MS - New curriculum based on Miss. Blues Trail Teachers around the Pine Belt will be learning to teach students how the blues contributed to the state’s history and cultural heritage during a Hattiesburg Arts Council development day event in January. Teachers will be introduced to the Mississippi Arts Commission’s Mississippi Blues Trail Curriculum, which is already available free online. The curriculum explores Mississippi history through the Mississippi Blues Trail using an arts-integrated approach. “It talks about music, transportation, slavery, civil rights,” said Rebekah Stark Johnson, executive director of the council. “It hits on all sorts of topics.” The 18-lesson curriculum is aimed at fourth-grade history students but can be modified for any student. The Mississippi Legislature established the Mississippi Blues Commission in 2004 and launched the Mississippi Blues Trail in 2006. Since that time, more than 170 markers have been dedicated along the trail. The curriculum draws upon the tremendous amount of content on each marker. Mark Malone, William Carey University music professor and coordinator of music education, co-authored the curriculum. “Many of our current children in the Magnolia State don’t know anything about the blues,” he said. “The Mississippi Blues Trail is a wonderful gift of heritage and tradition in terms of music, history, geography and humanity.” Malone said the challenge was how to organize the material in a way that could be assimilated and understood by children. “My task was to take the information and make it usable for young students,” he said. “(For example), what’s a scale and what’s a blues scale? Those are accessible by youngsters.” The lessons were developed for each of six core areas: music, meaning, cotton, transportation, civil rights and media. To enhance the experience, blues artist Tommie “T-Bone” Pruitt will perform during lunch. A teacher can use the curriculum throughout the semester for a period of four months, teaching one lesson per week. The lessons can also be taught on their own. The curriculum is aligned with the Common Core State Standards and other national and state frameworks. The Mississippi Blues Trail website can be used with the curriculum and offers images of the front and back of each marker. There is also a resources section in the curriculum that includes interviews, field recordings, songs and videos for each lesson. Teachers from all grade levels and subjects in the Hattiesburg Public School District will be attending the training, Assistant Superintendent Edna Thomas said. Included will be history, theater, dance, art and music teachers, as well as librarians. “We believe our students will be engaged in the curriculum because it is information that will be authentic to where they live,” Thomas said in an email. “It will be presented in varying formats, will offer an opportunity for students to collaborate with each other and will provide an avenue by which they can create products that represent the information they have learned.” Malone said learning about the Mississippi Blues Trail will help students understand how important music is to this state. “There is a great heritage here,” he said. “It is to be cherished. We’re celebrating and putting into effect the heritage that Mississippi has given the world.” If you go Hattiesburg Arts Council Teacher Development Day •What: Mississippi Blues Trail Curriculum •Who:Fourth- through 12th-grade teachers •When: 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Jan. 5 •Where:Hattiesburg Cultural Center, 723 Main St. •Registration deadline: Dec. 15 •CEU credits available: .7 credits for $10 •For inquiries or enrollment: Rebekah Stark Johnson, hattiesburgartscouncil@gmail wmcactionnews5/story/27581360/new-curriculum-based-on-miss-blues-trail Ellen Ciurczak, American Staff Writer
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 16:03:50 +0000
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