Designed for grades 7-12, "(Unsung) Stories of American Popular Music" traces the roots, development, and impact of the music that expressed joy, community, and resistance from the margins. This course delves into the intersections of genres, examining how musical traditions and innovations mirrored the sociocultural landscapes of their time. While the genres appear to follow a linear story arc, the projects aim to explore the concepts of (un)categorization, reaching forward-backward while standing still to meet the present. In other words, students are invited to play and experiment with traditions to discover "something" imaginative/unspecified/meaningful. This course has been taught within "Music History," "Music Technology," and "Musicianship" course objectives, and lessons can also be incorporated for arts integration purposes. Using a place-based approach, many themes within the course will focus on the DMV (District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia), especially the district. Theme descriptions will be updated as we roll along SY 24-25.