Voices for Change

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Overview

Curriculum Learning Area: The Arts — Music
Curriculum Level: Level 4 (Typically Year 8 Students)
Duration: 58 minutes
Class Size: 25 students

Big Idea:
📌 "Music is an expression of, and a way of connecting with, culture, identity, place, and time."

Achievement Objective Focus:

Students will explore how music can function as a catalyst for social, political, and cultural change, by reflecting on historical music movements and artists who created impact through their craft.

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Learning Intentions

By the end of the lesson, students will:

• Understand how musicians have used music as a tool to inspire awareness and action
• Reflect on the social, environmental and humanitarian themes behind global music movements
• Recognise their own potential in contributing to change through collaborative musical expression

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Success Criteria

Students can:
✅ Identify at least one way music has influenced social or political change
✅ Describe a key message from at least one song (e.g. “Beds Are Burning” or “We Are the World”)
✅ Collaboratively brainstorm a concept for a response to a modern-day issue using music

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Unique Features of This Session

This session blends social history, musical appreciation, critical thinking, and creative ideation, all within a kaupapa-aligned framework to nurture empathy, voice, and cultural understanding. The class will use mātauranga Māori lenses such as whanaungatanga (relationship building) and kaitiakitanga (guardianship) to analyse how musicians act as kaitiaki of societal issues.

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Lesson Breakdown

⏱️ Time breakdown

Time	Activity
5 min	Karakia + Introduction
10 min	Visual & Audio Hook: “How Music Sparks Change”
10 min	Analysing Three Artists: Context Activity
15 min	Pair Reflection & Discussion
15 min	Group Creative Challenge: ‘Music 4 Change’
3 min	Wrap-up + Exit Ticket

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Step-by-Step Activities

🪶 1. Karakia + Introduction (5 minutes)

Begin class with a short karakia to centre the room. Briefly pose the following question:

“Can music change the world — or just reflect it?”

This sets the tone and provokes curiosity.

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👁️‍🗨️ 2. Visual & Audio Hook – Setting the Stage (10 minutes)

Play a short montage that features:

• Snippet from Midnight Oil’s “Beds Are Burning”
• Excerpt of Bob Geldof’s Band Aid performance
• Clip of “We Are the World” chorus with global artists

Visual Support: Freeze on powerful stills for 30 seconds after each clip to allow students to write a one-word reaction on their mini whiteboards. (e.g. “hopeful”, “angry”, “inspired”).

Teacher Questions:

• What do these artists want us to feel or do?
• Who are they speaking up for?

Use A3 laminated cue cards with lyric extracts on desks — these support ELL and neurodivergent learners.

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🔍 3. Analysing the Artists – Context Station Activity (10 minutes)

Students rotate between 3 “Listening and Learning” stations in groups of 8–9:

• Station 1: Midnight Oil and Indigenous land rights
• Station 2: Bob Geldof and famine relief in Ethiopia
• Station 3: We Are the World and global humanitarian action

Each station includes:

• A printed short paragraph of context (reading age-appropriate)
• A QR code to listen to a chorus
• A challenge card asking:
  • What problem does the music talk about?
  • Who is the artist trying to help?

Teacher Note: Use tuakana-teina approach — students who are confident readers can help lead their station.

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🧠 4. Pair Reflection & Discussion (15 minutes)

Students return to their seats and reflect in pairs. Prompt them with:

• “Which message felt most powerful to you and why?”
• “If you could pick one issue to sing about today, what would it be?”

Use a Think-Pair-Share approach. Encourage emotional connections & different worldviews.

Then, open class discussion. Teachers record standout comments on the board using keywords (e.g. climate, homelessness, mental health, racism).

Integrate mana ōrite by creating space for te ao Māori views (e.g. students can talk about whānau, whenua, and wai as key taonga worth protecting through music).

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🎵 5. Group Creative Challenge – ‘Music 4 Change’ (15 minutes)

Goal: Groups of 4–5 create a 15–30 second concept for a song that addresses a current issue they care about.

Each group fills out a Music Concept Card with:

• Song Title
• Issue
• Hook lyric line
• Mood/Genre (e.g. rock, hip-hop, pop, waiata ā-ringa)

Allow groups to present their concept or submit it digitally. Encouraging expression in te reo Māori is supported.

Optional: Play a 10-sec instrumental loop to inspire beat-making ideas.

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📝 6. Wrap-up + Exit Ticket (3 minutes)

Hand out exit tickets:
✏️ “One thing I learned about music...
🎶 One thing I want to write/sing about is...”

Collect tickets as a formative reflection.

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Differentiation Strategies

• Visuals, lyric handouts, scaffolded cards for understanding key messages
• Te reo Māori and Pacific languages encouraged in song concepts
• Group work to strengthen collaboration and peer learning
• QR codes optional — backing tech support for those who prefer printed lyrics

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Links to Key Competencies

• Participating and Contributing: Students recognise their role in societal conversations through music
• Thinking: Students analyse perspectives and synthesise ideas creatively
• Relating to Others: Diverse collaboration and empathy through music
• Using Language, Symbols, and Texts: Interpretation of lyrics and social context
• Managing Self: Taking ownership of creative expression

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Opportunities for Extension

• Invite ākonga to write a verse of their group’s song for homework
• Song concept could be developed over a unit and recorded/performed in a showcase
• Connect with a local artist/activist who uses music for awareness in Aotearoa

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Teacher Reflection Prompt

💭 Which students made unexpected connections or displayed creative insight?
💭 How did different cultural perspectives enrich the conversation today?

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Final Thought:

“Music is not just sound — it’s a story, a protest, a prayer, and a promise.”

Let your ākonga be the next generation of music-makers who sing to spark courage and change.