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Suggested Activities & Lesson Topics
The suggestions following the potential outcomes
consist of pre-event activities, day of event activities, the event, and post-event
activities. A key component is youngsters recruiting family, friends, neighbors
and community leaders to participate in The Great NYC Sing.
Potential Outcomes
of Suggested Activities & Lesson Topics
o
General Outcomes
Direct results from
singing in event:
1. Fosters
potential increase in expectation for student involvement in music.
2.
Fosters
positive relationships with adults, peers and a sense of community.
Results from pre-event and post-event activities
3. Promotes
community engagement and involvement.
4.
Supports
youth leadership development.
5.
Strengthens youngsters’ academic, artistic
and musical skills.
Specific Outcomes
Direct results from
singing in the event:
1. Children
experience joy of music shoulder to shoulder across age groups, family and group
constellations.
2.
Encourages
family fun and togetherness.Increases youngsters’ sense of being part
of the neighborhood
and community.
3.
Students experience being part of an event that
is a piece of a much larger city-wide event.
Results from pre-event and post-event activities
-
Students
develop organizational and community building skills.
-
Students develop skills related to selected
pre and post event activities
-
Visual arts
-
Music
-
Academics (see below)
-
Etc.
Suggested Activities &
Lesson Topics By Category
1. Recruiting Participants (Project Planning
& Implementation)
-
Outline different recruiting methods (Person
to person, phone, email, posters, flyers, local newspaper announcements)
-
List potential target recruits (family, friends,
friends of friends, neighbors, community stores, & offices, places of worship,
community leaders & dignitaries, other)
-
Decide what to say and/or write in different
combinations of #1 & #2 above.
-
Construct and maintain lists of successful
new recruits.
-
Record new recruits who actually come to
event.
2. Arts
-
Paint, draw or computer generate:
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Pictures corresponding to song images
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Flyers, posters, signs for event
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Class/school murals
-
Create photographs, videos of rehearsals,
discussions, event, etc.
-
Design t-shirts.
3. Music
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The obvious – students sing “This Land”.
- Youngsters can play instruments to accompany song. (key of D)
-
Translate chorus of “This Land” into language of ethnic background and sing.
4. History/Social Movements/Politics
-
Research and/or learn about Woody Guthrie, who wrote “This Land I Your Land” in
1940
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Who was Woody Guthrie?
-
Why did Woody write the song?
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What were the
conditions of U.S. in 1940 when Woody wrote “This Land”?
-
Research geographic locations referred to in “This Land” – Redwood Forest, Gulf
Stream Waters, wheat fields, dust clouds,
etc.
-
Compare New York City to other regions of country geographically, socially, ethnically.
5.
Literacy
-
Develop vocabulary words
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Explore the use of imagery and metaphors in “This Land”.
-
“ribbon of highway”, “dust clouds rolling”,
“diamond deserts”, “freedom highway”
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Explore the use of inference and symbolism in “This Land”.:
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What did Guthrie mean by :
i.
“And all around me a voice was sounding.”
ii.
“Was a great high wall there that tried to stop me.”
iii.
“Nobody living can ever stop me as I go walking that freedom highway.”
-
Write essays or poems about the song and/or
the event.
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Write new verses to “This Land”.
6.
Mathematics
Skills: Counting, arithmetic, ratios, averages, median, percents,
etc.
The Recruiting Project
When recruiting people to attend the Sing, construct & maintain lists and categories
such as:
Pre-event
1.
What were the
# people contacted, # who said ‘yes’, # who said ‘no’, # who said ‘maybe’
2.
Of these categories, how many were friends, family, neighbors, total strangers?
What was the method of contact –phone, email, person to person?
3.
Compare the numbers in the categories above
– Which category had highest total? How much more was the highest compared to the
next highest? To the least?
Post Event
1.
What was the total # people who sang? how many were new (never contacted)?
2.
Of pre-event #yes, how many came?
Maybe’s?
3.
Etc.
Analysis
Using above lists, compute and answer the following:
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# total people contacted vs. # yes
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Which method of contact (email, personal, phone) yielded best results? How is this
determined?
-
Which category (friends, family, etc) yielded best results? How is this determined?
-
What do you think are the reasons for the
results?
7. Event (Project) Planning & Implementation
Create the Plan
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Outline steps needed to accomplish task locally (entrepreneur skill
building)
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Create task-based committees to address specific
steps.
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Assign tasks to specific youngsters or teams
from committees.
Suggested Project Steps
Recruiting New Participant
(see first Suggested Activity above)
Learning the Song
1. Getting/ distributing songsheets before and
at event
2.
Process of learning melody & words
3.
Selecting a song leader (the person who listens to the radio and signals when to
start singing.)
Day of Event Logistics
1.
Getting radios
2.
Extra song sheets
3.
Preparing
sings
4.
Checking
attendance lists
5.
Taking photos, filming
6.
Interviews
7.
Deciding
when and where to meet.
8.
Create pre and post interview questions.
9.
Assign roles to students (photographer, interviewer, sketch the scene)
10.
Etc.
Post Event Activities
To be decided
8. Other OST Categories Impacted By Event
Peer Mentorship
with College Tutors
1.
Small group discussions on topics related
to the preparation of and
participation in the event.
2.
Discuss other community events.
3.
Share similar experiences with regard to
#1 and/or #2 above.
(Note: Discussion
leads up to relationship building)
Community
Building
Partner/ recruit
other CBO’s, schools, and business establishments to join the event, promote awareness
in community, promotes relationship building with community partners.
Visits to Program by Community Leaders
Invite
local council member, superintendent, local newspaper, media coverage to
event.
Community Service Projects
Develops leadership
skills, communication skills, entrepreneur skills, organization skills (recruit & organize this event for particular group or program)
Parent and caregiver involvement activities
Quick and
easy parent involvement, non-intimidating, promotes volunteerism and collaboration
among parents: All parents, care givers, and siblings can join event.
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