BUSKING IN NYC AND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

Sasha Loaiza

3-4 Grade Thematic Unit

Multicultural Education

WHAT IS A BUSKER?

a person who entertains people for money in public places (as

by singing or dancing), usually while asking for money.

(wordweb.net)

We are exposed to buskers all throughout the New York City

subway stations:http

://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjXqWB8zv6A- 7 year old boy pianist playing beethoven

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB15YZywOVY- diachi famous beat box player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l7GROiBHCc- violinst

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWsmISwbZKs- poplocking breakers

WHERE CAN YOU FIND A BUSKER IN NYC?

Language Arts

Aim: What are busker’s perspectives on art appreciation in New York City?

Activity 1: Students will read selected excerpts of “Noise beneath the apple: A

celebration of busking in New York City” by Heather Jacks. (20 min.)

Activity 2: Assigned groups will pick one testimony of a busker in that book

that stood out to them and research them in the computer lab. (40 min.)

Activity 3: Write (different styles of writing depending on their level) on the

person chosen explaining the life as a busker and the benefits and/or cons to

that lifestyle. (30 min)

 Social StudiesAim: What is the history of busker performers around the world?  Activity 1: Student will write about their experience of seeing a street

performer. If not, have them share what kind of performance they would like to see. (15 minutes)

Activity 2: Students will define what is a busker. They will also research the law and rights behind busking in NYC and other places around the world. (25 min.)

Activity 3: Each group will be given a state to focus on along with NYC. They will create a Venn diagram connecting and differentiating buskers (choice of lifestyle, rights, etc.) in NYC with the states they were assigned with. (20 min.)

MathAim: Students will be asked to compare highest population of busker performers throughout U.S using different types of graphs  Activity 1: Students will compare highest populations of

busker performers in five cities: New York, Las Vegas, Miami, California (Hollywood strip), and New Orleans using bar graphs. (40 min.)

Activity 2: Students will create pie graphs showing the highest busker performer genres in New York City. (20 min.)

Activity 3: Students will use line graphs to show the increase or decrease of a certain genre of busker performance in New York City. (20 min).

ScienceAim: Students will investigate whether simple materials can be put together to create music of their chosen genre. Activity 1: Students will watch 2 videos of science busking

in UK and write about what science topic or experiment they would like to see in a busking performance. (20 min.)

Activity 2: Students will be assigned groups of 4 and each group will choose the genre to focus on based on their interest. They will investigate which materials produce the best sound to create their own instruments (25 min.)

Activity 3: Through trial and error, each group will briefly explain (orally or written) their process of hypothesis to determine which materials produced the best sound and do a little show and tell presenting their instrument. (20 min.)

ArtAim: Students will use their hearing and seeing to express their feelings towards three different genres of music through drawing and orally.  Activity 1: Students will close their eyes and

only hear music video clips on three different busker performances: classical music, funky jazz, and break beats (breakdancing music). (15 min.)

Activity 2: Students will see and hear the music video clips. A pause on each clip will be given so students can create a drawing based on what emotions were conveyed through the music and performance. (25min.)

Activity 3: Students will share with the class what they drew and their experience as they heard and saw the music performance. (20 min.)

Field Trip Location: NYC subways (34st. and 42nd St.)

Activity 1- Students will observe, take notes, pictures or videos of what they saw. (25-30 min. each performance)

Activity 2- Students will interview the performers about what they have learned about the busking business and their personal perspective about being a busker. (5 minute each interview)

Activity 3: Students will write a short essay based on what they observed and recorded. (40 min.)

Culminating Activity/ Social Action

 Setting: The teacher divide the class into two teams and will create a debate panel. The students will discuss

whether busking should be legal or illegal in NYC. They will respectfully critique the opposing team and prove their case through analyzing what they learned in the Social Studies lesson and making connections with the information gained throughout this whole unit. (30 min.)

ESSENTIAL QUESTION:

How prevalent is street

performance (busking) in

NYC and throughout the

world?

U N I T : A R T A P P R E C I A T I O NT O P I C : L O O K I N G A T A R T A P P R E C I A T I O N T H R O U G H T H E P E R S P E C T I V E O F B U S K E R S I N N E W Y O R K C I T Y

S P E C I F I C O B J E C T I V E S : S T U D E N T S W I L L B E A B L E T O :- R E C A L L O N W H A T I S A B U S K E R - I N V E S T I G A T E A N D M A K E O B S E R VA T I O N S A B O U T A S P E C I F I C B U S K E R I N N E W Y O R K C I T Y- I D E N T I F Y T H E ( W H O , W H A T, W H E N , W H E R E , A N D W H Y ) O F T H E C H O S E N B U S K E R .- S U M M A R I Z E T H E M A I N I D E A S F O U N D T H R O U G H T H E I R R E S E A R C H- C R E A T E / D I S P L A Y A W R I T I N G P I E C E ( D E P E N D I N G O N T H E I R L E V E L ) O F T H E I R C O L L E C T I O N O F D A T A .

L A N G U A G E O B J E C T I V E S : S T U D E N T S W I L L B E A B L E T O R E A D , T H I N K , W R I T E , A N D O R A L L Y D E S C R I B E T H E L I F E S T Y L E O F A B U S K E R T H R O U G H O U T T H I S L E S S O N .

English Language Arts Lesson Plan

MATERIALS/RESOURCES

Book: “Noise beneath the apple: A celebration of busking in New York

City” by Heather Jacks

Book: “The Busker book; 30 years as a solo woman street performer”

by Kirsten Anderberg

YouTube Video: Noise beneath the apple book promo

Video clips of various busking in NYC

Computer Lab/ Web:

http://thenoisebeneaththeapple.com/category/tnbta-blog/,

http://www.buskersadvocates.org/saaNewYorkCity.html

Writing utensils: paper, pen, pencil, markers

DIFFERENTIATION

Group Work Activity

Beginner: In groups, students will use learning centers

to go over the writing format of a letter and collect and

display main facts of a busker in the assigned genre

based on the book read in class, (“Noise beneath the

apple: A celebration of busking in New York City” by

Heather Jacks)

Intermediate: In groups, students will be in flexible

grouping where they are assigned a specific genre, but

they choose their method (i.e., watching a video or

reading an article) of retrieving background information

to create an essay on the lifestyle of a busker. 

Advanced: In groups, students will use the web to

retrieve a newspaper article and look for a video on a

busker of their assigned genre.

Assessment/ Project

Beginner: In groups, students will create a

letter, in whatever language they choose, to the

busker they researched and explain what they

learned about him/her and his/her genre of art, as

well as, share their reflections about busking.

Intermediate: groups, students will write an

essay, in whatever language they prefer, about

their chosen busker’s life and what they learned

about the genre they were assigned to.

Advanced: In groups, students will create an

imitation of a newspaper article, in their

preference of language, on their chosen busker.

USE IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

This presentation would be useful during a Professional

Development session on how to effectively implement a

culturally relevant topic in a diverse classroom. This unit is

specifically targeted for New York students because that is my

area of focus, but this presentation can be modified to meet any

targeted audience. With this presentation, teachers and

administrators can see how a topic such as art appreciation can

be taught throughout the curriculum in an interactive and

educational way.