Asia Education Foundation

Hip-Hopping Away

cover image: Arts Unit: Hip-Hopping Away

Students explore the ways in which music and performance convey emotions and ideas that may vary in different cultures. They will see how their own preference for certain types of music conveys aspects of their own identity. They will then move from selecting music that reflects their personal taste to aspects of less familiar music. Students will look at ways in which music and performance are influenced by cultural traditions and by global trends. Based on all these experiences, they will then create a performance of their own.

 


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Index

Unit Overview

Stage of schooling

Upper Primary and Lower Secondary

Learning focus

Drama and Music

Elaborations

  • Dr3.3, Da3.3, Mu3.3 Students collaborate in the design, development and presentation of a short performance using selected aspects of traditional Asian theatrical forms.
  • Dr6.3, Da6.3, Mu6.3 Students explore and discuss aspects (ideas, values, beliefs and performance conventions) contained in comic or theatre works from Asia and Australia that incorporate dance, drama and music.

Focus questions

  • What cultural influences inform the current musical and performance tastes of students?
  • How do differing types of music express ideas, feelings and points of view?
  • What can be learnt about other cultures from listening to music or watching a performance?
  • As the world becomes interconnected and as technology assists with communication of ideas, to what extent is art globalised rather than specific to a culture?

Overview

Students explore the ways in which music and performance convey emotions and ideas which may vary in different cultures. They explore how their own preferences for certain types of music conveys aspects of individual identity. They move from selecting music which reflects their personal taste to exploring aspects of less familiar music and discussing how cultural influences are embodied in various art forms. They then look at ways in which specific examples of music and performance are influenced by traditions from other cultures or by global trends. They construct a performance based on these experiences.

Questioning

Questioning plays a major role in this unit. It is a key to exposing the students' thinking skills. The structure for the unit is based on the Cognitive Acceleration model2.

Duration

The unit has been designed to be flexible and can be chunked into a variety of time frames.

Note to teachers

The unit has been designed to maximise critical and creative thinking. There is also an emphasis on group work. You may need to remind the class of the conventions of working in groups. Tell students that this unit will emphasise the way they think so they will need to talk to each other, reflect on how they themselves think and whether that is the same or different to the way other people think in their group.

Preparation

  1. Ensure that the following key words are introduced explicitly and discussed during the unit:
    • symbols
    • interpretations
    • intentions
    • meaning
    • identity.
  2. Read through the suggested session content and ensure the resources used are appropriate to gain your students' interest.

Resources

  • Musica Viva online activities and music clips.
  • Voices and Visions CD-ROM (series), 2001 - 2003, Curriculum Corporation, Melbourne contains authentic primary source material from visual and performing arts, film and television, popular publishing and literature from the countries of India, China, Japan and Indonesia. Many of the images could be used as discussion starters for this unit.
  • Zorba the Greek Yolngu style clip from YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-MucVWo-Pw
  • Hattenson, Stacey, 2004, Images of Asia: Symbols, Pattern and Designs, Curriculum Corporation, Melbourne, contains examples of costumes, dancers, orchestras, puppetry and artefacts from countries in Asia that could be used as discussion starters for this unit.
  • Hamston, Julie, 2004, Australia Kaleidoscope, Curriculum Corporation, Melbourne, offers a variety of written, spoken and visual texts and contexts for an exploration of issues associated with people, places, beliefs and traditions and the significant contribution of Asian cultures of the past and present.
  • Watson, Rob, 1995, Visions, Curriculum Corporation, Melbourne, introduces art and drama students to styles and techniques from Asia that have influenced Australian art and performance.
  • Hegarty, Maggie and Stephens, Margaret, 1993, Images, Curriculum Corporation, Melbourne, introduces young Australians to the diversity of cultures and art forms of Asia.
  • Pausacker, H, 1996, Behind the shadows - Understanding a Wayang performance, Indonesian Arts Society, Australia.
  • I Wayan, Dibia and Ballinger, R, 2004, Balinese Dance, Drama and Music - A Guide to Performing Arts of Bali, Periplus Editions, Singapore.
  • Department of Education and Training, 2002, An Introduction to the Traditional Performing Arts of Asia, Department of Education and Training, Victoria.
  • Ask Asia website:
    • 'Musical Innovation Along the Silk Roads: Creating a Sheng'
    • 'Musical Innovations Along the Silk Routes: Creating a Tube-la'
  • MacArthur, Ann, 2005, Inspirations: Art Ideas for Primary and Middle Years, Curriculum Corporation, Melbourne.
  1. Adey, Shayer & Yates, Kings College, London. This unit has been inspired by lessons in the Arts, Reasoning and Thinking Skills Visual Arts text. Lessons designed around this model divide content into concrete preparation, construction, cognitive conflict, metacognitive, and bridging phases. back to 2