🌟4th GRADE ELA SBA 1 Informational (Ella Fitzgerald) 25-26 (copy)
Your after-school music club is creating a newsletter about famous musicians in history. Each member must write an article about a different musician. You have decided to write about Ella Fitzgerald, a famous jazz singer. You do some research and find two articles that provide information about Ella Fitzgerald and her contributions to jazz music.
After you have looked at these sources, you will answer some questions about them. Briefly scan the sources and the three questions that follow. Then, go back and read the sources carefully to gain the information you will need to answer the questions and write an informational article.
In Part 2, you will write an informational article using information you have read.
Group 1
Directions for Part 1: You will now look at two sources. You can look at either of the sources as often as you like.
Research Questions: After looking at the sources, use the rest of the time in Part 1 to answer three questions about them. Your answers to these questions will be scored. Also, your answers will help you think about the information you have read, which should help you write your informational article.
You may refer to the sources when you think it would be helpful. You may also look at your notes. Answer the questions in the space provided.
Source 1.1
Just Stand There and Sing
The year was 1934. A shy teenager stood on the stage of the Apollo Theater in Harlem, a neighborhood of New York City. She was competing in a talent contest called Amateur Night. The crowd laughed at her and yelled, "Boo!" But then she opened her mouth and started to sing, and soon the crowd fell silent. As she finished the song, the audience burst into applause and demanded another song. That night she left the theater with the first-place prize.
That evening at the Apollo was the beginning of Ella Fitzgerald's legendary career as a jazz singer. Amazingly, Ella did not even plan to sing that night. She had entered the contest as a dancer, but she felt she could not beat one of the dancing acts before her. So, at the last minute, she decided to sing instead.
Ella Jane Fitzgerald was born on April 25, 1917, in Newport News, Virginia. Early in her childhood, she moved with her mother, Tempie, and her stepfather to Yonkers, New York. Later, after Tempie's death, Ella lived with her aunt, Virginia Williams, in Harlem. She had a tough time in Harlem. Her grades fell in school, and she got into a lot of trouble. There was little money to go around.
Amateur Night at the Apollo was the turning point in Ella's life. She entered, and won, more singing contests. In 1935, she began singing with famous jazz drummer Chick Webb and his band. They often played at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. At the Savoy, large jazz bands played a type of music called swing, and people danced through the night. The Savoy was nicknamed "the home of happy feet."
In 1938, when Ella was 21 years old, she recorded a song called "A-Tisket, A-Tasket." This was the song that made her famous. The album sold a million copies, and the song was a number-one hit.
In 1939, Chick Webb died, and Ella took over as leader of his band. Her career took off. After a couple of years as bandleader, she became a solo artist. Over the next 50 years, Ella recorded more than 200 albums and toured around the world. She worked with just about every great jazz and pop artist of her time: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, and many more. Ella also sang on television shows, such as The Tonight Show and The Nat King Cole Show.
Ella became a great performer, even though she was a shy, humble, and private person off the stage. "I know I'm no glamour girl," she said, "and it's not easy for me to get up in front of a crowd of people. It used to bother me a lot, but now . . . I just stand there and sing."
Ella Fitzgerald was incredibly successful. She was the top female jazz singer in the United States for over half a century. She won 13 Grammy Awards, sold 40 million albums in her lifetime, and performed 26 times at New York's world-famous Carnegie Hall. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan awarded her the National Medal of Arts.
In 1991, at Carnegie Hall, Ella gave her last concert. It was a special conclusion to a historic career. She sang perfectly her final night on stage, and the audience roared with appreciation. Five years later, in 1996, Ella died in her California home.
Source 1.2
Ella Lives On
It takes a lot of talent to earn the nickname the "First Lady of Song." Jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald had all that talent and then some. It is impossible to measure the influence that Ella has had even after her death in 1996. She lives on in the memories and hearts of music lovers around the world.
Ella's greatest legacy is her music. This is the gift she gave to the world. People still buy and listen to her recordings every day. She is a hero to countless singers. Ella's music still wins over new jazz fans all the time.
In Newport News, Virginia, Ella's hometown, people are making sure to remember her. The Ella Fitzgerald Theater opened there in 2008. In 2013, Newport News hosted its 15th annual Ella Fitzgerald Music Festival. This festival includes a show where various artists sing Ella's music as a tribute to her.
In 2007, the United States Postal Service honored Ella in a different way. It made a special stamp with her face on it. That same year, a group of well-known singers released a disc called We All Love Ella.
Ella also lives on through the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation. She started this group before her death. It gives money to support children in need and to spread the love of music. When Ella was alive, she cared deeply about children from poor families. She once said, "It isn't where you came from, it's where you're going that counts."
Question 1a
Which information is found in both sources?
Question 1b
During your review of the sources, you learn that Ella was well-loved by many people around the world. Provide at least one piece of evidence from each source to support this claim.
Question 1c
Which source does a better job of explaining Ella’s influence in jazz music? Provide three pieces of evidence from the source to support your answer.
Group 2
Directions for Part 2: You will now look at your sources, take notes, and plan, draft, revise, and edit your article. First read your assignment and the information about how your informational article will be scored. Then begin your work.
Your assignment: Your music club is putting together a newsletter about famous musicians of the past. Write an article that is several paragraphs long in which you explain why Ella Fitzgerald is important to the history of jazz. Your article will be read by the other students in your club and by parents. Make sure to have a main idea, to organize your article logically, and to support your main idea with details from the sources using your own words. Develop your ideas clearly.
REMEMBER: A well-written informational article:
- has a clear main idea
- is well-organized and stays on the topic
- has an introduction and conclusion
- uses transitions
- uses details from the sources to support the main idea
- develops ideas fully
- uses clear language
- follows rules of writing (spelling, punctuation, and grammar)
Question 2a
Write an article that is several paragraphs long in which you explain why Ella Fitzgerald is important to the history of jazz. Your article should have a main idea, be well-organized, use details from the sources, and be written in your own words.
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