United States

LESSON OBJECTIVE: Students reflect on their own musical histories, learn about the impact of the Celtic immigration on the development of American music in the U.S., and write song lyrics that communicate something important about the U.S. in today’s society. LESSON 2: THE IMPACT OF CELTIC IMMIGRATION ON AMERICAN MUSIC IN THE UNITED STATES LESSON AT A GLANCE

DURATION: 50 minutes or one class period

MATERIALS: Handout 5: Personal Music History Organizer, Handout 6: Irish Potato Famine Primary Sources, access to YouTube

STANDARDS: CCSS English-Language Arts, Grade Seven: SL.7.2 Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study. CA History–Social Science Standards: Chronological and Spatial Thinking, Grade Seven: Students use a variety of...documents to...explain the historical migration of people. CA VAPA Music Grade Seven: 3.0 Students analyze the role of music in past and present cultures throughout the world, noting cultural diversity as it relates to music, musicians, and composers. Social Justice Standard Grades 6-8: Identity 1, ID.6-8.2 I know and like who I am and can comfortably talk about my family and myself and describe our various group identities. Social Justice Standard Grades 6-8: Justice 12, JU.6-8.12 I can recognize and describe unfairness and injustice in many forms including attitudes, speech, behaviors, practices, and laws.

CONCEPTS/VOCABULARY: Appalachia: Region in Eastern United States that stretches from the southern tier of New York to northern Alabama and Georgia. Celtic: Relating to the people and culture from Brittany, Cornwall, Isle of Man, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Migration: Movement from one part of a region to another; movement of people from one land to another. Scots-Irish Immigrants: Immigrants who came from Ireland, but whose cultural background was originally Scottish. Social Injustice: When there are seen and unseen unfair practices within a society that promote inequality and hinder social advancement. Ulster: One of the four traditional Irish provinces situated in North Ireland.

GUIDING QUESTIONS: How does immigration impact the cultural legacy of a country? What role does music play in personal histories and in a country’s history? What role does social injustice play in the process of migration?

Mini Lesson: Musical History LESSON PLAN

Ask a student volunteer to sing a few lines of a song they think every student will know. Encourage students to sing along. (You could always sing something like “Happy Birthday” if no student will.) Ask a few volunteers why they know the song, when they learned it, and why they learned it. Then ask if they know anything about the history of the song: why it was written, when, where, etc.

Have students discuss and share with partners or small groups:

What is the first song you remember singing or learning to play, at school, or at home? What is the latest song you remember singing or learning?

Tell students to map out their personal musical history using the organizer on Handout 5.

After students have time to complete the organizer, they should discuss similarities and differences of answers with a partner or among group members. What did they notice about their answers? What similarities and differences in music, for example in genres? Cultures? Listening to music v. playing it? How hard was it to reflect on their musical history? What were some challenges? What was easy?

Give them time to complete a main idea statement based on their musical history.

Part 1: Learn About the Celtic Immigration to America

Tell students that now that they have reflected on their personal music histories, they are going to expand their views of U.S. music history and the impact of Celtic immigration has had on it, so they can better appreciate the Wicked Tinkers and their “Celtic tribal music” at the Broad Stage.

Reestablish what “Celtic” means from Lesson One and that this lesson concentrates specifically on Scotland and Ireland.

Historical background for students: Many Scottish people moved to Ireland in the 1600’s seeking better opportunities and because the British government, which ruled Scotland, wanted to “tame” Irish rebels in Northern Ireland. The Irish had long seen the British as conquerors of their land and fought for years to obtain an Irish Republic free from British rule (this finally happened, except for Northern Ireland, in the early 20th century). The Scots-Irish and Irish then moved to America in the 1700 and 1800s.

Read the segment below (or at the link) and play the example of “The Streets of Laredo.”

Music Before the American Revolution, most Irish immigrants were Protestants from Ulster, also known as ScotsIrish. They tended to settle in the Appalachian Mountains. American bluegrass, folk, country, and Western music can trace its roots back to the Celtic folk tunes they played. There are many well-known American songs that sound a lot like their Irish counterparts.

One good example is the classic Western song “The Streets of Laredo”.

“The Streets of Laredo”: https://www.uticairish.org/blog/a-few-irish-influences-on-american-culture

If time permits, play “Lost Highway: the Story of Country Music” up to 4:25 on YouTube. The video explains how early Scottish and Irish immigrants brought their music to America.

“Lost Highway: the Story of Country Music”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvhmqdWXusE

Tell students that the music of Scots-Irish, Irish, then combined with African music brought by slaves is what many consider the origins of modern American country music. Without this integration, we may not have the following music or music videos from Lil Nas X and Blanco Brown. Option to show their music videos: • Lil Nas X, “Old Town Road”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7qovpFAGrQ • Blanco Brown, “The Git Up”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7U6AoZ27yE

Lead a class discussion about the impact of Scottish and Irish immigrants on American music. Notice if students can connect the idea that the history of music in the U.S. evolves over time, similar to how their personal music histories evolve.

Continue the conversation, and watch this video from Carnegie Hall about the Scots and Irish immigration stories to America. Before watching, review the words Ulster (a county in Northern Ireland) and Appalachia (Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky). After watching the video, have students pair share about the video and the main ideas. Ask students to discuss: The video mentions the massive Irish immigration to America as the result of the potato famine. What do you know about this event?

Carnegie Hall, “Migrations: Scots-Irish and Irish”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jve1PWlX0rk&t=33s

Pass out Handout 6: Irish Potato Famine Primary Sources and have students underline powerful words, phrases, and images that provide answers and suggestions for the reasons why 2 million people left Ireland in the 1840s and 1850s. After reading, ask students to share their findings. Continue the conversation and ask, “What feelings came up as you read these passages?”

Discuss the main social injustice idea of the Newsela article. (The British government did not want to spend money to help their Irish citizens. The Irish suffered tremendously as a result and were forced to leave their country.)

When the Irish came to America, they weren’t always welcome. Play a little of the song, “No Irish Need Apply” and ask students to pay attention to the lyrics. After listening to the song ask, what does this song tell us about the Irish immigrant experience?

“No Irish Need Apply”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py363BW5_DE Part 2: Write Lyrics

After listening to current and past songs and gaining a deeper understanding of the influence and role of music in different cultures and experiences, ask students to individually brainstorm about the role of music in today’s society. What stories are today’s songwriters and artists trying to communicate? Tell students that their answers will drive the next part of the activity.

TASK: Write song lyrics connected to the stories and experiences in today’s society.

With their brainstormed list, ask students to underline any key ideas that they personally connect with as their prompt for writing song lyrics.

Give students 15 minutes to individually write a stanza that communicates something important about today’s society. Examples include immigration stories, climate change, breaking gender norms, etc. Explain that words and lyrics are powerful and can communicate something important about the cause that they

believe in. Remind students that lyrics are similar to poems, where it can rhyme, include metaphors, and visually tell a story through descriptive language.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA: Students pick a cause or experience to write about. Students use descriptive language to write their lyrics. Students write a stanza of lyrics.

PURPOSE: To better understand the role of music in communicating stories past and present.

Student Reflection: As a class discussion or individual write-up, ask students to reflect on these questions. What effect does music have on people and how does this then impact history? How does history impact music? What have you learned about your personal musical history? What have you learned about the musical history of the U.S.?

TAKE IT FURTHER! Finish the Carnegie Hall: “Migrations: The Making of America” video, which focuses on the musical contributions from the migrations of Eastern European Jews to America and the Great Migration of African-Americans to Northen United Stated. Begin the video at 3:15.

OPTIONAL EXTENSION As an optional extension, have students explore this essay prompt and question. What migrations are you aware of in U.S. history, forced or otherwise, that have impacted it’s culture and music? In their response, ask students to share specific musical examples by artists from other countries who have influenced music in the U.S. today.

Possible answers: African slaves forced to come to the Americas; forced removal of Indigenous peoples from their land; Mexican and Central American immigrants seeking better economic opportunities and safety; Eastern European Jews fleeing pogroms in Russia, etc., Vietnamese refugees seeking asylum after the Vietnam War; many others leaving unstable countries.