Explore the varied inspiration and purpose behind musicians' work.

• Kick off a composition unit with the book description from Before John Was a Jazz Giant by Carole Boston Weatherford and "motivate readers to take an 'all ears' approach to their own lives."

• Compose new lyrics for well-known songs like those modeled in the Silly Dilly Song Series by Alan Katz.

• Launch a unit and encourage inquiry with this series lesson plan for Kathleen Krull's Lives of the Musicians.

• Listen to the Meet-the-Author Recording for Nina: A Story of Nina Simone by Traci N. Todd and Christian Robinson to learn the inspiration for Simone's musical compositions.

Learn the backstory of famous musicians and musical genres to build understanding and context.

• Browse the Music Collection and filter by genre, then biography, to learn about musicians and their work.

• Share the music and stories within this Music Makers list to build early language skills.

• Bring the music-making process to life with Christopher Myers' Meet-the-Illustrator Recording for Jazz.

• Connect STEM to music and invite readers to apply what they have learned using this teacher guide for Guitar Genius by Kim Tomsic and Brett Helquist.

Guide readers to perceive, analyze, and interpret intent within artistic work using resources connected to their personal interests.

• Notice how the rhythm of Alexis De Veaux's words mirror the rhythm of Billie Holiday's music in the Meet-the-Author Recording for Don't Explain.

• Link song lyrics with literature to identify conflict and theme using teaching ideas for Blackbird Fly by Erin Entrada Kelly.

• Invite students to listen and respond with this QR code activity for Symphony for the City of the Dead by M.T. Anderson.

• Introduce Angie Thomas's video book reading for On the Come Up to model how creating and performing work hand-in-hand.

Provide resources that relate artistic ideas with societal, cultural, and historic knowledge in order to deepen understanding and build personal connections.

• Hear the story of a child's courage and perseverance in Rafael López's Meet-the-Illustrator Recording for Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle.

• Reveal hidden histories by providing backstory and inspiration with resources like those found in Freedom Over Me by Ashley Bryan.

• Explore resources in this Virtual Blog Tour by Dean Robbins, author of ¡Mambo Mucho Mambo!, to uncover the history of the mambo movement and its impact on race relations in 1940s New York City.

• Step into the past with the video book trailer for Jazz Day and listen to Roxane Orgill's Meet-the-Author Recording to learn how she researched the 1958 event.