Within our Language Arts curriculum, first grade has recently been focusing on people from our past. We fell in love with the story, Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra, by Andrea Davis Pinkney. Through this beautifully written, award-winning book, students explored the life and legacy of Duke Ellington, a revolutionary jazz pianist and composer whose contributions are considered some of the most influential of the 20th century.

As we immersed ourselves in the incredible sounds of Duke Ellington’s music, students were encouraged to imagine what his music might look like—thinking about color, art, and design. Inspired by the dynamic illustrations of Brian Pinkney and the sounds of Duke Ellington himself, our first graders created their own Duke Ellington–inspired artwork to accompany their fact-filled writing pieces. The result was a joyful blend of history, music, art, and literacy.