Standards Compliance

CA History Standard 11.5.4 Analyze the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment and the changing role of women in society.

CA History Standard 11.8.8 Discuss forms of popular culture, with emphasis on their origins and geographic diffusion (e.g., jazz and other forms of popular music, professional sports, architectural and artistic styles).

CA Historical Interpretation Standard 1 Students show the connections, causal and otherwise, between particular historical events and larger social, economic, and political trends and developments.

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Lesson Plan Ten: Spotlight on Barbara Dane

11th & 12th Grade 2 class periods and 1 homework assignment

Introduction.

When asked to identify a few leading figures who have fought for social change, most people name men. But there have also been many women in the forefront of change, including “entertainers” who have used their music to challenge, organize and inspire. By examining the life of female singer and activist Barbara Dane, students will be asked to consider which is more important: your beliefs or money and success.

Objective.

Students will investigate the impact of activist-artists by focusing on specific moments in the life of singer Barbara Dane. They will consider why this woman chose to take actions that challenged the status quo and at the same time threatened her career as a musician. They will also consider the impact of these actions and write a personalized essay on the subject.

Tools Required: Computer, Internet access, printer.

Historical Vocabulary.

Barbara Dane (born May 12, 1927) is an American folk, blues, and jazz singer from Detroit. After high school, she often sang at demonstrations for racial equality and economic justice. She did sit-ins with bands around town and won the interest of music promoters. She was offered a tour, but turned it down in favor of singing at factory gates and in union halls. She moved to Los Angeles, where she worked with Lenny Bruce and sang regularly at the “Ash Grove,” and then moved to San Francisco, where she opened her own club, “Sugar Hill: Home of the Blues.” She continued to sing with every important blues and jazz musician of the day, while producing 50 LPs of world music on her own label, Paredon. She stepped up her work for peace and justice as the struggle for civil rights spread and the Vietnam War escalated. She continued singing at peace demonstrations around the world and is still alive at the time of publishing (adapted from Barbara Dane’s website).

http://www.barbaradane.net/biography.html

Barbara Dane: Day One.

Introductory Activity 5-10 minutes

Pose the following questions to your students: “Do you think that women are as important as men in making a difference in society? Why or why not?” Have students write a response for five minutes. After students finish, ask them if they can identify reasons why women’s role in society is often seen as supportive and men’s as assertive. How much of this is connected to women being mothers? Are men naturally more aggressive? Ask them to name five men and five women who have fought for social and economic justice. Is it easier to think of men or women? As the students are brainstorming answers, record their responses on a blackboard or large piece of chart paper, and then discuss their responses.Mini Lesson 10 minutes

Ask the students if there are things in life that they think are more important than being successful and making lots of money. Is being successful more important than being happy? Can you be happy if you are not successful? What are some things that they would NOT do for money? Lead a short discussion.After listening to student responses, introduce them to Barbara Dane. Explain that this singer put her personal beliefs ahead of trying to build her career. She used her voice to sing about what she cared about, and not what she thought would sell the most records. Barbara is now over eighty years old. Do you think she looks back on her life and thinks this was a wise choice or not? Explain that they are about to listen to an MP4 file of Barbara Dane talking about her life. Tell them to bear in mind that in the 1950s and 1960s, great American musicians considered Barbara to be one of the best singers around.Individual Research 30 minutes

Now have the students download the MP4 file at: http://www.theharrybridgesproject.org/lesson10.html Have them watch the footage and/or listen to the voices. Print and hand out Student Worksheet: Women as Activists (page 3) for students to use in their Individual Research, instructing them to consider the questions using the indicated websites and to make notes that they will use in their homework assignment. Conclusion 5 minutes

Have the students come back together as a group. Remind them that in the 1950s and 1960s, great American musicians considered Barbara to be one of the best singers, yet she never became really famous. Ask them why they think this occurred. Ask them if they can think of any singers or entertainers today who have risked their careers by standing up for something that they believe in. (Consider Dave Chappelle.)Explain to students that they will have the opportunity tonight to write their own opinion about whether Barbara Dane was right or wrong to put her ideals first. Print and hand out Student Homework: Barbara Dane (page 4).

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Name: ____________________________________

Date: _____________________________________

Student Worksheet:Research on Barbara Dane

For each question, find an answer by visiting the recommended websites; or better yet, find your own websites and share them. Write 3-4 sentences answering each question based off what you read on those sites.

Research and make notes about Barbara Dane’s career as a singer.A Life of the BluesBarbara Dane BiographyBarbara Dane Performance ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Research and make notes about Barbara Dane’s record label, Paredon Records.Paredon RecordsRateMusic "Paredon Records" ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Research and make notes about Barbara Dane’s life as an activist and how it affected her career.Barbara Dane BiographySongs of Protest: The Vietnam SongbookBarbara Dane: Still Singing, Still ResistingWhite Blues Singer (Search for “Ebony Barbara Dane.” The top result should be “Ebony Nov 1959.” Click on it, and read pages 149-154.)___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

If you have time, check out other pages on these sites or find your own sites as well. If you discover websites that helped in your research, send them to us at ianruskin@theharrybridgesproject.org and say “Lesson Plan Sites” in the subject line. Also let us know if any of the sites that we have supplied have shut down. Include your name and your school’s name and we will add your information to the Education Project!

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Name: ____________________________________

Date: _____________________________________

Student Homework: Opinion on Barbara Dane Write a 250 word essay about Barbara Dane’s career, considering whether you think that she was right or wrong to get involved in so many political and social actions. Give specific examples of actions in her life, and compare and contrast what she gained with what she lost through her actions. If you can think of any entertainers today who have also risked their careers for what they believe in, make a short comparison to Barbara Dane. Write a conclusion with your opinion of Barbara Dane – is she someone that you admire or not?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Page 5Barbara Dane: Day Two.

Introductory Activity 5 minutes

Explain that today the students are going to share their essays with each other in small groups, and then discuss with the class what they have learned from their research and writing. Ask them whether it was easy or difficult to write the essay, and what helped or hindered them.

Group Activity 20 minutes

Have the students break up into groups of 4 or 5 and read their essays to each other. Choose a student in each group to act as a recorder who will make notes about the similarities and differences of the opinions in the essays. Then have each recorder read the most important notes to the class.

Teacher Led Discussion 15-20 minutes

Record their notes on a blackboard or large piece of chart paper in two columns – Reasons Barbara Dane was right and Reasons Barbara Dane was wrong.

Lead a discussion about what they have learned, using some of the following questions.

What surprised you the most about your research? Why was Barbara Dane right or wrong to be so involved in politics and social causes? Was it right that she went to places like Cuba and North Vietnam? What do you think of her son living his life in Cuba? Could you imagine living in a country like Cuba? Do you think that Barbara Dane is a powerful woman? Why or why not? Did you find any other useful websites?Conclusion 5 minutes

Ask students to draw a picture of something that is more important to them than money. Ask them to think of Barbara Dane in the future if they are ever asked to choose between this thing/person/cause that is important to them and monetary success.

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TEACHER’S RUBRIC FOR HOMEWORK

Score Development of Position

Organization

Use of Language

Sentence Structure

Grammar and Word

Usage

1

No plausible position is taken on the topic; severely lacking in examples, reasons and/or evidence

Disorganized; little or no focus; incoherent

Contains fundamental vocabulary mistakes

Severely flawed sentence structure

Grammar and word usage are so poor that they interfere with meaning; very poor mechanics (like punctuation)

2

Position on topic is unclear or extremely limited; inappropriate examples or reasons

Poorly organized; lacks focus; problems with coherence or flow of ideas

Poor use of language; indicates very limited vocabulary and poor word choice

Frequent problems with sentence structure

Grammar and word usage mistakes are frequent and interfere with meaning; poor mechanics

3

Position on topic demonstrates critical thinking skill applied inconsistently; inadequate examples, reasons or evidence

Limited in organization and focus; demonstrates lapses in coherence or flow of ideas

Displays developing use of language; contains indications of weak vocabulary and poor word selection

Some problems with sentence structure; lacks a variety of sentence structures

Contains many mistakes in grammar word usage and mechanics

4Position on topic demonstrates competent critical thinking skill; example, reasons and evidence are

Generally organized and focused; demonstrates some coherence and attention to the flow of ideas

Displays adequate use of language; vocabulary used is generally appropriate

Good sentence structure; demonstrates some variety of sentence structure

Contains few mistakes in grammar, word usage and mechanics

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goodAdapted from the SAT Writing Rubric

This Lesson Plan was developed by Ian Ruskin, Director, The Harry Bridges Project, and Education Consultants Kara Hunter and Karen Mowrer.

Made possible with the generous support of

and many other organizations and individuals.

Thank You!

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