Author: Flocabulary Team

This author has written 262 articles
Obama’s Inauguration As Teaching Moment

Obama’s Inauguration as Teaching Moment

A powerful and historic moment will occur next week when Barack Obama takes the oath of office as the first African-American to become the President of the United States. Obama’s inauguration provides a rich teaching opportunity for educating students on a variety of topics from speech-making to civics, from the history of African-Americans in the White House to the plans of Obama’s administration. Lesson plans can get students to parse the vocabulary of the oath of office. While MSNBC provides an overview of the history of African Americans in the White House: From builders and slaves to guests to residents.…

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Hip-Hop Geography Game

Hip-Hop Geography Game

Hip-Hop related trivia as a tool for teaching geography? Absolutely. Daniel D. Zarazua - a teacher at Oakland Unity High School - created this incredible excercise, which quizzes students on their geography skills by connecting Hip-Hop artists, groups, and history to places and cultures from around the globe. With 31 questions, an answer key, and suggested lesson plan, this is the best Hip-Hop Geography exercise I've seen yet. Mr. Zarazua's site has a wealth of advanced ideas for integrating Hip-Hop into your classroom and more. Hip-Hop Geography Exercise

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Hip Hop Across The Curriculum

Hip Hop Across the Curriculum

Hip-Hop is not just a genre of music, nor is it simply a pop fad. It is a three decade-old and growing, holistic cultural movement. What began as the popular culmination of the African-American musico-social experience quickly spread to every corner and demographic of the United States and beyond. Today, Hip-Hop exists as a dominant expression of the modern American youth experience. Accordingly, Hip-Hop can be used in a powerful and relevant way in classrooms across the academic curriculum. Not only does Hip-Hop engage students because of its inherent resonance with their lives, it can also serve as a case…

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The Poetics Of Hip-Hop Lesson Plan

The Poetics of Hip-Hop Lesson Plan

This comprehensive high school lesson plan, from the Kennedy Center's ArtsEdge program, helps student make connections between poetry (Giovanni, Saul Williams) Rap lyrics (Blackalicious) and Shakespeare. The parallels are excellent and this is a great example of how teachers can use rap as a mirror for poetry. For more lesson plans, check out Flocabulary's Teacher Resources. You can also hear this idea in action with Flocabulary's literature raps.

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Jay Smooth – A Unique Voice In Hip-Hop

Jay Smooth – A Unique Voice in Hip-Hop

We're always lucky when, in the midst of a confusing and paradoxical cultural movement, a voice emerges to calm our anxieties and educate us. No cultural movement is as complicated (possibly self destructive, at times extraordinarily uplifting) as hip-hop. And one voice that has emerged to guide us through the ridiculousness is Jay Smooth. Jay Smooth is a part-time radio host in NYC, and also the founder of the smartest video blog on hip-hop out there: Illdoctrine.com. Jay doesn't compete with most hip-hop sites. He isn't delivering news, album reviews or gossip. He's delivering commentary: The Thomas Friedman of rap.…

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