Writing rap in the classroom
December 8th, 18:25 – 19:05
Writing rap in the classroom
By Runa Godø Sæther & Steinar Lund, Teachers
Through her work as a music teacher at Valderøy Barneskule, Norway, Runa Godø Sæther has participated with her students in the Global Science Opera the past 4 years. Three of these years, included 2021, her students have produced, performed and recorded the rap music videos Gravity, Hydro Power and Dog in a bog in the fog. Runa is writing her master`s thesis about this work. How can rhyme and rap be used as tools in cross-curricular projects in primary/secondary school, within the framework of GSO4SCHOOL and Global Science Opera?
Runa`s collegue, Science/English teacher Steinar Lund, has also been engaged in the crosscurricular creative process of producing two of the rap videos for Global Science Opera, the latest being A dog in a bog in the fog from this year`s opera. Runa and Steinar will lead this workshop together. The participants will be introduced to some basic methods for working with rap/rhyme and a chosen science subject, suggested within the framework of GSO4SCHOOL, using the four steps Feel-Imagine-Create-Share.
This workshop aims to help participants learn how to write simple rap lyrics with a rhyme scheme of AABB, using a very strict methodogical framework, by first creating a mind map with key words/rhyming words before writing full sentences. This method can be beneficial for beginners and students who struggle to get started in their writing process. The lyrics will be written as a circular creative collaboration with the participants, switching rapidly between work in a big group and smaller groups in breakout rooms, using a timer. The lyrics will be written in a shared document.
An additional group of students and teachers from Valderøy Barneskule will be present during the workshop, to lead the creative process in the different breakout-rooms, inspire and assist the participants during the workshop.
The goal of this workshop is to produce a short rap song that will be performed by the students present at the end of the workshop. The work tempo will be high, similar to the one in the classroom during the same exercise. Before the workshop starts, participants should decide if they want to be active in the creative process or take the more passive role as observers.