Rocking through History

Objective: The students will be able to create music videos describing a given World History topic by researching their topic and filming their video using a Flip video camera. The final product will demonstrate a proficient understanding of the given topic as well as technological literacy.

1. Students will be assigned to groups of 3-4 students.

2. Each group will choose a world history topic to research for their project from the following list: (Origins of Humans, Mesopotamia, Ancient India, Ancient China, Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, the Americas, Early African Kingdoms, the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation, Age of Exploration, American Revolution, French Revolution, World War I, World War II, or the Cold War). Each group may choose to study a specific area of their given topic to complete the project. For instance, if the group's topic is Ancient Egypt, they could create their music video about King Tut.

3. After getting their assigned topic, the groups will go to the computer lab to begin their research. They will need to decide on a song to use and download the instrumental version of it. They may also want to print a copy of the original lyrics to begin rewriting the song. Students will work with their groups to research facts about their given topic and to rewrite the lyrics of their song to reflect what they have learned.

4. Once the lyrics are complete and the group has ensured that their song works with the instrumental music, the groups will prepare for their music videos. Students may bring in appropriate props and costumes to use during their video. Students will practice their performance and then use their Flip video camera to record the final music video. Students may edit the video as they see necessary in the computer lab.

5. Students will share their music videos with the class by simply connecting the Flip video to our projector using the USB connector.


This lesson plan was inspired by "The History Teacher" on YouTube.