Prophets Project: Voices Speaking Out Against Injustice
To help students see music as an art form that identifies social injustice, advocates for change, and proclaims hope on behalf of the forgotten.
Students will:
- Have an experience intended to reinforce their learning about biblical prophets and the messages they proclaimed to the Israelite people.
- Understand that modern performing artists can serve as activists and have the ability to influence a large audience.
- Computers with Internet access.
- Class set or one book per two students of: Smith, Carol (2002). The Everyday Guide to the Bible: A Friendly and Informative Guide to the Old and New Testaments. Barbour Publishing, Inc.
- Copies of the Prophets Project handout.
Prophet, advocacy, peace, social justice
Students submit a half-page reflection that describes the injustice the song addresses, an analysis of the call to action, and a connection to what they have learned about biblical prophets.
Smith, Carol (2002). The Everyday Guide to the Bible: A Friendly and Informative Guide to the Old and New Testaments. Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Instructions
The teacher shares that students are going to learn about prophets from the Bible and then will choose a message of advocacy delivered through a song to share with others.
Students are asked to pair up and each pair gets a copy of the book, The Everyday Guide to the Bible, with a section marked that focuses on a particular prophet. Each pair reads the summary about the prophet and prepares to report to the class (in four sentences) the most important things about that prophet. The teacher gives them five minutes to read about the prophets and come up with their sentences.
Teacher goes around the room and has each pair introduce their prophet using four sentences.
Classroom discussion follows and students address: Who are the prophets we have been learning about? What do prophets in the Bible do? What is their role? Teacher ensures that student discussion includes the understanding that prophets:
- Were God’s messengers to the people
- Predicted the future (Prophecies)
- Turned people back to God and called them to repent
- Foretold God’s purpose for the people of Israel
- Predicted dire punishment when people turned away from God
- Promised God’s ultimate grace, a Messiah
Teacher distributes to students copies of the Prophets Project handout.
Building on lessons learned about the advocacy of biblical prophets and Nobel Peace Prize laureates, the teacher asks students to choose a modern-day song that they might hear on their favorite radio station that describes an injustice.
The teacher reviews the lyrics to make sure the songs are appropriate.
Students prepare to play the song for the class and project the lyrics onto the SMART Board. They talk about the injustice described and the song’s call to action.
Students are graded on their reflection.
