I heard this cover on the radio this morning, and I absolutely love it. This YouTube artist has taken one of the singles from Daft Punk’s latest album and remixed it throughout the decades. He does a great job of keeping the spirit of the original tune, while blending elements of different 20th century pop music styles and themes. To hear the original, click here.
While I was listening to this song, I got an idea for a class project. In a nutshell, students take a specific historical event and imagine how it would have happened in other historical contexts. For example, how would the Founding Fathers have gone about writing the Declaration of Independence in the Roaring 20’s? Or amidst the political and social whirlwind of the 1960s? It would be a challenge for students to reevaluate their knowledge of not only the historical event itself, but also the time period in which they are placing it. Obviously we already had a country and a Constitution and a President in the 1960s, so what elements of history would need to be rewritten to fit their story?
I could see this project being done in the upper elementary grades or in an English or History class at the secondary level. Students could break into groups, script and storyboard, and create a video as a final project. A rubric outlining the specific historical research that must be included would be provided, and could even be created collaboratively between the teacher and the students.
What do you think, Internet? Have you seen this (or something similar to this) done before in a classroom? Can you think of any other fun ways to combine history, english, and technology?
Paideia 