Flocabulary - Hip Hop in the Classroom

Don’t miss this amazing site created by two American students who thought that hip hop was a better option to memorize facts, vocabulary, literature terms and works. Shakespeare is Hip Hop is a wonderful innovative way of introducing his plays to students. You’ve got free samples to listen to Hip hop U.S. History, Shakespeare is Hip Hop, SAT vocabulary and have a sneak peek at the Rapper’s Handbook.

Something about the history of Flocabulary

"The idea for Flocabulary first came to founder / lyricist Blake Harrison in high school. A good student who still struggled to memorize facts for tests, he wondered why it was so easy to remember lines to his favorite rap songs, but so difficult to memorize academic information. Blake realized that if a rapper released an album that defined SAT vocab words, students would have a fun and effective way to study for the SAT.

After studying English at the University of Pennsylvania and working on his rapping at parties, gatherings and open mics around Philadelphia, Blake moved out to San Francisco. In San Francisco, he met Alex Rappaport, a talented musician and producer. Alex had studied music at Tufts University, and was now writing music for indie films and TV commercials, and producing ring tones for cell phones. Both he and Blake found jobs at a local Italian restaurant to help pay the bills.

During a game of basketball one day, Blake mentioned his old high school idea of vocabulary rap to Alex. Alex gave the typical response: “that’s a great idea.” But he also added: “let’s do it.”

A month later, the duo had a demo recorded, which they sent around to various educational publishers. When Sparknotes, the world’s largest educational website, commissioned two songs, Blake and Alex realized they had created something real. The name practically invented itself: Flocabulary".

Poetry in the EFL classroom

Poetry in my English class?! It sounds a bit challenging, isn’t it? However, it’s worth trying it out since it can provide teachers with a lot of benefits in their teaching/learning process. There are two excellent sites to visit: The Poetry Zone and Forms of Poetry for Children.

Songs for teaching

Don’t hesitate to use songs in your English lessons. Most textbooks include them, but you can enjoy and exploit the joy of singing and having fun.
Songs for teaching is highly recommendable since it offers everything related to the use of music for educational purposes.