Find rare materials related to American music in our catalog.
Explore archival collections, including over 13,000 photographs.
View one-of-a-kind materials from our special projects, such as the American Vernacular Music Manuscripts Project.
In our Reading Room, examine historic documents and recordings.
Work with treasures from one of the country's largest music archives.

My Homeland Educational Resources

Introduction

My Homeland Tennessee: A Research Guide to Songs About Tennessee lends itself to educational instruction. The database provides access to a bounty of songs that can be used as resources in the classroom or for individual research by scholars, students, and the general public. Lesson plans geared toward Tennessee state curriculum standards for specific grades can be accessed through the "Lesson Plans" links below. Also, try exploring the five themes located on the My Homeland Tennessee website to get an idea of the various genres of music, historical depth, various formats, images, and audio available. Or utilize some of the following links to other online teacher resources that incorporate music and primary sources into lesson plans and worksheets.

Lesson Plans

Also, try exploring the five themes located on the top bar of the My Homeland Tennessee website to get an idea of the various genres of music, historical depth, various formats, images, and audio available. Or utilize some of the links provided on the Educational Resources page.

Please keep in mind that we are still developing the My Homeland Tennessee research guide. We would like to hear from teachers and students on how best to proceed. What types of lesson plans and educational resources incorporating songs about Tennessee would be most useful? To leave feedback about these lesson plans or to give us ideas for future lesson plan development, please email popular.music@mtsu.edu

Helpful Links

Teaching with Primary Sources Across Tennessee empowers students and educators to shape their own learning experiences by engaging the world through primary sources. Reaching across every discipline and learning level, TPS invites educators to use the Library of Congress Web site as a powerful tool to reach students of all ages.

The Library of Congress provides many resources for classroom use.

"America Singing: Nineteenth-Century Song Sheets." This site is also useful because it provides a search mechanism where teachers can find out which standards each resource meets.

Teachers' worksheet for analyzing music.

Thinking about songs as historical artifacts.

The Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA)

TSLA provides worksheets and other ideas about how to analyze specific types of primary resources.

A worksheet from TSLA targeting sheet music.

The Tennessee State Museum has a website titled Tennessee 4 Me that provides information and resources divided into six individual themes.

Here is a page devoted to music of the WWII era.

Here is a page devoted to music after WWII, under "Everyday Life."

Shades of Gray and Blue: Reflections of Life in Civil War Tennessee

http://www.civilwarshades.org/http://www.civilwarshades.org/wp-content/uploads/Making-Music-Lesson.pdf
Shades of Gray and Blue has a "Making Music" lesson plan featuring "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh," that can be found in the My Homeland Tennessee database.

Here is a page devoted to music after WWII, under "Everyday Life."

Voices Across Time: American History Through Music A joint project of the Center for American Music, part of the University of Pittsburgh Library System, and the Society for American Music http://voices.pitt.edu/

Lesson plans generated by teachers who have attended the NEH Summer Institute for Teachers, Voices Across Time. These might serve as a guide for creating your own lesson plans.

Resources for exploring American history through music.

The American Library Association (ALA)

ALA has published a guide to Using Primary Sources on the Web.

Top of Page