For Teachers

Includes pre- and post-visit classroom lessons connecting students to the history of country music and its place in American culture, a bibliography of related texts, a slide of Thomas Hart Benton's painting The Sources of Country Music. Click the icon to the left to download the guide now.

Words & Music Teacher's Lesson Kit

Assists teachers in preparing students for the Words & Music program.  It contains pre-visit classroom lessons that guide students through writing a song lyric.

Assists teachers in preparing students for the “Is It a Fiddle or a Violin?” program.  It contains pre-and-post visit classroom lessons. A classroom poster and a companion CD can be mailed upon request.

Family Tradition:  The Williams Family Legacy Teacher's Guide

This guide assists teachers in preparing students for an in-depth tour of the special exhibit Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy, Co-Presented by SunTrust and Ford Motor Company.  Pre- and post-visit classroom lessons, a poster of photographs, and a CD are included. Click the icon to the left to download the guide now.

Historic RCA Studio B Teacher's Lesson Kit

Designed for groups participating in Making Waves at Studio B.  This award-winning kit include pre- and post-visit classroom lessons, historical photographs, and a CD.  These materials help students learn about the recording process and the history of recording in Nashville. Click the icon to the left to download the guide now.

Shapes, Sound Holes, and Strings Teacher's Guide

Assists teachers in introducing their students to instruments featured in country music and the sounds they create. Pre- and post-visit classroom lessons and a CD are included. A traveling trunk of featured instruments can be checked out at the museum for classroom use. Click the icon to the left to download the guide now.

Designed for groups visiting the museum without a tour guide.  This booklet includes teacher suggestions for leading students through the museum, important stops in the museum and discussion questions. Click the icon to the left to download the guide now.

Brenda Lee: Dynamite Teachers Exhibit Guide

Assists Teachers in guiding students through the new exhibit Brenda Lee: Dynamite, Presented by Great American Country Television Network open now through June 2010. Click the icon to the left to download the guide now.

Waiting for a Train: Trains in Country Music and American Life

The train had an enormous impact on country music. Musicians such as Jimmie Rodgers worked on the railroad side by side with other musicians. This provided opportunities to share their music. As a result, different styles of American music influenced one another. In this lesson, students will identify trains as a song theme in country music by examining song lyrics, explore trains as a mode of transportation to understand their purpose and how they are similar to and different from other forms of transportation, and research the history of the train to explore its evolution and impact on American life and country music.

The Sources of Country Music-Thomas Hart Benton

The Sources of Country Music is currently on display in the Country Music Hall of Fame Rotunda and is part of the exhibit tour.

On January 18, 1975, in his carriage-house studio in Kansas City, Thomas Hart Benton put the last brushstrokes on his painting The Sources of Country Music.  The mural had been commissioned the year before by Nashville's Country Music Foundation to be displayed in the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum.  Its completion, in less than a year, by an eighty-five year-old-artist, was an impressive physical achievement.  Read More

Is available online only.  While the exhibit closed in 2007, the lesson guide materials are still relevant for classroom use. Click the icon to the left to download the guide now.