Background Information for Teachers
This lesson is designed to explore a universal human experience, homesickness, through the lens of a famous Lebanese song, “Nassam Alaya-l Hawa.” This lesson can be taught in conjunction with students’ study of immigration, particularly the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 under the Johnson Administration, or as a way to introduce new insights into Arab art and culture into your music or social studies classroom. This lesson is meant to prompt students to draw connections between their own lives and the lives of Lebanese people, or more broadly, diasporic or immigrant peoples, as depicted through song. It is also meant to use music to bolster students’ understanding of key terms related to immigration: Homesickness; Displacement; Diaspora; and Solidarity. As a launching point for this exploration, the lesson makes use of the famous Arabic-language song “Nassam Alaya-l Hawa” or “Blowing Breeze” which has become something of an anthem for Arabicspeaking immigrants displaced from or who have left their homes.