Lessons

Don’t Tell Me Not to Fly: American Jewish People in Music and Comedy

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Length: 60-120 minutes | Grades: 6-12 | Themes: culture; popular culture; music; comedy

Lesson Overview

The cultural landscape of the United States has been shaped by the influences of countless communities, including American Jews who have brought their tastes, sensibilities, and values to their artistic expressions. U.S. culture reflects the originality and genius of American diversity and within this rich tapestry, woven with the threads of many communities, American Jews have contributed to U.S. culture, with music and comedy serving as two examples where an indelible legacy has been made. Through these media, American Jews have added their voices to American arts, shaping genres while being shaped by other influences, such as those emanating from African American spaces.

In this lesson, students will learn about the history of Jewish contributions to music and comedy in the United States. Students will begin by reflecting on ways that they contribute to communities and identifying individuals who they believe represent the “greatest of all time” in different fields. Next, students will consider the differences between American culture being a “melting pot” or a “salad bowl” and the implications for Jewish identity as it appears in cultural expressions. Students will then view and listen to examples of Jewish comedy and music, while also reading about these histories, from the Borscht Belt to Hollywood and from Tin Pan Alley to MTV before they investigate “big questions” that they independently develop, inviting them to practice the skills of scholarly research. This lesson also includes an extension exercise, inviting students to write letters to past and future artists, using Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America” and an accompanying artifact as inspiration.

Enduring Understandings

American Jewish People are among the many communities who have actively participated in shaping and transforming U.S. culture over time and across genres.

American Jewish People have brought their tastes, sensibilities, and perspectives into their art, adding Jewish voices to mainstream American culture.

Essential Questions

How have American Jewish People contributed to U.S. culture through music and comedy?

Why has American culture been called a “melting pot” and a “salad bowl” and why does that difference matter?

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to examine and critically discuss the ways Jewish artists have contributed to American music and comedy.

Students will be able to formulate evidence-based conclusions to “big questions” they have posed regarding Jewish contributions to music and comedy.

Toolkit

Don’t Tell Me Not to Fly lesson plan
Don’t Tell Me Not to Fly slide deck
Borscht Belt, Tiny Pan Alley, and Beyond handout
Jewish People and American Culture handout
Art and Artifacts Extension handout

Procedures

1

Think-Pair-Share

Students reflect on the ways that they contribute to groups to which they belong, such as teams, clubs, or other communities.

2

Group Debate

Students discuss and debate different ways of understanding American cultural contributions. Is America a “melting pot,” a “salad bowl,” or something else entirely?

3

Watch and Listen

Students watch and listen to excerpts of performances, looking for evidence of Jewish comedians’ and musicians’ “melting pot” and/or “salad bowl” approaches to identity and culture.

4

Synthesis and Summary

In their own words, students assess Jewish Americans’ contributions to comedy and music, and report on how these artists have brought their own worldviews, sensibilities, and perspectives to American culture.

5

Individual Research

Students select one of twenty Jewish comedians or musicians to investigate more deeply, aiming to ask and answer one “big question” that can be supported by historical evidence.

6

Extension Activity

Understanding that art emerges from particular social, political, and cultural contexts, students write a letter to an artist from the past and an imagined artist in the future.

Access all Don’t Tell Me Not to Fly lesson materials.

Lesson