Lesson Plan 2


Objective:  
Students will be able to sing “Yalli zara’tu” in Arabic with minimal adult assistance.

Time Allotment:  Three class periods
Target Level: 6th to 12th grade

Overview:
This lesson plan contains a step-by-step overview of how to make full use of the “Yalli zara’tu” online interactive tool.  This may be used by music and language teachers.

Standards Alignment:
 National Standards for Foreign Language Education: 

  • Standard 1.2:  Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics
  • Standard 3.1:  Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language

National Standards for Music Education

  • Standard 1: Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
  • Standard 5: Reading and notating music.

Steps for Teachers

Necessary Resources:
 To make full use of this lesson, teachers should have access to:

 Introducing the Lesson:  (one class period)

  1. Announce to students that they will be learning how to sing a famous Egyptian song from the turn of the century.
    • Play the video clip of Al-Bustan resident takht ensemble with guest vocalist Youssef Kassab performing “Yalli Zara’tu”
    • Invite student reactions
  2. Introduce students to the online interactive tool for learning “Yalli zara’tu”
    • Distribute lyrics sheets so students can follow along with the words.
    • Play through the entire song once, with the full musical accompaniment.
    • Point out how the tool allows you to hear individual portions of the song.
    • Introduce the diction track, which allows the students to learn the lyrics in Arabic.
  3. If the classroom has percussive instruments, and the teacher feels confident in teaching percussive rhythms, divide the class into students who will sing, and students who will play percussion.
  4. Demonstrate how the students will learn to pronounce the lyrics in Arabic
    • Split up the song into small sections of one line each.
    • Play the section of the song with the instrumental track, percussion track, and diction track.
    • Section by section and based on the non-melodic diction track, lead the students in practicing pronunciation of the Arabic words.
  5. Introduce and demonstrate the call-and-response method of learning the song
    • Teacher plays the percussion track, sings a section of the song, and students respond.
  6. Begin with the first section of the song. Start by practicing the pronunciation of Arabic words until students are comfortable and confident with them.
  7. Conclude the class by reviewing the song in its entirety, and showing students how much they have learned.

Practice and Performance: (two class periods)

  1. Re-introduce the song by playing either the concert performance of “Yalli Zara’tu” or the clip from the 1937 film “Long Live Love”
  2. Review the procedures for pronouncing the Arabic lyrics, and practicing the song itself (call and response) with the students.
  3. Pick up where you left off with the song the previous day. Continue by reviewing and practicing the pronunciations.
  4. Use the call-and-response method of instruction to build student practice with singing the lyrics.
  5. When students are confident singing the lyrics, go back from the beginning and let them sing the song from the beginning, with teacher accompaniment. Continue to lead them through practice of the lyrics, gradually recusing yourself from providing aid.
  6. The final goal is for students to be able to sing the song by themselves, without teacher assistance. This may be most appropriate for secondary-level choirs. For younger students, students may need to retain their lyrics sheets and may take longer to learn the song.