Essential Words: LTAB Online 2020
Lesson plans and writing prompts for teens
Rap is Poetry is Rap
by Bayan Founas
DURATION: 1.5 hours
GRADE LEVEL: Middle School
WRITING LEVEL: ALL
FOCUS: hip-hop, rhythm
KEY TERMS: meter, rhythm, alliteration
EXAMPLE POEM
Lose Yourself by Eminem
Check in | 15 minutes
If you could meet any hip-hop artist, who would it be and why?
What would you talk about? Which hip-hop artist is most like you and how?
● Silently journal for 5 minutes
● Share what you wrote with a partner for 5 minutes
● Share whole class for 5 minutes
Resource Building | 15 minutes
Think of one of your favorite songs, and Google the lyrics to the song.
DISCUSSION
● How is your favorite song similar to or different from poetry?
● What elements of poetry does the song have?
● How is rap rhythm and poetry?
DEFINITIONS
●RHYTHM: the measured flow of words and phrases in verse or prose as determined by the relation of
long and short or stressed and unstressed syllables.
●METER: the rhythm of a piece of poetry, determined by the number and length of feet in a line.
●ALLITERATION: the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely
connected words.
Close Reading | 20 minutes
LISTEN & READ | “Lose Yourself” by Eminem (Video and audio on YouTube, lyrics included in your packet)
Essential Words: LTAB Online 2020 Rap Is Poetry is Rap | 1
