LISTEN - A Song Mosaic

--> This year, Brooklands School applied for and received an Equity and Social Justice Initiative Grant, which proposed the idea of composing and recording an original song mosaic, which dealt with Social Justice from a child’s perspective. When we began to prepare for this project, we decided that the grade 4 and 5 students would be taught a short unit on Social Justice and Human Rights. Focus questions were then developed for discussion: (Why are some people poor and some people are rich? What are some things that all people should have? What is your biggest wish for the future? Why are all cultures important in our community? How can you help people who are less fortunate?) The students were empowered to provide answers from their own experiences and understanding, and the discussions were rich and powerful. Based on the content of the unit, the song melodies were then composed and arranged. Students were then selected, based on their interest and input, to record their voices and to provide their ideas as lyrical content for the song. The students were recorded using the GarageBand application on the Macbooks. Our school choir also became involved and were recorded for the chorus parts. The song material was then brought to a professional studio to record instruments. A professional sound engineer then began mixing the parts and producing the final product. As a true representation of student voice, this song is aptly titled – Listen. This project was very exciting for everyone involved and it was a genuine infusion of Social Justice, Student Voice and ICT.