Hip Hop Unstoppable

Educator: Pam Gustafson - ELA/Librian

Other Participating Staff: Sydney Bryan, Kimberly Williams (ELA / Library)

Cultural Partner(s): Paul Rodriguez - Hip Hop

School: Brentwood High School, Grades 11 & 12

District: Brentwood UFSD https://data.nysed.gov/profile.php?instid=800000037066

Summary

This partnership was a collaboration among high school students from different classes with an author/hip-hop artist and their library media specialist. They created and performed original hip-hop lyrics and used vision boards and an intensive writing process to explore ways that the poetry, visual, and musical elements of hip-hop culture can be meaningful and accessible communication for personal and shared ideas.

Rationale: Students are in the Black History and Cultural ELA class. This topic is a piece of their curriculum. This project enables them to experience the topic in a creative, innovative manner. Through an understanding of the history of Hip Hop, students write original raps that demonstrate a positive voice/sense of identity.

What learning goals/standards did this meet?

Arts

For Students to use the Hip Hop art form of Rap to explore and deepen their individual voice and identity.

Historical Knowledge of: 5 Pillars/Elements of Hip Hop + Beat Boxing: MCing/Rapping (Poetry); B-Boying/Break Dancing; DJ’ing/Turntablism (Musical Instrumentation); Graffiti (Visual art); Beatboxing (Vocal Percussion); Knowledge/History

Create: Generate, conceptualize, develop, and refine new artistic ideas and work.
Perform, Present, & Produce: Select, analyze, interpret, develop, and refine artistic work for conveying meaning and sharing with others.
Respond: Interpret, analyze and evaluate meaning in artistic work through applied criteria and personal perception.
Connect: Relate and synthesize knowledge and experience to investigate ways that artistic work is influenced by social, cultural, and historical context and in turn how artistic ideas shape past, present, and future cultures.

CCCR

Civic Knowledge: Apply knowledge of government, law, history, geography, culture, economics, and current events including inequities within democracy in different circumstances and settings.
Civic Skills & Action: Model critical analytic, verbal, communication, and media literacy in a variety of activities inside and outside of school.
Civic Mindset: Demonstrate understanding of self as part of and responsible to larger social society through democratic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and informed actions for meaningful participation in civic life.

CR-S

Welcoming & Affirming Environment: Contribute to shaping an environment that welcomes and allows unique expression of identities, cultural backgrounds, and beliefs.
Inclusive Curriculum & Assessment: Elevate historically marginalized voices by exploring power and privilege, biases and inequities, and decentering dominant ideas and voices.
High Expectations & Rigorous Instruction: Hold high expectations for all in an academically rigorous setting by encouraging positive self-image and personal empowerment.