I wanted to introduce my grade 7 English class to a little poetry. Of course, finding a way to get them hooked into the idea can be a little tricky. I opted with a lesson idea called "Brainstorm Rap" where students write down a theme word on a sheet of paper and pass it around to the other students in the class, who write down words related to the theme. The students then select ten of those words which they must incorporate into a rhymed and rythmic poem along the style of a rap song.

Of course, any good teacher had best be prepared to model the exercise and, given that we had just finished a socials unit on ancient China, I presented my students with the following utilizing terms from that unit:

This is a rhyme about ancient China
As countries go, there ain’t none fina’
Say “Hello” to the Emperor Qin
Stand against him and you just can’t win
Guarded by thousands of terracotta soldiers
Just standin’ around like man shaped boulders
He’s buryin’ suckas inside the Great Wall
Eight horses wide and five suckas tall
As a defense, it’s absolute
Keeping out every Mongol brute
It’s a legacy that went on and on
Right until we say “Hello” to Genghis Khan


It's rather disconcerting when one of your students starts shouting "Choke, choke, choke!" during your presentation. Of course, unlike a real rap battle, I was able to threaten said student with a detention (silly grin!).