Billy%20Joel%20US%20history%20and%20social%20problems%20through%20music

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Billy JoelUS history and social problems through
music

• Dai FUJII (Japan)
• kelalda_at_yahoo.co.jp
• 2009 Institute for Training and Development,
  Amherst, MA
• Summer Institute for the Study of the United
  States
• for Secondary School Teachers and Teacher Trainers

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Contents

• Introduction
• Why Billy Joel?
• Billy Joel Biography and Discography
• Lesson Plan
• Sample Lesson
• Conclusion
• References

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Introduction

• When I was fifteen years old,
• my English teacher introduced her favorite song
  to us. The song was Billy Joels The Stranger.
  Since then, I have been into the piano mans
  masterpieces. My passion for his music eventually
  let me to form a band and performed his songs
  when I was nineteen. Sometimes, not always, the
  music has an immense power to change the course
  of your future.

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Why Billy Joel?

• Brief History of Protest songs
• Pete Seeger, Woody Gathrie
• Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Marvin Gay, John Lennon
• Bruce Springsteen, Public Enemy,
• REM, U2
• Rage against the Machine, Eminem

Billy Joel
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Biography William Martin Joel

• Born in 1949 in Hicksville, New York
• His father was an engineer at General Electric
• Started piano lessons when he was just 4
• His father, Howard, left the family when Billy
  was only 7
• Had to work nights to support his mother
• Dropped out from High School due to many absences

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The Power of Music

• His first two bands were unsuccessful
• Suffered a mental breakdown at 21
• Met Elizabeth, who became his wife
• Hit his first Top 40 with Piano Man in 1973
• Released Grammy awarded The Stranger in 1977

He is simply a sharp observer who writes
perceptive songs with soaring melodies about
ordinary people and basic values. (Tony Schwartz
in Newsweek)
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Voices of our Generation
Cold War
Vietnam War

• Cold Spring Harbor, 1972
• Piano Man, 1973
• Streetlife Serenade, 1974
• Turnstiles, 1976
• The Stranger, 1977
• 52nd Street, 1978
• Glass Houses, 1980
• The Nylon Curtain, 1982
• An Innocent Man, 1983
• Greatest Hits Volume I II, 1985
• The Bridge, 1986
• Storm Front, 1989

Oil Crisis
Womens Lib
Watergate
Jimmy Who?
Neo-conservatism
Soviet Intervention in Afghanistan
Reaganomics
SDI
Perestroika, Glasnost
Black Monday
The Fall of Berlin wall
The End of Cold War
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The lesson plan

• Subject English
• Class 3rd Graders of JHS (14-15 years old) or
  3rd Graders of SHS (17-18 years old)
• Topic Billy Joel - US history and social
  problems through music -
• Time Allocation (6-8 periods)
• Introduction (Listening/Note-taking) (1)
• Understanding lyrics (Reading Comprehension,
  Listening) (1)
• Research Project (Task-based) (3-5)
• Discussion/Feedback (Speaking/Summarization) (1)

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The objectives

• Through the study of this topic, students will
• Learn a brief sense of history and social
  problems of the U.S.A. such as Cold War, Vietnam
  War, labor problems, and teenage suicide
  prevention, etc.
• Listen to songs and understand the lyrics.
• Make their own research about the songs
  introduced related to the U.S. history and social
  problems.
• Discuss differences of social problems in the
  U.S.A. and Japan.

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Sample Lesson Billy Joel
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What Titles Tell You
Cold War

• Only the Good Die Young
• Allentown
• Goodnight Saigon
• Uptown Girl
• Only Human (Second Wind)
• Leningrad

Religious Conservatism
Social Class
Teenage Suicide
Unemployment
Vietnam War
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The Cold War

• Why is it called the Cold War?
• During the Cold War, what did the Soviet Union
  want to do?
• What did the United States do against the spread
  of communism?
• Now let us listen to Leningrad. As listening,
  why dont you try to answer questions on your
  worksheet!

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Leningrad
Viktor was sent to some Red Army townServed out
his time, became a circus clownThe greatest
happiness he'd ever foundWas making Russian
children gladAnd children lived in
LeningradBut children lived in LevittownAnd
hid in the shelters undergroundUntil the Soviets
turned their ships aroundAnd tore the Cuban
missiles downAnd in that bright October sunWe
knew our childhood days were doneAnd I watched
my friends go off to warWhat do they keep on
fighting for?

• Viktor was born in the spring of '44And never
  saw his father anymoreA child of sacrifice, a
  child of warAnother son who never had a father
  after LeningradWent off to school and learned
  to serve the stateFollowed the rules and drank
  his vodka straightThe only way to live was drown
  the hateA Russian life was very sadAnd such was
  life in LeningradI was born in '49A cold war
  kid in McCarthy timeStop 'em at the 38th
  ParallelBlast those yellow reds to hellAnd cold
  war kids were hard to killUnder their desk in an
  air raid drillHaven't they heard we won the
  warWhat do they keep on fighting for?

And so my child, when I came to this placeTo
meet him eye to eye and face to faceHe made my
daughter laugh, then we embracedWe never knew
what friends we hadUntil we came to Leningrad
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Discography and US History
Cold War
Vietnam War

• Cold Spring Harbor, 1972
• Piano Man, 1973
• Streetlife Serenade, 1974
• Turnstiles, 1976
• The Stranger, 1977
• 52nd Street, 1978
• Glass Houses, 1980
• The Nylon Curtain, 1982
• An Innocent Man, 1983
• Greatest Hits Volume I II, 1985
• The Bridge, 1986
• Storm Front, 1989

Oil Crisis
Womens Lib
Watergate
Jimmy Who?
Neo-conservatism
Soviet Intervention in Afghanistan
Reaganomics
SDI
Perestroika, Glasnost
Black Monday
The Fall of Berlin wall
The End of Cold War
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Research Project

• Procedure
• 1. Pick up one song you would like to research.
  Then make groups.
• 2. Examine the lyrics with his biography and find
  some keywords from them. Then look up the
  keywords on the Internet.
• 3. Analyze the lyrics and make 3-5 questions
  about the lyrics. A research worksheet (not shown
  here, sorry!) should be provided to help Ss
  research. 3-5 lesson hours are expected to
  complete the project.
• 4. Make a presentation with Power Point.
• 5. Give your presentation to others and others
  give some feedback.

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Conclusion

• Songs may increase students motivation to learn
  and open a different way to learn more about the
  topic.
• The lyrics, if carefully examined, tell us a lot
  of information as not only the songwriter intends
  but the listener interprets.
• Knowing the background of songwriting may be
  helpful to understand why the songwriter wrote
  the song and expand your knowledge.

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Thank you for your Attention

• We never knew what friends we had until we came
  to
• Amherst!

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References

• Billy Joel Official Website, http//billyjoel.com
  (July10,2009)
• Gale Research. (1994). Billy Joel. Newsmakers
  1994, Issue 4. Reproduced in Biography Resource
  Center. Farmington Hills, Michigan Gale, 2009.
  http//galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC
  Document Number H10000050447
• Gale, T. (2004). Contemporary Authors Online.
  Reproduced in Biography Resource Center.
  Farmington Hills, Michigan Gale, 2009.
  http//galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC
  Document Number K1608004365
• Gale, T. (2005). Billy Joel. Contemporary
  Musicians, Volume 52. Reproduced in Biography
  Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Michigan
  Gale, 2009. http//galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/
  BioRC Document Number K1618000257
• SARUYA, K. (1998). Kono Issatsu de America no
  Rekishi ga Wakaru. Tokyo Mikasa-Shobo. ???
  ???1?????????????!? ????
• Verdaman, Jr. J, M. and MURATA, K. (2005). What
  Young Americans Know about History. Tokyo Japan
  Book. ?????M?????,??? ?????????????????? Japan
  Book