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Art for the Common Good—Junkanoo!

Unit of 3 lessons

6th-8th Grade

Subjects:

Arts, Language Arts, Library / Technology, Philanthropy and Social Studies

Key Words/Concepts click to view

Lesson 1 :	ART:	Music; Visual Arts
	ELA:	Brainstorming; Constructing Meaning; Electronic Text; Expository Writing; Group Discussions; Prior Knowledge; Response to Text/Others; Vocabulary; Writing Mechanics
	PHIL:	Community; Community Capital; Factions; Human Rights; Rights/Responsibilities; Traditions; Trust
	SOC:	1 genOn; 10 genOn; Africa; Common Good; Community; Community Capital; Compare/Contrast; Cultures; Discrimination; Environment; Factions; Inquiry; Junkanoo (Bahamian Festival); Migration; Minorities; Mobility; Pluralism; Populations; Primary/Secondary Sources; Racism; Research; Slavery; Tolerance; Traditions
Lesson 2 :	ART:	Visual Arts
	ELA:	Brainstorming; Constructing Meaning; Persuasive Techniques
	PHIL:	Community Capital; Human Rights; Minorities
	SOC:	10 genOn; 2 genOn; Civic Responsibility/Virtue; Community Capital; Factions; Junkanoo (Bahamian Festival); Minorities; Nonprofit Organizations
Lesson 3 :	PHIL:	Service Learning
	SOC:	10 genOn; 2 genOn; Cultures

Unit Overview:

Students will learn about the Bahamian Festival, Junkanoo, by making headdresses in groups. They will examine how group dynamics work, especially when minority rights need to be protected. They will present a parade.

Unit Purpose:

The purpose of this unit is to encourage students to examine the way groups work together for the common good and understand how specific community factions preserve their culture through the arts. In a fun and creative activity, groups will consider how to be more effective in cooperative learning.

Unit Objectives:

The learner will:

locate the Bahamas on a globe and describe Junkanoo, the National Festival of the Bahamas.
describe design concepts associated with Junkanoo.
explain the importance of cooperation in a group.
define terms related to community and group dynamics and write about community.
explore the positive and negative effects of factions.
design a Junkanoo headdress.
make a headdress in the Junkanoo style.
work cooperatively in groups and evaluate the group's work.
participate in a Junkanoo-like parade and share his/her knowledge of Junkanoo with others.

Service Experience:

Although lessons in this unit contain service project examples, decisions about service plans and implementation should be made by students, as age appropriate.

Children will present a program, complete with a parade, in which they will share their information about Junkanoo with other students in the school or with residents of a retirement/nursing home.

Unit Assessment:

Informal and formal assessments are included with each lesson.

School/Home Connection:

Classroom Newsletter:
Parents: We are beginning a study of the Bahamian Festival of Junkanoo! We hope you join us on (date) at (time) for our parade.
The emphasis of this unit is on cooperation, community building, and factions. To support what they are learning, parents may wish to take their child to a City Council meeting or other group planning session where the students can see adults trying to work toward a goal. In this unit we will emphasize how minority groups need to be protected in a democracy, so that their thoughts and ideas are heard and pride in culture is preserved.
As part of our celebration, we will have foods from the Bahamas. Recipes, food donations, or volunteers for this event are welcomed!
Interactive Parent/Student Homework:
1. In Lesson One: Introduction to Junkanoo! A Bahamian Festival, parents are invited to visit the classroom to share their knowledge of Junkanoo.
2. In Lesson Two: Group Headdresses, students have homework in which they write about a nonprofit group that represents a minority interest.
3. In Lesson Three: A Junkanoo Parade, parents are invited to observe the Junkanoo parade/presentation and provide Bahamian food.

Notes for Teaching:

Author's Note: I want to share the origins of this project so that you will feel free to adapt this lesson to your own circumstances.

Bahamians take great pride in their Festival. Others can learn from their case history about the survival of culture through radical upheaval (in this case, slavery). This project has been an ongoing passion for me for the past ten years—ever since I first saw Junkanoo! I was teaching in a racially diverse public school system in Cassopolis, Michigan, where there is a museum-house that was once a stop on the Underground Railroad. Lessons about slavery are important. The African-American Community in the Bahamas has struggled to define their identity, to gain a sense of pride in their culture and to assert their individual rights. When I saw Junkanoo, I felt there were lessons to be learned by comparing slavery in the Bahamas to slavery in the United States. I also feel that the way African roots are expressed in the Junkanoo Festival beautifully demonstrates how artistic expression communicates a heritage.