Write a Rap
Song
 An
Educator's Reference Desk Lesson Plan
Submitted by: Bob Urbani
Email: burbani@peru.k12.in.us
School/University/Affiliation: Peru Junior High School
Date: February 1, 2002
Grade Level: 5, 6, 7, 8
Subject(s):
 | Arts/Music |
Duration: 2-3 class sessions
Description: In this activity, students
compose lyrics for a rap song.
Goals: National Standards of Music
Education published by the Music Educators National Conference (MENC)
:
| (3) Improvising melodies, variations, and
accompaniments.
| (4) Composing and arranging music within
specified guidelines.
| (7) Evaluating music and music performances.
| (8) Understanding relationships between music,
the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
| (9) Understanding music in relation to history
and culture. |
| | | |
Objectives:
- Students will be able to write a rap song that
contains rhyming words.
- Students will be able to associate rhythms and
counting with words that are used in their song.
Materials:
| paper
| pencils/pens
| The
Drug Free Rap
The Drug Free Rap in .pdf format; requires free Adobe Acrobat
Reader.
|
| |
Procedure:
"Raps are talk songs. They are not sung; they are spoken. They have
a very heavy beat and a lot of rhyme. Behind the speaker of a rap there
might be original music, "scratching" sounds, or even parts of
other people's songs. To write your own rap, begin with your topic. You
have to know enough about your topic to rap about it."
For this activity, students may work alone or with a partner. "You
will select one of the following topics to rap about: Our School, Our
Team, The Field Trip, 7th Grade (or other grade as applicable), or Your
Family. In your rap, you cannot say anything negative about the people
or topic! Tell the story of your topic in a rhyme. Most raps rhyme in
couplets, which means lines rhyme two at a time. Lines one and two rhyme
with each other; but not with the other lines. Lines three and four
rhyme with each other but not with other lines, and so on. The two lines
that rhyme together are a couplet."
Students should begin their lyrics with a line that has a strong beat or
rhythm. "Rhyme the next line with the first. Try to repeat the same
rhythm in the second line, too. Then begin a new rhyme with the third
line. The fourth line should rhyme with the third line. Keep repeating
this rhyming pattern. The beat can be different in different lines. Some
lines can be short, and some can be long. You may want to have a refrain
in your lyrics. A refrain is a group of lines that remains the same and
is repeated throughout the song." (Pass out a copy of "The
Drug Free Rap" for students to look at as an example.)
"There can be NO double meaning words or grossness in the rap. You
must say it to a beat with your partner. You can also put dance moves
with it while you are saying it. You can use background music. Today we
partner up (you can also solo by yourself) to write the rap. Tomorrow
you will perform it and turn in your lyrics."
A Rhyming Alphabet (list of sounds/blends to help students with
rhyming):
BL, BR, CH, DR, FL, FR, GL, GR, KL, KR, PR, SH, SHR, SL, ST, STR, TH,
THR, TR
Assessment: Teachers may want to assess
students' raps by using a rubric. ( Author's Note: Rubrics are
now being used in Indiana as assessment tools for interdisciplinary
units and for all general classes. The state encourages us to use them
for grading.) A sample music rubric is provided below. As an
alternative, teachers can grade the rap on a point system (such as 25
points for the written assignment and 25 points for performing. Extra
credit could be given if students use a background tape or if the rap is
typed on computer or written neatly in pen.)
Music Rubric :
| Level 4 - The student exceeds assignment
requirements. The assignment is done exceptionally neatly; there is
evidence of originality and/or extra effort in the completion.
| Level 3 - The assignment is completed,
the work is done neatly, and the student followed all directions
correctly.
| Level 2 - Either the assignment is only
partially completed, the work is not very neat, the student followed
some but not all of the directions, or there is some combination of
these factors.
| Level 1 - The assignment is less than
50% complete, and/or the student did not follow the directions. |
| | |
Useful Internet Resource:
* National
Standards for Music Education - MENC
http://www.menc.org/publication/books/standards.htm
Special Comments: Students really love
doing this in all my classes. They can really be creative.
Lesson Plan Excerpt from the Educator's
Reference Desk |
