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

Teacher Lesson Plan

Objective: To introduce students to the music and legacy of Louis Armstrong, who was, as the pre-eminent music educator and conductor David Baker put it, "the trumpeter, composer, vocalist, and innovator who was the most influential and imitated jazz musician of the first fifty years of jazz." Or as Smithsonian curator John Edward Hasse has said, "Louis Armstrong revolutionized jazz and changed American music forever." In the "Louis Armstrong Match Game," each paragraph has a music example and photograph that provides an overview of his life and career.

The activity "Louis Armstrong's Music" focuses on specific musical aspects of his trumpet and vocal art. As your students listen closely to his music, they will begin to discover why the jazz critic Gary Giddins called Louis Armstrong the "single most creative and innovative force in jazz history."

Time: One 45-minute class period

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

Independent study: Direct students to the website, www.SmithsonianJazz.org website and instruct them to explore "Louis Armstrong Match Game" and "Louis Armstrong's Music." You may ask students to complete the chart provided at the beginning of the match game activity, as well as their written work from the music activities for your correction.

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

Materials Required for Classroom Study:

1. Hard copies of the six pictures and six paragraphs downloaded from the "Louis Armstrong Match Game" section.


2. PC with Internet access and speakers.


3. Paper and pencil for each student for the writing activities.

Procedure for Classroom Study:

Louis Armstrong Match Game: Paste the six pictures to a wall. Invite students to carefully observe the pictures 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 six audio clips and decide which audio clip corresponds to each paragraph.

Louis Armstrong's Music: For each activity, read the text and directions out loud and play the listening examples for students. For each activity, stop to allow students to complete the writing exercises.

The National Standards for Arts Education

Music Standards, Grades 5-8

	Content Standard #4:	Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines
	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
	Content Standard #9:	Understanding music in relation to history and culture

Language Arts Standards

	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

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

More information
For a more comprehensive introduction to Armstrong, download the Education Kit (grades 5-12).

For further learning. . .

Armstrong, Louis. Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans. New York:
      Prentice-Hall, 1954.Reprint ed. New York: Da Capo Press, 1986.
     240 pp.

Brown, Sandford. Louis Armstrong: Swinging, Singing Satchmo.
     New York: Franklin Watts, 1993. 124 pp. For readers aged 9-12.

Giddins, Gary. Satchmo. New York: Doubleday, 1988. Reprint: New York:
     Da CapoPress, 1998. 240 pp.

Cobblestone: The History Magazine for Young People (Oct. 1994). Special
     issue: "Louis Armstrong and the Art of Jazz." Peterborough, NH:
     Cobblestone Publishing, Inc. For readers aged 9-14.

Old, Wendie C. Louis Armstrong: King of Jazz. Berkeley Heights, NJ:
     EnslowPublishers, 1998. 128 pages. For young adult readers.

Tanenhaus, Sam. Louis Armstrong, Musician. New York: Chelsea House,
     1988. 124 pages. For readers aged 9-12.

www.satchmo.com