Where Have I Heard That Before?

Divide the class into groups of four. Provide each group with a copy of the attached You Be the Judge handout. 

Go to slide 6 and inform students they are going to watch a video clip that examines several One Direction songs on the spectrum of musical influence/plagiarism.

Ask students to use the “Notes” column on the handout to record any important points. Within each group, students should pass around the handout so that each group member can write something throughout the video clip.

When students are ready, play the first segment of the video, titled “18 Songs That ‘Rip Off’ Other Hits” (0:00–4:54).

After the video segment, give students time to consider whether there was anything unethical about these One Direction songs’ similarities with other artists’ songs. Ask students to discuss why or why not and whether they think it’s fair. Students then should record their thoughts in the final column on the handout. (It’s okay if not everyone in the group comes to the same conclusion; those who disagree can add their explanation to the handout, too.)

Once students have had enough time to complete the first row of the handout, ask for volunteers to share their group’s thoughts with the whole class.

Have students use one device per group to watch the series of videos embedded in the Student Slides. These three videos cover some famous instances of debate on the influence/plagiarism spectrum.

Student groups should continue using their You Be the Judge handouts to take notes on each case while watching the videos. After each comparison, student groups should discuss their thoughts on the ethics of each case and record their conclusions in the final column.

Inform student groups that they should continue using their You Be the Judge handouts to take notes on each case while watching the following videos. After each comparison, student groups should discuss their thoughts on the ethics of each case and record their conclusions in the final column.

Play the first clip from the following video, titled “7 Songs That ‘Rip Off’ Other Tunes” (2:17–3:40).

Play the second clip from the same video, “7 Songs That ‘Rip Off’ Other Tunes” (11:29–14:07).

For the third clip, play the following video, titled “Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines VS Marvin Gaye - Got to Give it Up” (entire video).

After students have watched the three video clips and completed their handouts, bring the class back together and go to slide 8. Play the concluding portion of the earlier video, “18 Songs That ‘Rip Off’ Other Hits” (13:32–14:07).

After the video, have students summarize their thoughts and share any significant points with the class. Ask students if they have any ideas about how this topic might relate to their work in other classes. Highlight parallels with paraphrasing, summarizing, and plagiarism.