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Earlier this month, I posted about the annual lesson I do in my English Language Learner World History class with the oldest written story ever found (see ELL World History Video Project: The Epic Of Gilgamesh).

Today, Open Culture shared a post with examples of the oldest surviving written music (see Hear the World’s Oldest Surviving Written Song (200 BC), Originally Composed by Euripides, the Ancient Greek Playwright).

It got me wondering if my students could do a project researching and sharing the oldest examples of their home culture’s music?

I did a quick online search, and there certainly are many examples. At the bottom of this post, I’ve embedded videos of ancient Mesoamerican and Arab music.

So, I’m thinking of asking students to research their culture’s music, make a short report on the instruments used and the role of music in their ancient culture, explain what it sounds like to them and what they visualize when they hear it, and then play it for the class.

What do you think? Do you have ideas on how I can make the lesson a better one for both learning about history and for language development?