Really? Rapping The Odyssey? Really. A discussion of the oral tradition of story telling and its links to Epic poetry sets the stage for a series of activities that encourage improvisation to integrate music into other classrooms. Improvising to a current event topic and a jazz piece by Louis Armstrong prepares teams to create a rap battle for a passage from The Odyssey.

Additional Tags

visual and performing arts

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Pros

• Although the provided link to rap battles focuses on using rap to teach science concepts, it provides great examples for class members to critique and use as models
• The link to the Improvisation Frame provides step-by-step directions for this approach

Cons

• Minimal directions are included for the opening activity
• No passages from The Odyssey are suggested for the closing activity
• If using other rap battles available on the Internet, be sure to preview to determine whether the language is appropriate for your clasroom

Common Core

RL.11-12.4 SL.11-12.1.c