Need easy sub plans or a quick minilesson to introduce students to a new composer? These low tech or no tech printables allow you to introduce students to Margaret Bonds, one of the first African-American classical composers and performers to gain widespread acclaim in the United States. Bond combined her classical training with inspiration from jazz and African-American spirituals to create beautiful works for piano and more.

Students will read about Margaret Bonds (mini bio included), answer comprehension questions, and make connections to her life. Listen to Bond’s “Troubled Water”, based on the spiritual “Wade in the Water”, and follow along with a SQUILT worksheet (upper grades) or simple comprehension worksheet (lower grades). You can easily fill up a whole class with low stress on a sub (or yourself)!

This product includes:

• colorful poster
• coloring sheet
• composer biography
• comprehension questions
• drawing page – connecting to the composer
• SQUILT sheet / listening worksheet for “Troubled Water”

Students’ completed worksheets make a great bulletin board display!