U.S. History: 1980's
Overview
In this lesson, students will listen to a variety of songs or tracks from the 1980’s that were protesting about certain aspects of the Reagan era. Students will be given a list of eleven songs/tracks with the lyrics of each song protesting either the nuclear arms race, Reaganomics, the Iran-Contra affair or the AIDS epidemic. The task of each student is to analyze the meaning behind the lyrics of each song and explain the controversial event, policy or issues that the protest song was about.
Protest Songs From the 1980's
Protest Songs of the 1980’s
Anchor Standards: CCSS R.1, R.4, R.7, R.9, R.10, W.7, W.9, SL.1, SL.2, L.5
INTRODUCTION
Music has been used as a form of political protest for decades. Many people associate protest music or songs with the Rock and Roll era of the 1960’s - the era of the Civil Rights Movement, the counterculture and the Vietnam War. However, the one era that is less associated with protest songs is the 1980’s and the Reagan presidency.
In this lesson, students will listen to a variety of songs or tracks from the 1980’s that were protesting about certain aspects of the Reagan era. Students will be given a list of eleven songs/tracks with the lyrics of each song protesting either the nuclear arms race, Reaganomics, the Iran-Contra affair or the AIDS epidemic. The task of each student is to analyze the meaning behind the lyrics of each song and explain the controversial event, policy or issues that the protest song was about.
Objectives
Students will be able to conduct research about a protest song and explain the intended message of the song.
Students will be able to explain the policy, event or issue that the protest song is about during the Reagan presidency.
Essential Questions
How might protest songs influence or inspire people?
Why might the lyrics of protest songs be relevant to society?
Procedure
Before students are split up into groups they will be asked what songs they listen to. Why do they like these particular songs? Do any songs that they listen to affect or reflect their thoughts or experiences regarding the current political climate?
As a teacher, you will explain that many musicians use music to relay messages or a viewpoint in order to highlight an injustice or a cause. However, students need to examine what effect protest songs have on people (if any).
When facilitating students who are analyzing lyrics of protest songs, teachers need to explain that some songs do not have a straight forward message. Instead, they use metaphors and/or slang. Students will need to understand what a metaphor is and why it is used in many songs.
Assessment (Jigsaw)
Students will be split into groups (maximum of four students in each group). Each student will then be assigned a number. All students will then leave their original groups and join the group of their number. Each numbered group will then be given a song to research and analyze. Each numbered group will also examine the issue that the song is protesting about. The list is below:
- Reaganomics: Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five - “The Message”
- Iran-Contra Scandal: MDC - “Bye Bye Ronnie”
- Reagan’s Disregard for Vietnam Veterans: Bruce Springsteen - “Born in the USA”
- Anti-Nuclear War: Nena - “99 Red Balloons”
- The Criminal Justice System: Public Enemy - “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos”
- Decline of the American Manufacturing Industry - Billy Joel: “Allentown
- Anti-Nuclear Weapons: Frankie Goes to Hollywood - “Two Tribes”
- U.S. Involvement in Nicaragua: Don Henley - “All She Wants to do is Dance”
- Against the Abuse of Power: Public Enemy - “Fight the Power”
- Star Wars and Environmental Threat Posed by Nuclear Waste: B-52’s - “Channel Z”
- AIDS and Crack Epidemics: Prince - “Sign O the Times”
After each numbered group has conducted their research on their assigned song, they will then go back to their original groups and report their findings.
DEBATE:
The class will then debate the impact and influence of each song on society. Here are some question prompts that the teacher can ask students:
Did some songs have more of a lasting impact than others?
Can music help bring about change in society?
PRESENTATION:
Lastly, students will choose their own protest song from recent times and compare it with a protest song from the past. They will create a presentation comparing and contrasting the two songs and explain what the songs are protesting and why they chose them.
The presentation can be a PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation. Or it can be in another format depending on the technology available to the students and teacher.