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Project Description
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Students read excerpts from the British classic Beowulf. After discussing all of the story elements, including setting, characterization, and plot, students analyzed the form or the way the story was written. We discussed the author's use of rhyme and rhythm, as well as the use of alliteration. The students then brought in sample lyrics from current rap songs and we did a compare/contrast graphic organizer, comparing their songs to Beowulf. I then challenged the students to write their own rap song, summarizing the events in the story Beowulf. Microsoft Word was used to type the lyrics and for music we used the instrumental of "Welcome to Atlanta"; it is a rap song by Jermane DePre. The students would also perform their version in front of an audience, consisting of other students. The students were given a writing prompt which included instructions and a rubric.
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Rubric Information
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| Rubric Title | Rappin' With Beowulf |
| Rubric ID | 403786 |
| Teacher Name | Linda Gaines |
| School | Breckenridge R-I Accelerated School |
| Subject | Language Arts |
| Grade | 12 |
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Project Includes
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| Links | Student Example |
| Standards | NL-ENG.K-12.1 Reading For Perspective
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Understanding The Human Experience
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
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| Teacher Tips | I feel that this is one of the best projects I have ever tried. I am personally not fond of rap music but I know that most of the students today are, so I thought I would offer this project as a challenge. I was extremely surprised by what we all learned. I had the students explain their selections of rap to me, which gave me a better insight to their world. So, in effect, I became their student. I think the fact that I was willing for them to teach me something about their world made them want to do well on this project. I was very pleased with the rap they wrote. They even allowed me to play the part of Grendel's mother in our presentation. I designed my rubric using the multimedia project from Rubistar. This was very easy to make and took very little time. It met all my needs for this project. The only problem that I thought I might encounter was the choice of language used is so many rap songs. My students understood that their word choices must be appropriate for school and they complied.
I used the Multimedia Project from RubiStar which I found to meet my needs very well. The rubric was easy to make and took a short amount of time to complete. The students like the look of the rubric and the terminology used is easy for them to understand.
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