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1. The Year of Gershwin's Birth: 1898
Guide students in creating a bulletin board to show aspects of life in 1898, the year of George Gershwin's birth. Select categories of society and culture that seem most relevant and interesting to students.
Draw illustrations or cut out pictures and arrange them in each category. Some possibilities include historical developments, political leaders, popular songs, serious composers, famous classical compositions, fashions, modes of transportation, favorite pastimes, and so on.
Some important people and events of 1898: U.S. President William McKinley, the sinking of the Maine, the Spanish-American War, the combining of boroughs to establish New York City as the largest city in America, the acquisition of Puerto Rico by the United States, the annexation of Hawaii by the United States.
2. The Songs of George Gershwin
Invite students to create colorful covers for a Gershwin song of their choice. The illustration should convey the spirit of the song. If possible, play recordings of Gershwin songs as students work. Assemble the finished covers on the bulletin board.
Some Gershwin songs are listed below.
| A Foggy Day (In London Town) |
Love Walked In |
| Embraceable You |
Shall We Dance? |
| Fascinatin' Rhythm |
Someone to Watch Over Me |
| How Long Has This Been Going On? |
Strike Up the Band |
| I Got Plenty of Nuttin' |
Summertime |
| I Got Rhythm |
'S Wonderful |
| Let's Call the Whole Thing Off |
They Can't Take That Away From Me |
3. A Class Listening Map for "An American In Paris" or "Rhapsody in Blue"
Have students listen to either "An American in Paris" or "Rhapsody in Blue" and try to visualize what might be depicted in the various sections. (Gershwin did not actually try to describe any definite scenes in these works. He did, however, intend to provide impressionistic music that would allow the listener to interpret it, as he said in his own words, "such as his imagination pictures for him.")
Ask students to decide how many different sections they think there are. Then, have students form that number of groups, and assign each group one of the sections of the composition to illustrate in similarly sized panels.
You might consider assigning another group to create the overall background and border for the bulletin board. For example, for "An American in Paris," they might make cutouts to put around the border showing landmarks of Paris, such as the Eiffel Tower. They might also make a large title for the bulletin board.
Students may need to listen to their assigned sections several times to decide how to illustrate them. Assemble the finished panels on the bulletin board in order, from left to right, and listen again to the entire work, following their original "listening map."
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