#SaveTheAmazon: Promoting global competence and making bridges in the middle school music classroom

This article offers an overview of a semester-long general music class unit in an international middle school. Due to international schools’ transient nature, students come from various backgrounds, and many do not have formal musical training. Using samba and popular music as a base for the unit, students developed critical awareness and explored socio-ecological issues in sustainability, resource consumption and environmentally friendly education about the Amazon rainforest. This action research will discuss the teaching strategies used in the classroom to promote student-led learning, problem-solving and collective music-making in times of hybrid learning and physical constraints due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially, students studied rhythms and developed musicianship while using popular music repertoire. Subsequently, students investigated the impact of deforestation in the Amazon basin and how it may affect the world. Finally, they learned about activism in art and were encouraged to take action through songwriting and social media, developing critical awareness and global competence.