Thanks to the generous support through a grant made by The Fledgling Fund, Journeys in Film is proud to provide a complete inter-disciplinary curriculum guide for FREE. Download any of the following lesson plans for use in your classroom. This is the first release in the Journeys in Film high school curriculum series; however, lesson content can be modified for middle school grades as well.
It is the purpose of this Journeys in Film curriculum guide combined with the captivating film Beat the Drum to educate diverse United States student populations about HIV/AIDS, infectious disease transmission, and the societal implications of the AIDS pandemic, as well as explore South African and Zulu culture through math, science, social studies, language arts, media literacy, and art lesson plans.
The Fledging Fund seeks to improve the lives of vulnerable individuals, families, and communities by supporting innovative media projects and community-based organizations that target entrenched social problems. Please visit www.thefledglingfund.org for more information.
Students and young people are hardest-hit by AIDS around the world. Half of all infections occur in people between 15 and 25.
Entire Guide
Downlaod .zip file including eveything below. (10.3MB)
Individual Lesson Plans
Download Intro - Table of Contents - For The Teacher Assessment
Download Lesson 1 - Social Studies - Apartheid & South African History
Download Lesson 2 - Social Studies - Pandemics & Epidemics
Download Lesson 3 - World History - HIV AIDS in Sub Saharan Africa
Download Lesson 4 - Media Literacy - Viewing the Film
Download Lesson 5 - Language Arts - Musa's Heroic Journey
Download Lesson 6 - Cross-Cutural Understanding - Affirmative Action in South Africa
Download Lesson 7 - Cultural Studies - Zulu Cultural Traditions
Download Lesson 8 - Media Literacy - Service Learning - Beat the Drum in your Community
Download Lesson 9 - Visual Arts - Zulu Basketry - A Tradition of Coiling
Download Lesson 10 - Health - Chronic Illness & Disability in the Classroom
Download Lesson 11 - Math - The Mathematics of Epidemics
Download Lesson 12 - Science - Immunodefiency Diseases
Download Appendix A - Dealing with Sudden Death - Grief Work in a High School Setting
Download Appendix B - Books About Disabilities
Download Appendix C - Background Note - South Africa
Beat The Drum - Purchase Film
A cross-cultural collaboration between an American writer/producer and a South African director, cast and crew, Beat the Drum is the tale of a young Zulu boy’s journey to the heart of AIDS-torn Africa. When his mother and father become victims of ‘the curse’ which is destroying his remote African village, nine-year-old Musa is determined to find his long-lost uncle and earn enough money to help his grandmother support her orphaned grandchildren and extended family. He sets out for the teeming metropolis of Johannesburg, his only possessions being his wit, determination, and the small drum made for him by his father. Beat the Drum sensitively shows the devastating problems of the AIDS pandemic through the eyes of this young Zulu boy.
Click here for more information about the film and trailer: www.beatthedrumthemovie.com