and even try some improvisation. Special guest, Ms. McCollough, shows us how to make our very own fizzy volcanoes. How will you be brave and curious today?

More About This Resource
Presented by VPM.

Songs and Stories with Mary and Mike uses music and story as the joyful pathway to learning for young children while integrating and modeling the state's new EC learning standards for literacy, math, and social-emotional learning as well as the National Standards for Music Education. The show forges connections across the greater community by featuring guest teachers, artists, musicians, authors, and community members. With every music selection, book selection, and guest spotlight, Mary and Mike strive for a rich, diverse, beautiful representation of all people and cultures. The message to beautiful learners is clear: they are loved, they are valued, and they can do amazing things.

San Francisco artist and author Jessica Hische has designed everything from chocolate lettering to Wes Anderson movie title sequences. Here she takes us into her design studio with a demo on custom lettering from pencil sketch to vector paths.

"Nature furnished the materials for architectural motifs." This quote from Frank Lloyd Wright illustrates his desire to connect humans to the natural landscape through architecture. One successful example of this concept was his design of art glass windows that connected with the trees and leaves outside. Examine the beautiful window patterns Frank Lloyd Wright designed for the Martin House and then design your own Wright-style window inspired by nature.

More than a biography of America’s greatest architect, Frank Lloyd Wright's Buffalo is a story of family, friendship and the meaning of home in American life. The program explores how a friendship spanning decades affected the structural aesthetic of a major American city and made a significant impact on architectural history. Buffalo, New York has the unique privilege of having more Frank Lloyd Wright structures than any other city in America outside of Chicago. This collection of architecture is due to one man: Buffalo businessman Darwin D. Martin. The centerpiece of Wright’s work in Buffalo is one of Wright's earliest designs, the Darwin Martin House. Built in 1904, it precedes such masterpieces as the Robie House and Fallingwater and is considered by many as the finest example of his prairie house design. Learn more about the WNED PBS original production here.

Get an inside look into the iterative process of logo design with graphic designer, Mark Winn. Here Mark takes us through the process of conceptualizing a logo theme and executing the design from pencil to pixel while providing some serious time-saving techniques in Illustrator along the way.

In this digital short from Unladylike2020, students learn about Lois Weber, the first woman director of a feature film, and her impact on silent film and early Hollywood. Utilizing video, discussion questions, vocabulary and an in-class activity, students explore the life and legacy of Lois Weber and her role in the fight for women’s suffrage.

In this interactive lesson, discover how literary techniques like setting, characterization, and conflict contribute to the overarching theme of a text. Through analysis of Lorraine Hansberry's iconic play A Raisin in the Sun, explore the importance of these different elements individually, then learn how each piece comes together to establish theme.

Learn how Lynn Ferris uses watercolor materials and skills to create her works of art.

Learn about the fundamental connections between math and music, in four Acts: "Rhythm," "Frequency," "Harmony," and "Fractals." Concepts presented in the video documentary are reinforced by hands-on experiments using the Google Chrome Music Lab Experiments. Learn the instructional design process used in creation of The Majesty of Music and Math incorporating Universal Design for Learning and the methodology of assessing non-cognitive skills using a combination of gains in Experience Level, Depth of Knowledge, and Performance Quality.

Joyce Pendleton and her brother Benjamin Pendleton give a glimpse into the Cansayapi makaćhèga resurgence and classes for community members and youth.

A lesson plan for grades 7-12 is included as a gallery asset and in the support materials.

More About This Resource:
Postcards is an award-winning series showcasing the arts, history, and cultural heritage of western Minnesota and beyond. Funding for Postcards comes from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. To watch more Postcards, visit the show page or video portal.

Learn to create mobiles in the style of artisans at the Hsu Studios.

From the brainstorming process to the stage, follow three University of Kentucky dance students as they create their own original choreography. Learn how movements are used to express ideas and emotions. Also witness the challenges of creating a dance as a soloist and as a group.