Lesson 7: Homelands

Nouamane Lahlou

This lesson came together surprisingly this week.  I'd been working on gathering Moroccan music for a long time, because one of the assistant teachers that I work with is from Morocco.  I like to pick music from cultures that are represented in the classrooms so that the children can learn about the cultures that are all around them.  Unfortunately I don't read or speak Arabic, and it is quite difficult to navigate search engines in a language you don't understand!  I had some great help from our assistant teacher  who recommended I look up the famous Moroccan singer Nouamane Lahlou.

  

Dervish

Yesterday was St Patrick's Day, so I thought it was a good time to share some lovely Irish music as well.  Dervish is a traditional Irish ensemble fronted by the singer Cathy Jordan.  I quickly came upon "Welcome Poor Paddy Home" on youtube and was enchanted.  It's a beautiful song about returning to a beloved home.  Aha!  I suspected I'd be able to find 2 songs about a beloved homeland, and I easily did.  

Very little of Lahlou's lyrics are translated into English on the web, but it was obvious that his favorite topic is his homeland of Morocco.  "Bledi" means "my country", and is a song that he wrote when homesick while touring in the US.  It tells of how lovely Morocco is and how enchanting the people are.  He sings that if you don't understand how wonderful it is you should come to Morocco and experience it for yourself. 

I couldn't successfully convey this in class because we weren't watching the musicians, but I thought there was also a similarity between the ensembles. I found videos of both surrounded by audiences that were joining in and sharing the music together.  It seemed that both the music of Ireland and that of Morocco easily lend themselves to a casual and welcoming atmosphere.   

We heard Welcome Poor Paddy Home, Performed by Dervish, and
"Bladi"/ My Country, by Nouamane Lahlou.  (The song is #18 on the page.)

Here is the lesson plan.

Here is the coloring page. Print one for each student (double sided).

Here are the visual aides. If you have the capacity to project these, that would be great.  I have mine in a binder and walk around the tables giving everyone a closer look.

I also pointed out the wide geographical origins of the pieces on a large world map.  

Enjoy!