My First Accueil de Classe

On May 23, 2024, I did my first Accueil de classe EVER ! And it was amazing! :)

The theme of the accueil de classe was « The History of Recorded Music ». Schools regularly send students to the médiathèque, and I had a group of 23 students from the CE2/CM1 classes ( 8-10 years old).

I had three objectives:

To inform students about the history of recorded music and sound (music has existed as long as humans, but it's been recorded only since 1877)
To have fun by listening to music from various music format
Inspire students to listen to music more often

It was my first accueil de classe in French, and with kids. I was nervous. I tried to speak as little as possible and to make the class interactive and fun.

I created an installation with a vinyl player, a cassette player, and a CD player. For each format, I proposed three different artists that kids could choose to listen to.

I started the class with the fact that music exists since humanity exists. I backed that claim with the fact that scientists found Geißenklösterle flutes, created from the vulture bone, that are at least 42000 years old. I show some photos of Egypt fresques with the luth players and ancient Greece amphoras with flute players. But we don’t know what it sounds like. The only way to listen to the music then was to perform it or to experience it in person.

Then I show a slide of Thomas Edison and how he invented the phonograph in 1877. On YouTube, I found a short video from the Smithsonian Museum with the original phonograph, and they even played a piece of the early recordings from the aluminum sheet.

Then I talked about vinyl. Here, the interactive part started. I took out a vinyl and asked the kids if they had ever seen it. I passed it around so they could touch it. Then I proposed that we listen to a tune. Kids voted to listen to Bob Marley. I asked the teacher to pick a child, and the child mounted the vinyl and played it. In that way, the child can learn how to manipulate a vinyl player. The kids loved it!

Then I talked about cassettes. Again, they could choose the cassette to which they wanted to listen, and they chose the Beatles. A girl took the cassette, and I showed her how to use the cassette player.

Then we came to CDs. We talked about digital technology and how it has influenced the music industry. Kids choose to listen to Måneskin. We rocked well, and they asked to make it louder.

I think kids had a lot of fun and learned a lot! They asked questions; they were talking about their experiences, and they seemed interested in the subject. I think it was good for them to see older music technology, to touch the materials, and to use them. You never know; they could use this knowledge in the future. I hope, in the future, they will continue listening to music using physical media instead of only streaming. In my opinion, it’s different.

For sure, I learned a lot! Speaking in French with the big group of kids, I was nervous! But as I was doing it, I was comfortable, and I started connecting music with society, humanity, and technology. My world view was expanding. It feels like I am becoming a better human. I felt connected to other people. I loved the feeling and am looking forward to the future classes.