SwingDJs

I have a speech class in which I have a group speech about the history of music. I'm supposed to cover music from african slaves and the creation of jazz all the way to early rock'n'roll (Louis Jordan, Bill Haley...)

So, what main points would you hit?

Bring musical samples. There's no way you'll cover everything so don't bother. Just pick some of your favorite artists from each period and talk about them. Make people happy. Dance.

possible angles:
-development/styles of the blues (from ??? to bessie to basie to wynonie to elvis)
-use of rhythm, types of "swing" (in the larger sense of a style that goes beyond written notation)
-popular dance!

Write this on the whiteboard:

victorian-era popular music, spirituals
ragtime
dixieland
hot jazz
swing
bop/R&B/early rock and roll

Play small snippets of each (about 10-15 seconds each since you only have 5 minutes) and point out how the rhythms gradually went from accenting 1 and 3 to evenly accenting all four beats to accenting 2 and 4. Also point out the gradual appearance of a swung eighth note which started out as syncopation in ragtime and wound up as a hard shuffle rhythm.
(For this you may have to briefly explain musical notation.)