Before: The teacher should begin the class by listening and viewing the Hellfighters' jazz music and film clips.
James Reese Europe - Castle House Rag: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRQ5CU3l8tQ
James Reese Europe "Memphis Blues" Pathe Recording 1919 Read About the Death of Jim Europe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4xODDsTpCw&t=2s
The students should listen to the music and view the films while writing a list of what they hear and see during the films. Allow the students several minutes to share with a partner before the class discusses the sounds and sights of the films. The teacher should record the observations on the board and discuss the instruments and sounds of the music, the African American soldiers, the scenery, etc.
The teacher should introduce James Reese Europe and tell the students that he embodied all that they have been discussing - American jazz, segregation, and African American roles in World War One.
During: Ask each student to find a partner. Distribute the two photographs of Europe and his orchestra to each partner group. Allow time for students to study the photos and captions. Working with a partner, have the pairs create T-charts with one side of the charts being what they SEE and the other side what they INFER. After several minutes, allow the students to share the list of things they observed; e.g. 15th New York infantry, all young African Americans, heavy wool uniforms, tall boots, lots of brass instruments, drummers, on a ship and in a courtyard in Paris, etc. Some inferences might include; e.g. the soldiers felt segregated; they must be hot in the uniforms; they were glad to play for the wounded soldiers; some may have been seasick on the ship; etc. The teacher should create a class T-chart on chart paper while the class discusses their ideas.
Distribute the Encyclopedia of Alabama biographical article and highlighters to each student. Remind students that they should highlight the main ideas (Who, When, Where, What, and Why) of the article. Tell the students that they will be using this information in a written assignment so they should closely read the article. They may choose to annotate around the sides of the article at any time during the reading or discussions. Give the students time to silently read and highlight the article.
Ask students to share their ideas and annotations with a partner before leading a class discussion. Allow students time to add to their annotations as they hear what other students thought was important and interesting. As the students are sharing what they highlighted, the teacher may display a copy of the article with the document camera and model highlighting and annotating the text.
View and discuss the video: James Reese Europe and the Hellfighters (8 minutes) and allow students to add any new information to their T-charts and/or biographies.
After: Discuss the tragic death of Europe and how his early demise may have affected his legacy.
Discuss with the students the definition of a eulogy and how it is written as a narrative of a person's life. Eulogies give the factual details of a lifetime but often relate stories that should be remembered without dwelling on the bad events. The students should use the annotated articles to write a eulogy for James Reese Europe. The eulogy should include a review of Europe's life from the article, how he became a leader of the jazz movement, his role as an African American Lieutenant in the machine gun company, and the medals he received for his leadership in combat. Remind the students to include his Alabama background. Review the grading rubric so that the students will know the expectations.
The next day, allow students to share their eulogies.
Before: The teacher should begin the class by listening and viewing the Hellfighters' jazz music and film clips.
James Reese Europe - Castle House Rag: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRQ5CU3l8tQ
James Reese Europe "Memphis Blues" Pathe Recording 1919 Read About the Death of Jim Europe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4xODDsTpCw&t=2s
The students should listen to the music and view the films while writing a list of what they hear and see during the films. Allow the students several minutes to share with a partner before the class discusses the sounds and sights of the films. The teacher should record the observations on the board and discuss the instruments and sounds of the music, the African American soldiers, the scenery, etc.
The teacher should introduce James Reese Europe and tell the students that he embodied all that they have been discussing - American jazz, segregation, and African American roles in World War One.
During: Ask each student to find a partner. Distribute the two photographs of Europe and his orchestra to each partner group. Allow time for students to study the photos and captions. Working with a partner, have the pairs create T-charts with one side of the charts being what they SEE and the other side what they INFER. After several minutes, allow the students to share the list of things they observed; e.g. 15th New York infantry, all young African Americans, heavy wool uniforms, tall boots, lots of brass instruments, drummers, on a ship and in a courtyard in Paris, etc. Some inferences might include; e.g. the soldiers felt segregated; they must be hot in the uniforms; they were glad to play for the wounded soldiers; some may have been seasick on the ship; etc. The teacher should create a class T-chart on chart paper while the class discusses their ideas.
Distribute the Encyclopedia of Alabama biographical article and highlighters to each student. Remind students that they should highlight the main ideas (Who, When, Where, What, and Why) of the article. Tell the students that they will be using this information in a written assignment so they should closely read the article. They may choose to annotate around the sides of the article at any time during the reading or discussions. Give the students time to silently read and highlight the article.
Ask students to share their ideas and annotations with a partner before leading a class discussion. Allow students time to add to their annotations as they hear what other students thought was important and interesting. As the students are sharing what they highlighted, the teacher may display a copy of the article with the document camera and model highlighting and annotating the text.
View and discuss the video: James Reese Europe and the Hellfighters (8 minutes) and allow students to add any new information to their T-charts and/or biographies.
After: Discuss the tragic death of Europe and how his early demise may have affected his legacy.
Discuss with the students the definition of a eulogy and how it is written as a narrative of a person's life. Eulogies give the factual details of a lifetime but often relate stories that should be remembered without dwelling on the bad events. The students should use the annotated articles to write a eulogy for James Reese Europe. The eulogy should include a review of Europe's life from the article, how he became a leader of the jazz movement, his role as an African American Lieutenant in the machine gun company, and the medals he received for his leadership in combat. Remind the students to include his Alabama background. Review the grading rubric so that the students will know the expectations.
The next day, allow students to share their eulogies.
