The Week News in a Rap-Lesson Plan +Video

The following information is used for educational purposes only.

The Week in Rap Lesson Plans


The Week in Rap video is just the starting point for a comprehensive current events study. Using the video as a jumping off point, these lessons will allow your students to delve deeply into the news and become experts on current events. The Week in Rap is new each Friday-but you can choose to do these weekly lessons any day of the week.

Using the Challenge Questions

Immediately following the song, test student knowledge with challenge questions. The questions test knowledge of current events presented in the video mixed in with a few fun questions about the lyrics. Were your students paying attention?

Using the Missing Lyrics

You can remove the key words from the songs by clicking on Missing Lyrics in the side menu. After the students have heard the song a few times, project the missing lyrics onto the board and have students write in the correct word while the song is playing or afterward. As a spelling check, you can make copies for students and have each student write in the correct word while the song is playing. You can also use copies of the missing lyrics as a context clues quiz.

Current Event Review

You can use the clickable lyrics to learn more about each story. Each lyric will bring you to a story on Channel One News. You can have students use our note-taking chart while they watch the videos.

The Weekly Activity

Each Week in Rap includes a weekly activity. The activity measures knowledge of current events from the week in a variety of different ways. Assign it immediately following the challenge questions, or for homework that night. You can even have students answer questions before they watch the video to gauge knowledge of current events, and then check their answers afterward.

Writing Academic Rhymes

Why stop with Flocabulary's version of the news? Have your students create their own Week in Rap. They can write about the same stories we covered from the week, or they can report on local happenings around your school. Our Writing Academic Rhymes lesson sequence covers everything from creating basic mnemonic rhymes to writing complete hip-hop songs. Get started writing here.

Predict the News

Get students to guess what topics will be covered in the Week in Rap before they watch. This can easily be turned into a game. Students can also choose one major story or topic and be the class expert on that topic. If a students story is mentioned in the Week in Rap, he or she can signal in some way. That student can then explain what was happening previously. You can also preview the headlines before students watch the video and have students fill out a KWL chart, listing what they know already.

Debate the News

Capitalize on controversy. Debating a news story can help students clarify their understanding of a topic, develop opinions and understand others views of current events. Debates can range from formal argumentation to a more casual discussion. In all cases, they encourage interactions and socialization in the classroom. We've provided some guidelines and a worksheet to hold a formal debate as well as tips for more casual opinionated discussions.

Be the Pundit

Whats your opinion? Get students thinking about their opinions on current events. Then they can share their views through a short argumentative piece or a more official editorial. Give students 30 or 60 seconds to give their take on a news story. Use this handout to help students organize their thoughts.

News Investigator

Reinforce research skills and best practices for 21st-century education. Using the clickable lyrics as a jumping off point, you can divide up the current events stories amongst your students. Click here for a printable worksheet to guide your students mini research projects.



The Week News in a Rap -Lesson Plan Model-

December 2, 2011

NATO Airstrikes & Bankrupt Airlines


Transcript:Song & Lyrics



Flocab's back from the break,
Time to read the newspaper and try to create.
Black Friday, Cyber Monday,
Happy Thanksgiving and we hope you had a fun day.

The NBA is looking like they may come play,
They're locked out, but there could only be one way,
Listen, they might play on Christmas.
Was that one of the presents that you had on your gift list?

NASA had their eyes on the stars,
They launched a super-size rover over to Mars.
And it's named "Curiosity,"
Speeding through space with grace at a velocity.

That generates about as much heat that's in Egypt,
They got to vote there this week, can you believe it?
After decades without a voice,
Egyptians are happy that they got to make a choice.

But in Pakistan, happy's not the word,
Since the NATO airstrike raid that occurred.
Just when their relationship was starting to improve,
Pakistani soldiers got...

Here's news that isn't much better:
If you play a lot of soccer and you love to do "headers,"
There's a study saying it could hurt your brain,
So you should think first when you use it in the game.

And if you're about to hop on a plane,
American Airlines just filed a claim
For Chapter 11: They're going bankrupt,
Saying fuel prices is what they have to thank, but,

We know, that's just how it is,
Why Obama's with the Dutch premier discussing biz.
It's Flocab and we're spitting for the kids,
That's another Week in Rap, now we take it to the bridge.


Activity 1: Missing Lyrics


Flocab's back from the break,
Time to read the newspaper and try to create.
Black Friday, Cyber Monday,
Happy ________ and we hope you had a fun day.

The NBA is looking like they may come play,
They're locked out, but there could only be one way,
Listen, they might play on ________.
Was that one of the presents that you had on your gift list?

NASA had their eyes on the stars,
They launched a super-size rover over to Mars.
And it's named "________,"
Speeding through space with grace at a velocity.

That generates about as much heat that's in ________,
They got to vote there this week, can you believe it?
After decades without a voice,
Egyptians are happy that they got to make a choice.

But in ________, happy's not the word,
Since the NATO airstrike raid that occurred.
Just when their relationship was starting to improve,
Pakistani soldiers got...

Here's news that isn't much better:
If you play a lot of soccer and you love to do "________,"
There's a study saying it could hurt your brain,
So you should think first when you use it in the game.

And if you're about to hop on a ________,
American Airlines just filed a claim
For Chapter 11: They're going bankrupt,
Saying fuel prices is what they have to thank, but,

We know, that's just how it is,
Why Obama's with the ________ premier discussing biz.
It's Flocab and we're spitting for the kids,
That's another Week in Rap, now we take it to the bridge.

Activity 2: Challenge:


Q1:What was the digital equivalent of Black Friday?
A: Cyber Monday.

Q2:When will the NBA season resume?
A:Christmas Day.

Q3: What´s the name of the recently-launched Mars Rover?
A: Curiosity

Q4:What nation had its first fair elections in decades?
A: Egypt

Q5: Where were 24 people killed in a NATO strike?
A: Pakistan

Q6: What can "heading" a soccer ball cause?
A: Bain injury

Q7: What airline filed for bankrupcy?
A: American Airlines

Q8: Who met with the Dutch premier to discuss improving the European economy?
A: President Obama


Name: ____________________________________________ Date: _____________

The Week in Rap News Investigator


1. Watch The Week in Rap and choose a news story.
Your News Story:
2. Watch The Week in Rap again and take notes on your news story.
The Week in Rap Lines About My Topic The Week in Rap Summary in My Own Words
3. Click on the lyrics that relate to your news story. Read the article to learn more about your story.
Then, complete the following:
Who:
What:
Where:
When:
Why:

4. Now write down some questions you still want to answer and do some basic internet research
to answer your questions. Use the chart below.

Remaining Questions Answers Source






Name: ________________________________________________________________________ Date: _______________


Think About Your Thinking

Song Name: _______________________________________________________________
Fact/event Details about the
event that stand out

Thinking about your thinking

Why do you think you have this opinion?

What or who has influenced your
opinion?
What do you think about
this fact/event?
Is it good that it happened?
Why do you think it happened?
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Name: ____________________________________________ Date: _____________

Debate Worksheet

Arguments that support your side:

Arguments your opponents might make:

General Topic:

Statement:
Your Team (circle one) Pro Con
Facts or song lines that support each argument:
Rebuttals to your opponent’s arguments:
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History Debate Lesson Plan


1. Listen to a social studies song or watch a video. Select a topic on which to focus the debate. Create a statement related to that topic that is written in the affirmative, and then write the counter point. For example:

By and large, American Indians lived well-balanced lives that should be models for our own lives.

You can also have students create their own argumentative statements. If so, remind them to write down statements with which a reasonable person might disagree.

2. Divide the class into two or more groups and assign each group a side of the debate. The "pro" group will argue for the statement. The "con" group will argue against it. Explain to students that they don't need to personally agree with the statement in order to argue for it in a debate.

3. Using the clickable lyrics, have students research the topic. You may wish to hold a class discussion about the facts if it is a complex topic. You can have students do further internet research as well. Each group should work independently to write down points that will support their argument. Students can use their personal opinions to guide them, but they should back up their opinions with facts whenever possible. You may want to allow students to use lines from the Week in Rap as supporting evidence.

4. Once students have researched their topic, they should come up with a list of points that could support their argument. When finished, ask students to think about what the other side might argue and how they might address those points.

5. After students have filled in their charts, you can have a group discussion or a more formal debate. In a more formal debate, one student from the affirmative side will share points. Then a student from the negative side will share. Each side will have a set time to rebut (or argue against) the other side's arguments before the class declares a winner.

6. For further challenge, students can write lyrics to support their side in the argument. Use the Writing Academic Rhymes lesson.


Name: ________________________________________________________________________ Date: _______________

Flocabulary KWL Chart

Topic: __________________________________________________
K W L
What You Already Know What You Want To Know What You Learned


Writing Academic Rhymes



Introduction:

Guide your students to develop higher-order thinking skills through high-interest writing. Once students have listened to Flocabulary songs and learned information in any subject area, they can synthesize what they've learned by writing their own rhymes.

It doesn't have to be part of just the language arts curriculum. Writing rhymes can help students master content knowledge in all subject areas and write effectively across the curriculum. Check out the basics of academic rhyme writing with this overview.

Basic Rhyme Writing for Memorization

First things first. Start with a simple lesson that gets your students writing rhyming couplets. This lesson will help students use couplets to memorize anything.

Writing Rhymes to Master Vocabulary

As powerful as they are for remembering content, rhymes are equally impressive for learning and mastering new vocabulary. This lesson plan will allow your students to follow the same process we used when creating The Word Up Project.

Elevating Rhymes with Figurative Language

Few elements of writing separate great writers from average writers as clearly as the intelligent use of metaphors and similes. This lesson teaches students about similes and metaphors and gets them to incorporate these techniques into their rhymes.

Writing Rhymes That Tell a Story

What better way to write a story than in rhyme? This lesson combines skills from the previous vocabulary and figurative language lessons to get kids telling stories through rhyme.

The Basics of Hip-Hop Songwriting

Once your students have mastered rhyme-writing skills, they can put it to a beat. This lesson will cover how to put the rhymes to a beat and turn them into a hip-hop song. Explore our beats now.

The Basics of Classroom Recording

After your students have written their masterpieces, it would be a shame not to record them for posterity. In addition to being an excellent multimedia component of the lesson, recording audio or video is a way to let the students take home something they can be proud to share.

Further Academic Rhyme-Writing Tips

If your students are hooked and want to learn more about developing their rhymes, figurative language and wordplay in the name of rap, send them over to the hip-hop section of our site. Additionally, each week we post examples of advanced figurative language and wordplay in rap on our blog.

Share the Wordplay with Us

We love to hear what your students are writing. Make your students educational rap stars and share their lyrics or recordings with us. We will post them on our blog. Email us at info @ flocabulary.com to share.



Name: ____________________________________________________________________ Date: _____________

Song or Video Note-Taking Chart

Song Name: _______________________________________________________________
Important word, term or event Line from song that includes Definition of word/term or
word, term or event Explanation of event

Source: www.flocabulary.com