Designed to help secondary students recognize that a country's music both reflects and reinforces cultural values, this unit involves students in comparing the music of the United States, China, and Japan. The unit could be used as part of an Asian history or Western history course. The approximate time required for the unit is 12 class periods. Student handouts are provided. The unit begins by asking students to think about reasons why they enjoy music. A format for examining personal reasons for their listening habits evolves from this process. The materials then ask students to examine the idea that music is both a reflection and a reinforcer of cultural values. Three specific themes are explored and compared. Political socialization is examined and compared in the form of patriotic music and its similarity in function. Attitudes toward work as reflected in music are examined. And third, students are asked to infer the phenomenon of change, first in their own society, then in Chinese society by comparing music in different time periods. The culminating activity of the unit asks students to look at the three societies as common members of a single planet. Students role-play visitors from outer space. Questions are structured to elicit similarities among earth creatures in terms of their music. (Author/RM)