OVERVIEW
While students may be somewhat knowledgeable about Mississippi’s rich contributions in the field of blues music and rock and roll, they are probably unaware of the state’s contributions to the field of country music. This lesson will enable them to study the content and form of country music and to explore the connections between the genre and the rural, southern environment of the early 20th century. In doing so, they will become acquainted with the life of a famous practitioner from Mississippi; Jimmie Rodgers.
CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS
Mississippi Studies Framework: Competencies 1, 3, 4, and 6.
TEACHING LEVELS
Grades 4 (with modifications) through 12.
MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT
- Mississippi History Now article, "Jimmie Rodgers: The Father of Country Music"
- Butcher paper (optional)
- Jimmie Rodgers recordings (optional)
OBJECTIVES
Students will:
- record the major events in the life of Jimmie Rodgers by constructing a brief sequence-chain;
- recognize and describe the genre of country music;
- determine how the environment in which he lived influenced Jimmie Rodgers’s work.
OPENING THE LESSON
Begin the lesson by playing a recording of any country music song (teacher’s choice). Allow students to react. Have students discuss their impressions of country music: its sound, content, etc. Ask if there are any "famous" country musicians from Mississippi. Switch the discussion to blues and rock-and-roll music for students to compare their knowledge of the different musical types and the contributions of artists from Mississippi. Write the terms, The Singing Brakeman, and, America’s Blue Yodeler, on the board. Instruct students to think about the terms and to write appropriate descriptions of them in their notebook. You may want to provide time for some students to read their responses. Ask students to listen for explanations of the terms as the lesson continues and to compare their answers.
DEVELOPING THE LESSON
- Tell students that Mississippi’s rich cultural heritage consists of contributions to many different musical genres, including country. Let them speculate on the meaning of the term genre, before having them write a correct definition in their notes. Tell them that Jimmie Rodgers, from Meridian, Mississippi, became known as the Father of Country Music. Have a student point out the location of Meridian on a wall map. Help them understand the time of Rodgers’s life: the beginning of the 20th century; the Great Depression; World War I; etc. Have students discuss the prevailing music technologies of the period.
- Ask students to read the Mississippi History Now article and to make brief notes concerning the major events in the life of Jimmie Rodgers.
- In groups of three or five, students will compare their notes and determine how to construct a sequence-chain depicting his life events. Allow students time to complete the chains and display the chains in the classroom. Ask students to compare/contrast the chains. Lead a whole-class discussion on the events, allowing students to talk about all three of Rodgers’s nicknames.
- Play additional recordings of Rodgers’s music, if possible. Instruct students to make observations from the music and their reading regarding the origin, format, and content (themes) of country music. Have them construct a graphic organizer (perhaps in the shape of a guitar) to illustrate this information.
- Make a list on the board or overhead of the titles of Rodgers’s songs. You can find a list of his song titles at https://www.jimmierodgers.com/music. Ask students to categorize the themes, if possible, and to discuss WHY they think they were the subjects of his music. As they continue to study the titles, ask students to think about ways that Rodgers’s songs were a reflection of his environment and the times. Instruct students to compose a list of primary events, times, places, and things that influenced his music. Once again, have them compare lists, edit, and turn them in for credit.
- Ask if students think today’s musicians are influenced in the same way. Let them offer examples. Let students speculate on the kind of music Rodgers may have written if he had been born and raised in New York City. Instruct students to adopt the role of a musician and to create some song titles of their own.
- Lead a class discussion, asking students to think about their knowledge of country music, both pre- and post-lesson. Through questioning, determine that students have mastered the objectives.
CLOSING THE LESSON
As a homework assignment, instruct students to write a rough-draft essay supporting Jimmie Rodgers’s title as the Father of Country Music. Students should use information they have gathered on each of the three objectives to support their essay. In class, let them share their drafts, revise and edit them, and then do their final writing of the essay for a grade.
ASSESSING STUDENT LEARNING
- Participation in discussions and group activities
- Completion of sequence-chain and additional graphic organizers
- Essay
EXTENDING THE LESSON
- Students may wish to write and perform a drama depicting the life of Jimmie Rodgers.
- A visit to the Jimmie Rodgers Museum in Meridian would be enjoyable.
- Construct a bio-poem. (See the Mississippi History Now lesson plan on Richard Wright for model).
- Students may investigate other country music stars such as Willie Nelson and Charley Pride. Pride is from Sledge, Mississippi.
- Country music star Ernest Tubb was greatly influenced by Jimmie Rodgers. Research the details.
- Many areas of the state have local country music performers. Consider having one visit the classroom.
RESOURCES
- Wilson and Ferris, Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, University of North Carolina Press, 1989.
- Jimmie Rodgers Museum, Box 4555 Meridian, MS 39304 - Telephone: 601-938-7427. http://www.jimmierodgers.com
- Palmer, Robert. Deep Blues, Penguin Books, USA, 1981.