http://education.qld.gov.au/tal/tips/webquest/w00016.htm

WebQuest: Movers and Groovers

Introduction:

Popular music has had significant influence on society and culture over the past fifty years. Popular music refers to music intended for commercial appeal.

What have been the impacts of music on society and culture over the past fifty years?

Task

You have taken on roles as student historians for a TV program called Sounds. The program is produced for young people by young people. The producer invites student historians to produce segments so that the program includes material that reflects the ideas and opinions of young people.

In the role of student historians, you have been asked to prepare a segment on the impact that individual popular artists and groups had on society and culture in the period 1950 to 1990. To ensure that your presentation reflect your ideas, it must be based on original research using primary sources. However, it can also include some ideas that have been gathered from secondary sources.

Process

To complete the task, work in pairs. Choose one of the artists/ groups from the list below or negotiate an alternative with your teacher.

Then

1. listen to examples of popular music,
2. read lyrics, and
3. learn about the artists (individuals and/or groups) from the websites listed for each artist/group.

The information you gather from your listening and reading should be organised under the following headings which guide your consideration of the impact on society and culture:

Lyrics - what they say, language used

Music - rhythm, instruments, use of technology

Individual/Group - e.g. size, members, sex, age, nationality

Audience - e.g. size, age, nationality

Performance of individual/group

Dress/Costume

Promotion/Advertising of the individual/group

Image presented by the individual/group

N.B. The note-taking pages in your Student workbook will be set up under these headings for you.

3.Organise the research notes you have collected to enable you to develop a structured analysis of the impact your chosen individual/group has had on society.

4.Plan your oral presentation carefully to ensure you share the time speaking with your partners. This should be typed neatly as a Word document. Be sure you show your teacher your plan well before presentation day. Check your task and criteria sheet carefully to ensure you have met all the requirements. Remember your task is to analyse and evaluate the impact of your artist/group on society, not just describe the artist/group. Use of PowerPoint may assist your presentation.

Prepare a correctly formatted list of references.

Glossary

Culture:

• the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief and behaviour that depends on man's capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations
• the customary beliefs, social forms and material traits of a racial, religious or social group

Popular music: popular music refers to music intended for commercial appeal. Primary sources: those sources that come from the time the event occurred.

Primary sources of evidence are mainly objects and written sources. Examples include artwork, objects and artefacts, buildings and structures, bones and skeletons and written records

Secondary sources: those sources that are produced after the events they describe. They include books written about the past, newspapers, documentaries on television, timelines and maps.

Society:

• an enduring and cooperating social group whose members have developed organised patterns of relationship through interaction with one another
• a community, nation or broad grouping of people having common traditions, institutions and collective activities and interests

Curriculum area: Studies of Society and Environment; The Arts

Curriculum level: Middle secondary Audience:

Student; Teacher Keywords: ICTs example; Rock and roll; Oral presentations

Subject: Rock music; Rock musicians; Popular music; Social influences; Cultural influences; Research skills; Cooperative learning; Oral communication; Webquests; Internet Dewey number: 781.66 Source: Beryl McLachlan, Denise Horton and Janice Cooper, Centenary State High School CX home | TIPS home | WebQuests home | Browse the WebQuests Contact | Copyright | Disclaimer | Privacy © The State of Queensland (Department of Education) 1997–2003.