Product Description
Engage students through music with the Oscar-Winning Documentary film, Summer of Soul.
Teaching Tips: Lesson 6: Harlem Today from this guide is now available to download as a standalone lesson. This lesson features a great activity in which students design their own music festival! Share the trailer for Summer of Soul with your class, and then have students create their own music festival using the printable handout available in this lesson. This is a great activity for end of term or end of year! Preview the lesson below.
Film runtime: 1 hour, 58 minutes
Film rating: PG-13. Common Sense Media rates this film as appropriate for ages 13+.
Grade levels: The lessons in this curriculum guide are suitable for grades 9-12.
Where to Watch: Watch it on Amazon Prime and other streaming platforms. Or buy the DVD.
Literary connection: For a film-book pairing, teach Summer of Soul with director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s book Music is History.
Summer of Soul Curriculum Guide
Lesson 1: Putting the Festival in Context: The History of Harlem (U.S. History)
Lesson 2: The Music of the Harlem Cultural Festival (Music)
Lesson 3: 1969, A Unique Year (U.S. History) (You can also download this lesson, the most downloaded partner lesson on Share My Lesson in 2022, as a stand alone lesson through our Black History Lessons resource page.)
Lesson 4: Spending Priorities (Language Arts, Speech)
Lesson 5: Film and History (Film Literacy)
Lesson 6: Harlem Today (Current Events, Sociology, Economics)
Lesson 6: Harlem Today + Music Festival Activity
Lesson 6: Harlem Today is also available as a separate download. It features an extension activity that allows students to be creative and come up with a proposal for a Harlem Cultural Festival that represents Harlem today. It includes a printable handout for planning a festival. You can use this activity in class with the film trailer or the full film. This lesson is designed for grades 9-10 but the lesson and music festival activity can be adapted for other grade levels.
Preview Lesson 6: Harlem Today
Glossary of Film Terms
The Glossary of Film Terms is useful for the Film Literacy lessons that are part of this curriculum guide.
Preview Glossary of Film Terms
How to download your free resources
Related Resources
- Summer of Soul is featured in our Black History Lessons collection.
- Summer of Soul is just one of several Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated films in our collection. Learn more about teaching with Academy Award-winning films.
- An On Demand webinar for teaching Summer of Soul is available via Share My Lesson.
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