Teaching history through music

I created an iMovie for Marvin Gaye's song "What's Going On". I realized that there are many things that you could do with it in the classroom. Instead of doing a timeline about a song, I wanted to get at the meaning. This song was created during the Vietnam War, during a time when there were many protests and police intervention were becoming violent. The United States was in turmoil. In addition to the war, others were dying such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcom X. In his album, also entitled "What's Going On", Gaye addresses many issues that were meanful and relevent, finding his voice in social change.

This iMovie could be used to teach about the protests during the Vietnam War, or could also be used to teach how music is important in history and can address important issues of the time. I feel that using music in the classroom can be very powerful and intriguing.

As a follow up activity, I would have students analyze the new version of "What's Going On", created by the MTV All Stars (below). Students could do something similar, using pictures and words in an iMovie, powerpoint presentation, ect. to express their point of view, or giving a historical perspective to the new version. Some questions for the followup activity: What issues or events do they present? What was the significance of the release date? Why do you think that the MTV All Stars chose this song to remake? Do you feel that Marvin Gaye's orginal message was still present in the remake of the song?


Another activity would be to have students write their own stanza, as stated in the using music to teach history article. I believe that any of these activities would be engaging and thought provoking for students.