Discuss the history of the blues. This is important at the elementary level because it helps put the music and its emotion in perspective. The blues began as chanting and a cappella singing to help slaves pass the time and keep up spirits in the field. The lyrical content was sad or melancholy and reflected the hardship of the lives slaves led. Any elementary-level instruction of the blues should begin here.
Discuss the format of the lyric as well as the lyrical content. Simple blues songs follow a call and response pattern that is easy to understand and can be fun for elementary students to grasp. The simple structure is:
My baby she left me lonely.
My baby she left me lonely.
My baby she left me lonely now I'm talkin' to myself.
The first two lines typically repeat the exact same sentiment, and the last line is a response that is either contradictory to the first two lines, something humorous or something ironic. Teaching this simple form to elementary students is the best way to demonstrate the overall rhythm of the music.
Demonstrate the musical sound of the blues on a visual instrument such as the piano. Stay away from the theory. Use a C major scale and point out the alterations made to a C scale to create a "blues" sound. The notes of a C scale are C-D-E-F-G-A-B. Play this scale on piano, then play it again, flatting the third, fifth and seventh notes of the scale. These are called the "blue" notes and give the blues its musical personality.
Invite students to write a verse of the blues themselves, then play a blues chord progression and allow your students to sing their verses. Not only is this an effective way to demonstrate the sounds you've been teaching, it's a fun way to engage the students in the creation of the music.