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Vocabulary Lesson Plan This is the first of our Free Vocabulary Activities Lesson Plans for using hip-hop to engage your students and to increase their vocabulary. This lesson plan requires having Flocabulary's SAT Vocab CD+Book. Do you have lesson plans related to Flocabulary or hip-hop in general? Please email them to blake[at]flocabulary.com to be considered for publication on the site. (click here to download this lesson plan as a printable PDF). Appropriate for grades 7-12. Curriculum Areas: »Vocabulary Building »Reading Comprehension »Aural Comprehension »Pronunciation »Spelling »Word Recognition and Analysis Goal: In each lesson, your students will: »Memorize a rap »Engage with vocabulary and wordplay »Learn the meaning, pronunciation and spelling of forty to fifty SAT-level vocabulary words »Work as a team »Have fun Time Needed: Two thirty minute sessions on separate days with homework Materials needed: »Flocabulary A Dictionary and A Microphone CD »A page of the lyrics and definitions for the song from the Flocabulary Workbook »CD-player The Pre-Lesson: Discussion (5 - 10 minutes) A great way to introduce Flocabulary to the classroom is with an open discussion on hip-hop and vocabulary. Use the following questions to spark discussion: » "Can rap music be considered poetry?" » "What are the qualities of hip-hop that are unique?" » "How many poems do you have memorized? How many rock / hip-hop songs?" » "Is memorizing a rhyme easier than memorizing a non-rhyming sentence?" » "What could explain this difference?" The Lesson (20 - 30 minutes) »Pass out workbooks or distribute printed lyrics to the Flocabulary song you've chosen. »Play the song for the class. Students should listen and follow along on the printed page. »Ask for reactions and comments. »Use the Guide to Theme, Language and References sheet to engage in a brief discussion of the theme, narrator, plot-line, language and references in the song. »Play the song again. This time students should listen for vocabulary. »Ask the students if there are any words that they still don't understand the meaning of in the context of the song. (You can test their understanding by asking them to fold the page so that the definitions are hidden and then asking them to define words based on their context in the lyrics). »Play the song one more time. The students should attempt to memorize pieces of it. Homework Assignment »Have your students memorize, as best they can, the lyrics to the song played in class. Whether they want to practice at home by singing, rapping, reading silently, or speaking in a poetry-reading style, they should have fun memorizing these interesting lyrics. They will probably need more than one day to complete this assignment. First Follow-Up (5-15 minutes) »A few days later, ask the students how their memorization is coming along. Play the song one more time in class, to help refresh your studentsí memory. »You can use the exercises in the workbook to test how well the students are learning the words. Performance Time (30 minutes) »A few days later, it's time to see how well they've memorized the words. »The big pay-off: fun for everyone. Distribute copies of the lyrics without the vocabulary words. Have your students sit in a circle (if possible), and then pick someone to begin. Each student will speak / rap two lines, inserting the missing vocabulary words as they go. The rap will proceed in a circle around the class until the end of the song. »Students should do their best to make the song sound as cohesive and musical as possible (this will be hard or easy depending on your students). Try to assuage anyone's performance anxieties by performing two lines yourself, and assuring them that they don't have to "rap" them, just speak them if they want. »Do this a few times, with different students performing different lines. »Challenge - can one or some of your students perform the rap without looking at the lyrics sheet? »Encourage your students to be supportive of one another. No put-downs. Final Assignment »Have students write their own raps! Have them write one verse using ten of the vocabulary words (they can pick or you can for them). Emphasize that rap is essentially just poetry over a beat. Have everyone turn in their written raps, but first ask if anyone wants to perform their rap in front of the class. You can also give them extra points if they not only use but define the words in the song. Alternative Ideas »Break into small groups. Play the song for your students without distributing the lyrics, and have each group copy down the lyrics as best they can. This is a great aural test, and a great way to learn the rap. »Have groups perform the rap. Individuals take turns rapping, while the others clap, snap, or "beat-box" (make beat sounds with their mouth). »Use the exercises in the workbook as a final test as well. »You don't have to have a final performance (though we recommend it). You can give the lyrics without words as a test to your students individually, grading how well they do. »Have the students perform the words a la "charades." The rest of the class takes guesses at which word is being enacted. »Have students write stories using the vocabulary words. Let us know what you think. We'd love to hear improvement ideas or stories. Info[at]flocabulary.com. |
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 Let's Get Hip-Hop into More Classrooms |
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