DEVELOPING A BACKGROUND Activity One 1. Read the following quote to the class and brainstorm and discuss some of the possible meanings: "I have yet to find something that beats the power of being in love, or the power of music at its most magical." Yo-Yo Ma, Cellist Activity Two 1. Read the following scenario to your class: You have been chosen to be a part of an experiment. You will spend one month by yourself on a beautiful tropical island. Everything will be provided for you. You must choose one kind of music to listen to for the entire month. 2. Have the students pair up to discuss their choices for five minutes. 3. Ask the class to share their choices and their reasons. Construct a map on the board showing this information. 4. Read the following slightly altered scenario to the class: You have been chosen to be part of an experiment. You will spend one month by yourself on a beautiful tropical island. Everything will be provided for you. You must choose one of the following two kinds of music to listen to for the following month. Use the following Web sites: Classical: http://www.prs.net/cgi-bin/n.cgi/file/8/bach774.mid Jazz: http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/2228/download.html#Top 5. Ask the class to share their choices and their reasons. Add this new information to the map on the board. Discuss the reasons for students' choices, and any changes in their views. 6. Divide the class into groups of three. Send the students to the following site http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/2228/download.html#Top Allow them to listen, and then select their favorite piece. Have them write a descriptive response to the music. Use the following prompt: This music made me feel__________________________________________. STEPS Activity One Activity One Jazz Scavenger Hunt 1. Divide the class into three groups. Send each group to one of the following sites: Group One: http://town.hall.org/Archives/radio/Kennedy/Taylor/bt_afric.html Group Two: http://town.hall.org/Archives/radio/Kennedy/Taylor/bt_euro.html Group Three: http://town.hall.org/Archives/radio/Kennedy/Taylor/bt_south.html Each of these sites contains several questions regarding the history of jazz. Each group will be responsible for reading the information and presenting their findings to the class. They can choose different formats to present what they have learned. Some possible choices might include the construction of a chart, drawing pictures, drafting a speech, or dramatizing a skit or a scene. 2. As a class, create a large map entitled 'The History of Jazz' based on what the students have learned from their research. Encourage students to create a workable design to present this information in. Activity Two 1. Provide copies of the following excerpts (or read aloud) that focus on funding for the arts by Martha Groves, a TIMES Education Writer, to the class. "July 1999- School District Seeks to Boost Arts Funding Education: Board will vote today on a $4.6-million increase and 10-year master plan for programs that have been cut back over the years. Music and other arts programs in Los Angeles public schools, which have been shredded over the last three decades by funding cuts, are expected to get a $4.6-million infusion for next year." A proposal to be voted on today by the Los Angeles school board would significantly increased arts funding and establish a 10-year master plan for arts education. It is aimed at restoring luster to music, visual arts, dance and drama and ensuring that they become as basic a part of schooling as math or science. "The practice of arts education has been inconsistent from school to school," said Don Doyle, an advisor in the performing and visual arts unit of the 700,000-student Los Angeles Unified School District. "We're now trying to provide a consistent program, not just for the talented students but for every student." "The district would initially use general funds to send art specialists into elementary schools to train teachers, develop curriculum and relay information about partnerships with art and cultural organizations. As the program progresses, arts instruction would be built into the annual $6-billion-plus district budget and expanded to secondary schools. Arts advocates applauded the plan, citing the growing body of research showing that early training in the arts--music in particular--enhances learning and can even boost standardized test scores. By approving it, they said, Los Angeles could move into the vanguard on an issue that is drawing national attention." "A study released last fall by the U.S. Department of Education showed that, whereas 81% of schools report that their students are taught music at least once a week, only one in four eighth-graders in these programs report actually singing or playing a musical instrument at least that often. In addition, fewer than 25% of students attend schools where dance or theater is offered." "'At a time when creativity and communication skills are at a premium, arts should be used for their rich potential to captivate and engage students in the process of learning,' U.S. Education Secretary Richard W. Riley said at the time." 2. The students will participate in a role playing activity. They will enact the creation of a city council meeting to decide whether or not an arts program should continue. The class will be divided into four groups. Each group will represent the opinion of one of the council members. The group will develop an argument to support their perspective, and one person will be chosen to present this argument to the whole class in a debate format. Group One: I think that this program is a complete and total waste of time and money. What are these kids learning anyway? Group Two: In my opinion, anything that keeps kids busy doing things like playing sports and listening to music is worthwhile. Group Three: Even though I think that this program is a good one, it seems to me that the money would be better spent on providing food and shelter for people. We have greater needs in this city to spend our money on. Group Four: I think that we cannot live without music. To me, it is as essential as life itself. I think it would be a travesty to cut this program, since music is so much a part of our city's history. 3. At the end of the presentation, the teacher will lead a discussion using the following guide questions: •What role do you think the arts plays in schools? •Were your views influenced by listening to the debate? •What role does music play in our culture? 4. At the end of this discussion, the class will stage a mock vote on the fate of the arts program. Activity Three 1. The students will be divided into groups of four and provided with the following scenario: You have been asked to design a two-day workshop at a local elementary school to interest fourth grade students in jazz music. Focus on how you will capture the student's interest, and try to create activities that will make the music come alive for them. 2. The students will visit one of the following sites on jazz and listen to some jazz excerpts to gain some background knowledge for their workshop activity. John Coltrane: http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/5066/trane.html Charlie Parker: http://www.charlieparker.com Michael Brecker: http://imnworld.com/brecker.html 3. The students will then present their workshop to the whole class. Activity Four 1. The students will work in pairs to prepare a short report on a selected jazz artist. They may choose the artists described in Activity Three, or find others they prefer. They will contextualize the artist's work within a particular time period in history. These sites are a good place to begin research: http://www.resite.net/lushlives/welcome.html http://www.tulane.edu/~lmiller/JazzHome.html http://www.accd.edu/pac/lrc/jazz.htm