Mini Lessons for The Last 18 Years in Rap
We’re celebrating the Class of 2014 by calling off our usual Week in Rap… and replacing it with the top news stories from the last 18 years! Hey grads: We’ve got the biggest news from every year of your life. And for those of you who were born a little earlier, let’s see how much you remember.
Then, follow up the video with our trivia worksheet, or one of these easy-to-use Mini Lessons. They are listed in order of time required, from quickest to most involved.
The Last 18 Years in Rap Mini Lessons
For each lesson, begin by watching The Last 18 Years in Rap.
1. Did You Know?
Ask students which events they knew about and which they didn’t. Choose one story they didn’t know about and learn more by clicking on lyrics. Extend the activity by asking student which stories they would have included that we left out.
2. Change the World
Ask students which event in the last 18 years changed the world the most. You should communicate that it doesn’t just have to be the most momentous or dramatic event, though it could be. Students should explain why they think their chosen event changed the world the most.
3. What Were They Thinking?
It’s easy to form opinions about history when all is said and done, but while events are happening, they’re more difficult to understand and form opinions about. Have students choose an event from “The Last 18 years in Rap” and find out how people felt about it while it was happening by reading editorials and op-eds from the time. Have views changed since the event? What do we know now that people couldn’t have known then?
4. The Next 18 Years in Rap
Think 18 years into the future. For you graduates, you’ll be about 36. Pretend that you are writing “The Last 18 Years in Rap” in 2032, and think about which events might have happened. Did humans walk on Mars? Did we find peace in the Middle East? Who was elected president? You could either write it out as a list or in rap form.
5. Writing History
Ask students to pretend that they are writing the chapter in a textbook for the last 18 years. (In fact, for many of you, your textbooks might not include much information about the last 18 years.) Students should figure out how they would organize the chapter. How would they divide it? What are common themes? What are the most important events? For an extended project, students could even write this as a short chapter or outline.
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