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BACKGROUND ACTIVITIES:
Activity One
The purpose of this activity is to provide background information on Josh Groban.
1. Ask the students what they know about the singer Josh Groban.
2. Depending on their responses, you may choose to have the students read the Josh Groban biography included in the Multimedia Presentation on this site and the one in the Biographies section of the EVENING AT POPS Web site (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pops/background/bios/groban.html).
3. Discuss the information in these biographies.
STEPS:
Activity One
In this activity the students will create a scrapbook about Josh Groban and his career.
1. Divide the students into small groups for this activity.
2. Tell the students that they are going to make a Josh Groban scrapbook that chronicles his life and career.
3. The students may use a variety of sources for this activity, such as newspapers, magazine articles, the GREAT PERFORMANCES' JOSH GROBAN IN CONCERT program and Web companion, as well as other Web resources.
4. The scrapbook should contain the following items:
- drawings or photographs
- background/biographical information
- career highlights
5. Provide time for the groups to share their work with the class.
(Note to Teachers: The official Josh Groban Web site, http://www.joshgroban.com/, contains photographs, interviews, performances, and music from his debut CD.)
Activity Two
In this activity the students will listen to Josh Groban's songs and respond on a personal level.
1. Ask the students to choose and complete one of the activities listed below.
(Note to Teachers: The students may use songs from GREAT PERFORMANCES' JOSH GROBAN IN CONCERT or his CD, tracks from which can be heard on the official Josh Groban Web site, http://www.joshgroban.com/, for this activity.)
Activity One
In the GREAT PERFORMANCES program, Josh performs Don McLean's song "Vincent," which was written about the artist Vincent van Gogh. Prepare a presentation that shows connections between the song and the painter's life and work.
Activity Two
Listen to a Josh Groban song and free draw on a large sheet of paper as the song is playing. After completing the drawing, write a brief explanation of how it captures the emotions from the song.
Activity Three
In an AOL interview, Josh Groban talks about how he turns to music when something is happening in his life. Create an audio clip about a song that has helped you deal with a situation in your life. You may choose to include excerpts of the song on your audiotape.
Activity Four
On an episode of ALLY MCBEAL, Josh Groban sang "To Where You Are," partly as a tribute to the lives lost on 9/11. Many people have said that the song has a healing effect for those who are dealing with the loss of a loved one. Listen to the song and write a one- to two-page essay on why it seems to have such a strong impact at this point in time, or about how it affected you on a personal level.
Activity Five
Choose one of Josh Groban's songs and create a series of dance movements that capture different elements of the song.
Activity Six
Choose one of Josh Groban's songs and create a music video.
2. Provide time for the students to share their activities with the class.
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:
Activity One
View the Josh Groban fan quilt at http://grobania.com/lulu/quilt/quilt.html and have the class create a square/s for the quilt.
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