The Week in Rap
What it is: I remember being forced to pay attention to current events when I was in high school for class assignments. I know that my teachers were trying to get me to pay attention to what was happening in the world; but, to be perfectly honest, I hated watching an hour of news. My mind would wander and local news left a lot to be desired (why did I care about the dog who dialed 911 for its owner?). The Week in Rap brings students current events on their level in a fun and entertaining way. Every Friday a weeks worth of news is posted in video form. The entertaining piece comes in the way that the recap of the weeks headlines is presented, in the form of a rap. The videos will hold your students attention while they keep up to date with what is happening in the world. The lyrics for each rap are posted below the video. This free website was created by Flocabulary which makes rap videos about a number of subjects.
How to integrate The Week in Rap into the classroom: The Week in Rap is a good way for your students to get involved with current events. Use the videos as a launching point for further discussion, a beginning point for research, or have students write a blog post in response to the video. Students can read more about each story mentioned in the weeks rap by clicking on the link for the news story in the lyrics. The few that I clicked on brought me to PBS.
Tips: Since current events are posted every Friday, this site might make a good end of the week fun activity.
Leave a comment and tell us how you are using The Week in Rap in your classroom.