For Black History Month, children in each year group learnt all about some of the most influential black musicians of all time. Find out more below and scroll to the bottom of the page to see some footage from every year group showing just what talented pupils we are so lucky to have at Monteagle.
In Year 1, the children learnt all about the legend that is reggae artist Bob Marley. This included learning his hit single ‘Three little birds’ as well as some sign language too. Those who wanted to even had the chance to perform solos!
In Year 2, the children learnt all about the legendary singer, songwriter and musician that is Bill Withers. This included learning his hit single ‘Lean on me’ which we listened to him perform alongside Stevie Wonder. We talked about the songs meaning and what we liked about it. We then started to learn the song and that unforgettable instrumental on our glockenspiels.
In Year 3, the children learnt all about the singer, dancer and musician that is funk superstar James Brown. This included learning his hit ‘I feel good’ which we listened to James Brown perform this week. We then talked about what the song was about and what we liked about it. It remains a highly requested song in music lessons!
In Year 4, the children learnt all about ‘The Queen of Soul’, Aretha Franklin including her anthem, ‘Respect’. We watched Aretha Franklin perform the song back in 1967 and talked about what the song was about and what we liked about it.
In Year 5, the children learnt the gospel version of ‘Joyful joyful’ made famous by legendary Grammy Award-winning singer and rapper, Lauryn Hill, in the finale of film Sister Act 2. The children initially watched Lauryn Hill perform it before learning the beautiful vocals and rap section. Some even loved the challenge of the singing the opening verse solo!
Finally, our Year 6 pupils learnt about the king of Rock ‘n’ Roll, from the 1950s, Chuck Berry. They watched his performance of ‘Johnny B Goode’, his infamous duck walk and learned about his life. They then went on to learnt this undeniably catchy song before performing it in our weekly singing assembly earlier this month.
