Curriculum G Uide
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Curriculum Guide The Music of Strangers Curriculum Guide Journeys in Film www.journeysinfilm.org In Partnership with USC Rossier School of Education Copyright © 2016 Participant Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Journeys in Film: The Music of Strangers Educating for Global Understanding www.journeysinfilm.org Journeys in Film Staff National Advisory Board Joanne Strahl Ashe, Founding Executive Director Liam Neeson, National Spokesperson Eileen Mattingly, Director of Education/Curriculum Content Specialist Brooke Adams Amy Shea, Director of Research Alexi Ashe Meyers Roger B. Hirschland, Executive Editor Sharon Bialy Martine Joelle MacDonald, Program Director Ted Danson Ethan Silverman, Film Literacy Consultant Professor Alan Dershowitz Sara Jo Fischer Journeys in Film Board of Directors Gary Foster Joanne Strahl Ashe, Founder and Chairman Scott Frank Erica Spellman Silverman Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Diana Barrett Jill Iscol, Ed.D. Julie Lee Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter Michael H. Levine Bruce R. Katz William Nix Authors of this curriculum guide Harold Ramis (In Memoriam) Jack Burton Professor Richard A. Schweder Ryan Cunningham Tony Shalhoub Phyllis Everette Mary Steenburgen Kate Fitzgerald Walter Teller Jamor Gaffney Loung Ung Brad Woodward Sonia Weitz (In Memoriam) Jill Woodward Elizabeth Clark Zoia Laura Zlatos Silkroad Education Specialist Lori Taylor Journeys in Film Participant Media 50 Sandia Lane 331 Foothill Rd., 3rd Floor Placitas, NM 87043 Beverly Hills, CA 90210 505.867.4666 310.550.5100 www.journeysinfilm.org www.participantmedia.com Journeys in Film: The Music of Strangers Table of Contents Introduction About Journeys in Film 6 A Letter From Liam Neeson 8 A Letter From Yo-Yo Ma 9 Introducing The Music of Strangers 10 To the Teacher 12 Lessons Lesson 1: Yo-Yo Ma and the Intersection of Cultures 17 (Music, Language Arts) Lesson 2: Interpreting the Silk Road Through the Graphic Arts 35 (Visual Arts) Lesson 3: Everything Old Is New Again: The Chinese Cultural Revolution and Its Legacy 45 (History, Social Studies, Language Arts) Lesson 4: The Ongoing Syrian Conflict and Humanitarian Crisis 59 (History/Social Studies, Language Arts and Literacy, Music, Visual Arts) Lesson 5: The Iranian Revolution 71 (History/Social Studies, Music) Lesson 6: Preserving Culture in a Globalized World 87 (History/Social Studies, Music) Lesson 7: Ancient Instruments, New Music 101 (Music) Lesson 8: Viewing a Documentary Film: Developing Film Literacy 117 (Film Literacy, English Language Arts) Journeys in Film: The Music of Strangers About Journeys in Film Founded in 2003, Journeys in Film operates on the belief Why use this program? that teaching with film has the power to prepare students To be prepared to participate in tomorrow’s global arena, to live and work more successfully in the 21st century as students need to gain an understanding of the world beyond informed and globally competent citizens. Its core mission their own borders. Journeys in Film offers innovative and is to advance global understanding among youth through engaging tools to explore other cultures and social issues, the combination of age-appropriate films from around the beyond the often negative images seen in print, television, world, interdisciplinary classroom materials, and profes- and film media. sional development opportunities for teachers. This compre- hensive curriculum model promotes widespread use of film For today’s media-centric youth, film is an appropriate as a window to the world to help students to mitigate exist- and effective teaching tool. Journeys in Film has carefully ing attitudes of cultural bias, cultivate empathy, develop a selected quality films that tell the stories of young people richer understanding of global issues, and prepare for effec- living in locations that may otherwise never be experienced tive participation in an increasingly interdependent world. by your students. Students travel through these characters Our standards-based lesson plans support various learning and their stories: They drink tea with an Iranian family in styles, promote literacy, transport students around the globe, Children of Heaven, play soccer in a Tibetan monastery in and foster learning that meets core academic objectives. The Cup, find themselves in the conflict between urban grandson and rural grandmother in South Korea in The Selected films act as springboards for lesson plans in sub- Way Home, watch the ways modernity challenges Maori tra- jects ranging from math, science, language arts, and social ditions in New Zealand in Whale Rider, or tour an African studies to other topics that have become critical for students, school with a Nobel Prize-winning teenager in He Named including environmental sustainability, poverty and hun- Me Malala. ger, global health, diversity, and immigration. Prominent educators on our team consult with filmmakers and cultural specialists in the development of curriculum guides, each one dedicated to an in-depth exploration of the culture and issues depicted in a specific film. The guides merge effec- tively into teachers’ existing lesson plans and mandated cur- ricular requirements, providing teachers with an innovative way to fulfill their school districts’ standards-based goals. 6 Journeys in Film: The Music of Strangers In addition to our ongoing development of teaching guides for culturally sensitive foreign films, Journeys in Film brings outstanding documentary films to the classroom. Working with the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California, Journeys in Film has identified excep- tional narrative and documentary films that teach about a broad range of social issues in real-life settings such as famine-stricken and war-torn Somalia, a maximum-security prison in Alabama, and a World War II concentration camp near Prague. Journeys in Film guides help teachers integrate these films into their classrooms, examining complex issues, encouraging students to be active rather than passive view- ers, and maximizing the power of film to enhance critical thinking skills and to meet the Common Core Standards. Journeys in Film is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Journeys in Film: The Music of Strangers 7 A Letter From Liam Neeson Working in films such as Michael By using carefully selected documentary and foreign films Collins and Schindler’s List, I’ve that depict life in other countries and cultures around the seen the power of film not only globe, combined with interdisciplinary curricula to transform to entertain, but also to change entertainment media into educational media, we can use the the way audiences see them- classroom to bring the world to every student. Our film pro- selves and the world. When I gram dispels myths and misconceptions, enabling students to first met Joanne Ashe, herself overcome biases; it connects the future leaders of the world the daughter of Holocaust survi- with each other. As we provide teachers with lessons aligned vors, she explained to me her vision for a new educational to Common Core Standards, we are also laying a foundation program called Journeys in Film: Educating for Global for understanding, acceptance, trust, and peace. Understanding. I grasped immediately how such a program Please share my vision of a more harmonious world where could transform the use of film in the classroom from a pas- cross-cultural understanding and the ability to converse sive viewing activity to an active, integral part of learning. about complex issues are keys to a healthy present and a I have served as the national spokesperson for Journeys in peaceful future. Whether you are a student, an educator, a Film since its inception because I absolutely believe in the filmmaker, or a financial supporter, I encourage you to par- effectiveness of film as an educational tool that can teach ticipate in the Journeys in Film program. our young people to value and respect cultural diversity and Please join this vital journey for our kids’ future. They are to see themselves as individuals who can make a difference. counting on us. Journeys in Film gets them ready for the Journeys in Film uses interdisciplinary, standards-aligned world. lesson plans that can support and enrich classroom pro- grams in English, social studies, math, science, and the arts. Using films as a teaching tool is invaluable, and Journeys in Sincerely, Film has succeeded in creating outstanding film-based cur- ricula integrated into core academic subjects. 8 Journeys in Film: The Music of Strangers A Letter From Yo-Yo Ma I was just seven when my fam- I hope that, together with the personal stories captured in ily moved from France to the the film, the lessons contained here will help you and your United States, old enough to students explore what can happen when people from differ- understand it was impossible ent cultures meet and share their artistic traditions. to be in two places at once, but Art has changed my life. It has given me the tools to under- young enough to wish other- stand my own experience and inspired me to discover the wise. Wondering about life in connections we all share. I believe it can open the world for parallel—contemplating similar your students, too, making them eager to ask new questions experiences in different worlds—required curiosity and and to meet the world they do not know. imagination. I was fortunate early on to discover that music could be a vehicle for exchange, a way to open windows to the world and understand not only my own life but also the lives and experiences of others. I believe that, just as it has for me, art offers a powerful way to inspire passion and curiosity in young people and to Yo-Yo Ma help students and teachers connect with each other, with Silkroad Founder and Artistic Director their neighborhoods and communities, and with the world beyond, including places that are geographically and cultur- ally remote. Silkroad, formerly the Silk Road Project, Inc., is the The inspiration for Silkroad arose from my interest in the parent organization of the Silk Road Ensemble.