Jan. 23-29, 2014, Current Events Lesson Plan
Current Event:
Pete Seeger, one of America’s great folk singers, died on January 27 at the age of 94. One of America’s great troubadours, Seeger performed his music for a wide range of audiences, including children, college students, migrant workers, and presidents of the United States. Seeger’s musical style and concern with social issues influenced many folk singers. He was credited with popularizing “We Shall Overcome” in 1948, the song that became an anthem for the civil rights movement of the 1950′s and 1960′s. Peter Seeger was born on May 3, 1919, in New York City. He became interested in folk music at a folk music festival in North Carolina in 1935. After spending two years at Harvard University, Seeger hitchhiked or rode freight trains around the country, singing and playing a long-necked, five-string banjo he designed. He gained increased popularity as a member of the Weavers quartet, founded in 1948. In the late 1950′s, he became a solo performer. Seeger’s best-known songs include “If I Had a Hammer” (1949) and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” (1961). Seeger’s outspoken left-wing political opinions created controversy throughout much of his career. In 1955, he refused to answer questions from the House Un-American Activities Committee regarding his political beliefs and associations. His refusal led to his conviction, which was later overturned, for contempt of Congress in 1961. For several years Seeger was banned from network television appearances, and some organizations picketed his concerts. In time, the controversy greatly diminished. Seeger was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 as a performer who had an early influence on rock music.
Objective:
Folk music consists of a people’s traditional songs and melodies. Folk songs deal with almost every kind of human activity. Many of these songs express the political or religious beliefs of a people or describe their social relationships or history. Folk music is known and accepted by a large number of people in a society. It may be thought of as expressing the character of a nation or of an ethnic or social group. In the mid-1900′s, a number of singers gained great popularity performing American folk songs. Some of these singers also wrote songs that have become part of the American folk tradition. The best known of these songs were concerned with social problems, such as poverty and racial prejudice, or they protested against war. The leading singer-composers included Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Huddie Ledbetter (known as Leadbelly), and Pete Seeger. The Behind the Headlines news stories and related World Book articles explore Pete Seeger and folk music.
Words to know:
- Alan Lomax
- Banjo
- Bruce Springsteen
- Civil rights movement
- Folk music
- Joan Baez
- Leadbelly
- Pete Seeger
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- Un-American Activities Committee
- “We Shall Overcome”
- Woody Guthrie
Discussion Topics:
1. Ask your students if they can name other musicians who are or were involved in social or political activism. (Students might say Peter Garrett, Bob Geldof, Elton John, Lady Gaga, John Lennon, Willie Nelson, Yoko Ono, Sting, U2.)
2. Ask your students to debate, “Musicians should not be involved in political activism.”
3. Ask your students to debate, “It is wrong to download free music from the Internet.”
4. Ask your students to debate, “All students should be required to take either an art or a music class each school year.”
5. Pete Seeger was credited with popularizing “We Shall Overcome” in 1948, the song that became an anthem for the civil rights movement of the 1950′s and 1960′s. Ask your students to use World Book’s Timelines feature to create a timeline of the history of the civil rights movement.