Hip Hop is Powerful

A few days ago I was telling a friend about the Talent Show we had at school and described the dance moves, songs, and true talent students at my school have. I love the talent show every year because it is a window into students true interests and talents that are not always seen in the classroom. My friend asked if I had ever heard of Chris Emdim. I stared at her and said "No, the name doesn't sound familiar." She went on to tell me how this man has started what's called Science Genius and #hiphopEd to use hip hop as a means of teaching science. He is an advocate for engaging students in a real way to encourage learning. Check out this short video to get an idea of what I'm talking about.

 Now, I know a lot of people reading this probably work with elementary age students and as you can see this video focused on high school students. I still think there's something to be said about using hip hop to engage students of all ages. I would love to do more research this summer to learn how the brain is activated when rapping and find more raps to use in my classroom. I know it would engage many of my students and encourage them to use some of their talents more frequently in the classroom. I sometimes encourage my students to write a rap with their sight words or beat box to a math problem, but most students look at me, turn red, and say "No, I can't do that." If I began lessons with a rap to introduce a concept or showed a rap for more practice with a math equation, students may be more apt to create their own rap. Using hip hop is something I would like to try going forward as I feel it could truly make a difference for my students.