VH1 Tracking the Monster: Ashley Judd and Indie.Arie Confront AIDS in Africa

Transcription

1 VH1 Tracking the Monster: Ashley Judd and Indie.Arie Confront AIDS in Africa VH1 Music Studio Cable in the Classroom Lesson for Music Classes, Grades 9-12 Lesson 1 Note to Teachers: The programs viewed in conjunction with these lesson plans may include references, consistent with the eras portrayed, to substance abuse, violent acts, and topics of a sexual and/or political nature. Because this may be considered inappropriate for classroom use in some communities, you are encouraged to review the programs before presenting them to your students, and if necessary, choose those sections that enhance your lesson and are acceptable for use in your classroom. Important Note: Due to the nature of this program and the topics discussed through the lessons, teachers should use careful judgment when deciding whether to present this material to students younger than high school age. Objectives Students will gain a better understanding of the AIDS worldwide epidemic. Students will learn how music is connected to other aspects of our lives and our world. Students will listen to and discuss multicultural music. Student will sight-read new music. National Standards: 1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. 6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music. 9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.

2 Materials VHS VCR Player Television Pencils/pens and paper (students) Copies of the Nkosi Sikelel iafrika/prayer for Africa Information Sheet (below) VH1 s Tracking the Monster: Ashley Judd and India.Arie Confront AIDS in Africa Sheet music to Nkosi Sikelel iafrika/prayer for Africa (optional see below) CD player Madagasikara 1: Current Traditional Music Of Madagascar CD (see Supplemental Resources for more information) Chalkboard/Overhead Projector Procedures 1. Write the following questions on the board: What continent is this music from? Are there noticeable differences from U.S. pop music? What does this music communicate to you even if you do not know the language? What instruments can you identify? 2. Play music from Africa as students enter the room (see Supplemental Resources for music selection recommendations). Ask them to listen and write down their responses to the questions from the board. Lead a class discussion about their responses to the questions. 3. Introduce VH1 s Tracking the Monster: Ashley Judd and India.Arie Confront AIDS in Africa. Read the following episode description to the class: This VH1 News documentary chronicles two emotional journeys to Africa by Golden Globe nominee Ashley Judd and Grammy winner India.Arie. They travel to the front lines of the global fight against HIV/AIDS. Through their eyes and in their own words, Ashley and India.Arie tell the stories of lives forever changed by the pandemic and witness how the disease is decimating communities in Kenya and Madagascar. Their week of volunteer work was in association with local projects funded by The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. In the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, India.Arie assists KENWA (the Kenya Network of Women with AIDS), a grassroots, community-based organization founded in 1993 by five women living with HIV/AIDS. It s now supported mainly by the Global Fund. Accompanied by her mother Simpson, India.Arie joins community health workers in their daily rounds to care for AIDS orphans, and to offer comfort, physical care and counseling to individuals living with the disease. Admittedly naive about AIDS prior to her departure, she feeds, hugs and listens to African people to try to ease their suffering. Madagascar is a country with a low prevalence of AIDS but the ominous signs are there. For Ashley, the YouthAIDS Global Ambassador, her five days on the island is a race against time. The country s attitude surrounding the disease is similar to that of the USA in the early 80 s - denial, stigma and fear. Ashley joins

3 local YouthAIDS staff as a peer educator, helping sex workers and adolescents understand the importance of being tested for HIV, and of modifying their behavior to best protect themselves. In Antananarivo, the country s capital, Ashley and her friend, Moyra Mulholland, experienced the tough street life of many young women who are most at risk of HIV infection. 4. Show the first part of the program India.Arie meets the woman with AIDS/Ashley meets the sex-workers. 5. Allow 10 minutes for discussion. Ask students to site facts they learned about AIDS in Madagascar and Kenya (78% of the Kenya population live below the poverty line; there are 6,000 deaths per day due to AIDS-related causes; unsanitary living conditions; Madagascar is opening its boarders and fears it is inevitable that AIDS will take hold). 6. Distribute the Nkosi Sikelel iafrika/prayer for Africa Information Sheet (provided below). Allow time for students to read through the information sheet. Lead a discussion using the following questions as a guide: What is the function of a national anthem? How does it aid in uniting a country? What events would you hear a national anthem? How specifically, does Prayer for Africa reflect the diversity of South Africa? Can you give an example from the VH1 program where you heard the song? 7. Optional: Distribute the Nkosi Sikelel i Afrika/Prayer for Africa sheet music to students (see Supplemental Resources for recommended arrangement). Extensions: As a homework assignment, have students research national anthems from other countries and give a brief report in the following class period. Supplemental Resources: Recommended recording: Madagasikara 1: Current Traditional Music Of Madagascar. Performers include: Ze Ze, Tsimiazona Valmbita, Emmanuel Randriamanti. Includes liner notes by Ben Mandelson. Traditional music of Madagascar fm. 1985, Globe Style UK. Recommended sheet music: Nkosi Sikelel i Afrika/Prayer for Africa By Enoch Sonyonga. Arranged by Fred Bock. (SATB). Gentry Publications. Published by Fred Bock Music Company. for program description National Standards for Music Education 1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. 2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. 3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments. 4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines. 5. Reading and notating music. 6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music. 7. Evaluating music and music performances. 8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts. 9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.

4 History of Nkosi Sikelel iafrika (Prayer for Africa) Since 1997, The South African national anthem has been a hybrid song combining verses from the national anthem under the apartheid government Die Stem van Suid-Afrika and the popular hymn of the African National Congress and other black organisations Nkosi Sikelel iafrika. This makes it perhaps the only national anthem in which the two halves are sung in completely different keys. It contains words from four of the eleven official languages of South Africa. Nkosi Sekelel iafrika was composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a Methodist school teacher. It was originally sung as a church hymn but later became an act of political defiance against the apartheid Government. Die Stem van Suid-Afrika was written by C.J. Langenhoven in Die Stem was the national anthem of South Africa between 1936 and The South African Government under Nelson Mandela adopted both songs as national anthems from 1995 until they were merged in 1997 to form the current anthem. Lyrics from Nkosi Sikelel iafrika (Xhosa and Zulu) Nkosi sikelel iafrika Maluphakanyisw uphondo lwayo, Yizwa imithandazo yethu, Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo. (Sesotho) Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso, O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho, O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso, Setjhaba sa South Afrika - South Afrika. from Die Stem (Afrikaans) Uit die blou van onse hemel, Uit die diepte van ons see, Oor ons ewige gebergtes, Waar die kranse antwoord gee, (English) Sounds the call to come together, And united we shall stand, Let us live and strive for freedom, In South Africa our land. English translation Lord bless Africa May her glory be lifted high Hear our petitions Lord bless us Us your children Lord we ask You to protect our nation Intervene and end all conflicts Protect us, protect our nation Protect South Africa From the blue of our skies From the depths of our seas Over our everlasting mountains Where the echoing crags resound Sounds the call to come together, And united we shall stand, Let us live and strive for freedom, In South Africa our land.

5 These standards-based materials are provided through a partnership with MENC: The National Association for Music Education. This lesson plan was created by MENC member Anna Lanford, Music Educator, of South Windsor, CT.