Lesson Plan

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Lesson Plan
Grade: Date: 17/01/2026
Subject: Music
Lesson Topic: Identify and discuss style, context and purpose in music from different cultures and traditions.
Learning Objective/s:
  • Recognise and describe characteristic musical features of diverse cultural traditions.
  • Explain how historical, social and cultural contexts influence musical style.
  • Analyse the purpose of musical pieces (ritual, entertainment, protest) and justify with evidence.
  • Compare and contrast musical examples from at least two different cultures.
Materials Needed:
  • Projector and speakers
  • Computer with internet access
  • Worksheets with listening task tables
  • Audio excerpts (West African, Japanese, Irish, South African, Indian‑EDM)
  • Whiteboard and markers
  • Poster paper and art supplies for purpose posters
 Introduction:
Begin with a short video clip of a vibrant world‑music performance to capture interest. Ask students what they notice about the sound and how it might reflect a particular culture, linking to prior work on musical elements. Explain that today they will use a structured listening strategy to identify style, context and purpose, and that success will be shown by accurately completing the comparative worksheet.
Lesson Structure:
  1. Do‑now (5') – Students write first impressions of a 30‑second West African djembe excerpt displayed on screen.
  2. Mini‑lecture (10') – Review the listening strategy (style, context, purpose) with a flowchart on the board.
  3. Guided listening stations (20') – Rotate through five stations (West African, Japanese Gagaku, Irish reel, South African protest, Indian‑EDM fusion); complete worksheet identifying features, context, and purpose.
  4. Pair discussion (10') – Compare findings with a partner, focusing on similarities and differences between two cultures.
  5. Style Detective activity (10') – Whole‑class matches mixed excerpts to cultures using stylistic clues; teacher checks understanding.
  6. Purpose Poster creation (15') – Groups design a poster summarising the purpose of one piece, highlighting key musical features.
  7. Exit ticket (5') – Write one sentence describing how context shapes purpose for any piece studied.
Conclusion:
Review the key steps of the listening strategy and highlight how context and purpose were identified across the examples. Collect exit tickets as a quick retrieval check. For homework, students select a new piece from a culture not covered and prepare a brief analysis using the same framework.