One of the most fun aspects of my job is the things I discover when I’m putting together eSource materials for the books we publish. Hey, Charleston! The True Story of the Jenkins Orphanage Band tells the story of how rag music and the famous dance called the Charleston got their start.

I asked our intrepid intern, Jeesun, to compile some websites for “Give Us Some Rag: Classroom Activity.” She came up with some great stuff, and reviewing her research led me slightly off my path. But of course it’s always those off-the-path excursions that yield the most delightful treats.

For instance, did you know that there are people who make videos of themselves dancing the Charleston in front of famous landmarks in cities around the world? Neither did I! But I love it! I love the fact that people are still dancing the Charleston today, to traditional rag music and to other kinds of music. And I love the fact that modern technology allows them to share their work with millions of people. I didn’t know that I wanted to watch people dancing the Charleston in Minsk, Belarus, but I discovered that I did want to see that. And maybe you do too?

After you have watched a video (or maybe ten), buy the book! It’s a fascinating story with gorgeous artwork. Then download the free classroom activity and the free Common Core Research Project to use in your classroom.

Each season, our editorial staff puts our heads together to come up with great extras to help you get more out of our new series and titles. To download free resources for a book or series, find the book on our website. If you haven’t registered with us, please do so at the upper right corner of the page. On future visits, you’ll need to sign in to download files. Then look in the right-hand column of the page for the eSource logo. Just under the Font Lens, you’ll see the downloadable eSource files. Click on an individual file or on “download all.”