How do you combine America’s musical and cultural heritage?
Songs of the Century was an educational program created by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and Scholastic. Designed to introduce America’s music and cultural heritage to our nation’s youngest citizens, the curriculum united 365 classic songs—one for each day in a year—with important historical milestones. Teachers and students could sing along while they learned core curriculum topics—language arts, social studies, science, math, and the arts—while celebrating America’s heritage by drawing upon the power of music.
Web Portal
I designed a web portal to introduce teachers, students, and families to the 365 selected songs—and corresponding historical milestones—from every decade of the 20th century. Featuring streaming audio, users could sample every genre of music including folk, country, patriotic, pop, show tunes, gospel, jazz, and film tunes.
Poster
Using streaming audio in conjunction with this colorful classroom poster, teachers introduced students to songs from every decade of the 20th century, across every genre of music including folk, country, patriotic, pop, show tunes, gospel, jazz, and film tunes.
Photo montages, inspired by the uniquely American tradition of quilting, unite popular artists from each decade with historical events that shaped American history.
