Now Available: Complete Collection of Ya Habibi Lesson Plans
In October 2023, S'Cool Sounds (SCS) released eight new lesson videos for the innovative curriculum, Ya Habibi: A Musical Journey through the Arab World. Now, we are pleased to announce that sequential lesson plans for the entire series are now freely available on our website. Not only will these serve as fantastic resources for our own Teaching Artists (TAs), but they will also provide global access to this one-of-a-kind course!
With funding from a 2023 Challenge America grant through the National Endowment for the Arts, SCS partnered with acclaimed musician and educator Ronnie Malley to develop the lesson videos. With contributions from SCS TA Marwan Allam, SCS Program Development Associate Evan Harris, respected educator Bonny Dieterich, and SCS Founder and Artistic Director Nina Stern, the newly-written lesson plans provide step-by-step guides to implement the entire curriculum in elementary classrooms over 16 class sessions. Printable or accessible online, the lessons are complete with learning objectives, multimedia resources, and glossaries to set up both teachers and students for success.
This past school year, two of our TAs taught Ya Habibi-inspired content to great effect. At P.S. 86X in the Bronx, Nezih Antakli's percussion classes focused on rhythms common to Arabic music. To provide context, Nezih taught relevant middle eastern geography, which was new to most students. For TA Marwan Allam, the Arabic vocabulary integrated into his lessons provided many meaningful points of connection for students who speak Arabic at home. Marwan recently remarked, "Teaching the Ya Habibi program is very fulfilling; students feel represented, and they build a trusted relationship with you. At the end of program I encourage them to dance and use their bodies to feel the music and enjoy the moments when we sing together."
In addition classroom instruction, Ya Habibi content was also highlighted in school assemblies this year. For example, Marwan led a quartet at P.S. 133 in Brooklyn one evening this past May. Through an interactive performance, students and families took a musical voyage to the Middle East and North Africa to learn about the region’s musical traditions, instruments, and cultures. Along the way, they also learned Arabic words, songs, and rhythms from the region, with opportunities to join in with Marwan's ensemble.
Now, with the full Ya Habibi curriculum online, this captivating content will have a further reach than ever!
This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
KENYA TRIP UPDATE
We're still raising funds for this July's program expansion work in Kenya. Donate today before it's too late!
Your donation will support teacher professional development, student performances, community outreach, new instruments, and more. We're almost there — make a contribution today to help us reach our $7,000 fundraising goal!
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Check out the eighth and final lesson of Ya Habibi, featuring a review of Arabic music and culture in the U.S. This lesson also revisits instruments and rhythmic patterns from throughout the course!
