“The Blues? It’s the mother of American music. That’s what it is—the source.”

—B.B. King

Most of our students have listened to pop, hip hop, and rock—but few of them realize that all of it traces back to the genre of blues.

Teaching blues music in public schools helps students connect with American history, express emotion authentically, and build strong musical connections. It’s more than just a music lesson, it provides a window into American history and musical expression. In this post, we’ll explore a virtual field trip music lesson that contains everything you need to help your students form a meaningful connection to blues music—without you needing to prep a thing! Read on, to learn how to make teaching blues music an easy and meaningful experience for your students.

How To Spark Genuine Connection When Teaching Blues Music

One of the first ways that I like to begin with teaching blues music is connecting it with real-world experiences that my students can relate to. After all, many of today’s artists take influence and inspiration from classic American blues music.

To bridge that gap, you could start by having students compare and discuss the vocal delivery of a modern, recognizable pop song like Adele’s Rolling in the Deep with the classic blues/soul song I’d Rather Go Blind by Etta James.

Another great way to kick off a lesson on blues music is to start with a simple, relatable question: “Who listens to music when they’re feeling down?” More than likely, a large number of students will affirm that this is something they either do often, or all the time. You can continue this discussion by asking students what kind of songs they turn to when they’re feeling down or “blue” and why those specific songs help them feel better. This can naturally lead into a discussion about the history of blues music and how the genre was inspired by the struggles and emotions of everyday people. You might even have students examine the lyrics of a song like BB King’s Every Day I Have The Blues to talk about what it means to be “blue” and put emotions into music.

When students form that authentic connection with blues music, it creates the perfect lead-in to the Blues Cruise virtual field trip. Your students will explore the genre of blues music independently through listening, composition, and movement activities. All they need is their device, some earbuds, and their imagination to sail off into a world of BB King, Muddy Waters, and other unforgettable sounds that shaped American music.

How the Blues Cruise Virtual Field Trip Works

The Blues Cruise Virtual Field Trip was born during the pandemic, when I was brainstorming ways that I could make the genre of Blues music more engaging and interesting for my students. While it was traditionally formed as an asynchronous activity for teaching blues music, I promise you that students love it today just as much as in 2021. It makes a wonderful sub activity!

The Blues Cruise Virtual Field Trip is a Google Slides resource that can be experienced in two different ways:

• Students explore independently on 1:1 devices (earbuds recommended)
• Projected on the SMART Board for the whole class to explore!

I think this resource works best on 1:1 devices, since students can explore and create at their own pace. I’ve also shown it on the projector, and had students take turns choosing areas to explore. Students have enjoyed it that way as well.

If you’re planning to use this virtual field trip for 1:1 learning, I strongly suggest assigning a copy of the resource to each student in Google Classroom, or providing a “view only” link through Google Slides so that students can explore without editing over the file. If you’d like to leave this resource for a non-music substitute, the Google Classroom option is probably the easiest method.

Exploring the Blues Cruise Virtual Field Trip

When your students first open the Blues Cruise Virtual Field trip, they’ll be greeted with a tropical cruise theme, a greeting from the ship’s captain, Muddy Waters (of course), who will direct them to the cruise’s interactive map.

Once students reach the interactive map, they’ll be able to explore 9 unique rooms about all about blues music! The interactive rooms include:

• Tours
• Main Deck
• Lounge
• Restaurant
• Music Studio
• Ballroom
• Library
• Gift Shop
• Cabins

Each interactive room contains various interactive elements that help students explore and learn a bit more about the genre of blues music. They might take a tour to learn about the legacy of BB King, try their hand at learning a blues shuffle step in the ballroom, or experiment with creating their own blues songs using the Chrome Music Lab templates in the music studio.

The best part is that this resource feels more like an exploration and learning adventure than like a standard lecture-style lesson or assignment. It’s perfect for teaching blues music at that late point in the school year, when the students have mentally checked out, but you’re still looking for ways to bring meaningful learning to the classroom. My students especially enjoy the music studio room, and are always eager to share their blues music compositions!

You’re Teaching Blues Music. Ready to Set Sail?

When student engagement is low and the school year is winding down, it can feel increasingly difficult to plan interesting lessons. If you’ve been trying to teach blues music in a way that actually sticks, this virtual field trip gives you everything you need.

You also won’t have to spend hours planning or prepping. Just assign and let your students explore blues history, experiment with a simple Chrome Music Lab activity, and click through interactive spaces. It’s such an easy way to keep students engaged, without asking too much of them. It also works well as a sub plan, especially when you’re leaving it for a non-music sub who just needs something students can do independently.

So if the idea of teaching blues music has felt overwhelming, this is a simple way to bring it to life—even when your students (and let’s be honest, maybe you, too) are counting down the days left.

 

 

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