World Music Videos

I absolutely love teaching music from around the world! This project can last several days. I like “mixing it up” and letting the creative juices flow! I have the students research a culture and then rewrite the lyrics to a popular song using the facts that were collected.

I had some awesome “Michael Jacksons” in one class…awkward Middle Schoolers trying to do the moon walk. Love.

Materials:

• Cameras/BYOD
• Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey DVD
• Handout and Rubrics: World Music

Day 1: (45 minutes)- Introduce Unit

Show the “Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey” DVD. You can purchase it HERE.

I get excited about this DVD. It’s entertaining and exposes the class to different areas around the world. There’s no dialogue in it because, well,…it’s Stomp! I always introduce the Unit with this DVD.

I have the students get a piece of paper out and they have to compare and contrast our culture with other cultures that are introduced in the DVD. I pause it periodically and we discuss (as a class) what are some similarities and differences. If they can identify some of the instruments used, awesome!

Day 2: (45 minutes)-  Research

The class will get into groups of 4. Each group will draw a country out of a cup to determine what they will research. I, personally, printed off articles about instruments used and festivals that represent each culture. I hand these packets out and the students take notes from them. In my rubric, they have to find 10 different facts about that culture. (I’ve gone to computer labs before and it worked well, however, some kids had no clue what to look up. This ended up delaying the lesson an extra day). They will also pick the song they want to rewrite.

Edit: I’ve discovered Glogster, which is AMAZING for research projects! Here are my Glogsters I created for my class to “research”.

Side Note: I love this because I don’t have to worry about what the kids are “looking up” on Google or what obscene ad will be available for them to stumble upon.

China, Africa, Japan, India, Native American

Each “glog” has hyperlinks, videos, and pictures to help guide the child’s research on the selected culture. FANTASTIC!!!!

Day 3: (45 minutes) – Rewrite Lyrics

The groups will rewrite the lyrics to the song the pick on Day 2. The lyrics have to incorporate facts they wrote down.

The kids get really into this! I love seeing them become creative song writers and choreographers.

Day 4: (45 minutes) – Filming Day

I usually take the class outside and let them spread out. The groups will get together, sing through, and act out their “music video”. You can do one of two things at this point:

If your class has BYOD (bring your own device) or school video cameras (Kodak Sports are awesome!), you can have the students video tape their music video.

Or

You can video tape them yourself and have them perform one at a time.

I, personally, like having the students in charge of the recording. They can go their own pace (within the 45 minutes) and it frees up your time to Crowd Control.  It’s very effective!

*Tip: If you have the students using video cameras, have them delete the unwanted videos before they turn in the camera. It makes it easier on you when you load the videos to the computer.

Day 4: Watch the videos!

Have the kids introduce their video and describe their song to the class. Then, Press Play! I’ve been soooo surprised with how my kids get into this! It’s awesome!

Get ready for some Laughter and Learning!