Folklife
Florida Folklife Program
The Florida Music Train
American Folklore Society Award for Florida Music Train Curriculum
The American Folklore Society awarded its 2003 Dorothy Howard Prize to the Department of State, Florida Folklife Program and
author Laurie K. Sommers for The Florida Music Train. The Florida Music Train provides educators with an
entertaining and engaging program that brings Florida's musical heritage and traditions alive in the classroom. The Dorothy
Howard Prize honors individuals and organizations whose work effectively encourages K-12 educators or students to use or study
folklore and folkloristic approaches in all educational environments. Such works include curriculum materials, publications,
audio and video recordings, multimedia publications, and exhibits.
Created by folklorist/ethnomusicologist Laurie K. Sommers and the Florida Folklife Program, with administrative assistance
from the Florida Folklore Society, The Florida Music Train explores Florida's rich musical traditions from Pensacola
to Key West. This educational module includes an audio CD of 23 archival, field, and studio recordings of Florida's traditional
music; five lesson plans; a poster; and background information about the artists and musical traditions represented in the unit.
Designed for use in elementary and secondary classrooms, the resource integrates music education with curricula in language arts,
music, and social studies. Correlations to the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards provided.
The Florida Music Train can be ordered for $20 plus Florida sales tax based on the county in which you reside. Mail a check, payable to the Friends of the Museums of Florida History, Inc. ("Friends of MFH" is acceptable), to the Florida Heritage Education Coordinator, Museum of Florida History, 500 S. Bronough St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250. For questions, contact kcsmith@dos.state.fl.us or 850.245.6326.
Florida Music Train: Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- The Florida Music Train: Introduction to Unit
- About Folk Music: A Guide for Teachers
- Florida Sunshine State Standards
- Lesson Plan #1: All Aboard: An Introduction to Folk Music
- Lesson Plan #2: I Want to Go Back to Georgia (music brought by early Anglo-American settlers)
- Lesson Plan #3: Rolling and Tumbling (African American blues)
- Lesson Plan #4: Seminole Songs
- Lesson Plan #5: Our Day is Coming (Cuban American music)
- Notes to Musical Selections
- Extensions for Music Selections
- Florida Migration Timeline
- Migration to Florida
- Map of Racial and Ethnic Groups
- Map of Language Distribution in Florida
