Sample Unit Developed by Students & Educators

Appendix C Sample Unit Developed by Students & Educators

Hip-Hop in Our Lives: Addressing Societal Injustices

Statement of Purpose/Rational: The purpose of this particular unit of study is to expose the classroom family to societal ills and injustices through the use of hip-hop. The classroom family will gain a strong sense of awareness of how powerful its voice is. Additionally, we will attain the knowledge and insight necessary to battle facets of systemic oppression.

Curricular Goals – Gain an awareness of social injustices present within the community and world. – Develop solutions to address systemic oppression. – Understand the importance of utilizing our voice as a means to guide progress for ourselves and others.

Authored by: Students and Teachers Unit Title: Renewing Our Vision

Student learning activities, investigation & learning plan Themes: Celebrating cultural diversities: A focus on our history, family, and social relationships Who are we? Instructional resources: – Excerpts from the text, “The Mis-Education of the Negro” by Carter G. Woodson – Excerpts from the text, “The Tao of the Wu” by RZA Biggie Smalls, The Everyday Struggle

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– Common, The Street Corner – Nas, One Mic – Nas, One More Dance – Social Studies Text Building awareness – Using Instagram or a vlog, create a cultural identity map reflecting on who you are as an individual in the world and the values that define you. With each caption, compose a statement on why you selected the values you chose. – How do you define family/loyalty based on your per- sonal experiences? Create a Wordle Word Map that describes the individuals you consider to be your family. Describe the bonds you have created with these individuals and why they are an important part of your lives. – Compose a rhyme that describes the relationships you have with your family members. – Journaling prompt/self-reflection exercise: Engage in self-reflection regarding what your purpose is for receiving an education? What is the historical purpose of education? Do you think that this historical purpose has contributed to continued class division and equita- ble learning experiences? Active inquiry – Create a website to compare and contrast how RZA’s family structure drastically changed from childhood to adolescence. How did the death of his uncle impact his future? How did he instill hope into RZA for a brighter future? How did his passing dim RZA’s inner light? – After listening to Nas’s One Dance, select a hip-hop song about the feelings/emotions that RZA experienced as his uncle passed away. Choose a specific verse and analyze its theme about life vs. death. – Compare and contrast your experiences in school with those described by Carter G. Woodson. Are the learning experiences/themes described in his text still relevant today? Why or why not?

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– Position statement: Many people believe that the family structure of minorities have deteriorated over the last fifty years, with many mothers/fathers serving dual roles. Critique this statement and provide your perspective regarding the demise of the family structure. Do you believe that perhaps an individual’s definition of the term family has evolved from the traditional perspective, which has led to the misconception of a breakdown? Use research and statistics to guide your thoughts. Critical investigation – Assess how other cultures, ethnicities, and races influ- enced the protagonist in the text of your selection. – Debate session: Evaluate the pros/cons of loyalty, friendship, and relationships in life. – Think-Pair-Share: Analyze the contents of your social studies textbook. Discuss with your peers whether or not you feel the achievements of minorities are rep- resented accurately based on what you have learned? Create a diagram to organize your thoughts and display patterns and trends that emerge from each unit. – Revise the table of contents within your history text to reflect accurate events that have occurred. – Analyze the themes from the songs selected in this unit. How do they mirror each other? What patterns and trends emerge among the lyrics? Themes: Broken dreams and tragedies Drug violence, Instructional resources: materialism, the street – Jay-Z, The Interlude corner – Common’s song “I Have a Dream” vs. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech – Common, The Street Corner – Nas, Street Dreams – Tupac, Changes – Tupac Shakur, The Rose That Grew from Concrete

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Building awareness – What are some common themes within your community? Do you think that the media, including elements of hip-hop, has accurately portrayed your community? Why or why not? Use an Instagram post to display themes and the captions to article your opinions. – How has hip-hop exemplified and/or minimized these themes as part of the everyday hustle? Engage in a roundtable talk to share opinions and gather new perspectives. – Analyze reoccurring issues prevalent in the area you dwell. Why have you identified these selected topics? What economic, political and social factors contribute to cyclical pattern of re-occurrence? – Describe your dreams in a poetic verse. Describe the barriers that you must overcome to follow your path. How will you tackle these hurdles? Active inquiry – Compare and contrast common’s song “I Have a Dream” vs. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. – Listen to the track Interlude from Jay-Z. Evaluate how his struggles are reminiscent of yours. Critical investigation – Reflection prompt: Select a hip-hop artist on each side of the spectrum: A) One that rhymes about material- istic things in life such as cars and monetary wealth and B) One that rhymes about inner wealth such as knowledge and wisdom. Select one of their songs and conduct a song-analysis of each verse. Highlight common themes and draw conclusions regarding the individual’s priorities. Do you share the same priorities in life? Assess why this is so. – Reflective writing: Assess which you would prefer: Material Wealth vs. Inner Wealth. What variables constitute inner wealth to you? – Develop a Life’s Plan of Action. Outline your dreams/ goals. Envision yourself five years older. Where do you see yourself in life? Personally and professionally? Are the people that you currently surround yourself with a positive or negative force? What can you do about this?

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Theme: Race, racism – Case studies and legal documents on recent police and police brutality/our brutality cases cry for justice – The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander – KRS One, Sound of da Police – Nas, Cops Shot the Kid – Jay-Z, Spiritual – Kendrick Lamar, Alright Building awareness – Review the facts of a recent case involving police brutality such as Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Philando Castile, or Alton Sterling. Create a website or presentation outlining the details and facts of each case including its outcome. Use visual images to describe emotions that cases of police brutality spark. – Select an image depicting police brutality along with a #Tweet to convey your thoughts on this subject. – Explain what the term racial equity means to you. Break down the definition and create a brochure to explain and highlight its meaning to others. – Discuss the themes of one the songs in the unit. How are they similar, different and relevant today? Active inquiry – Debate: Do you think that the decision in the Eric Garner case was just in light of the facts presented? Ferguson? Is this a trend that is acceptable in today’s society? Provide evidence. – How can the hip-hop culture and its leaders initiate and guide a movement of progression toward this injustice to effectuate change? – Select an artist that speaks on race and racism. Com- pose a letter/email to them informing them of how they can utilize their platform to make a difference. Critical investigation – Review media coverage of police brutality. Do you think the manner in which the media has reported these events have impacted, distorted or contributed to society’s understanding of this epidemic? If so, in what capacity? Develop a vlog to address your thoughts. – Assess whether or not someone you know has been a victim of race, racism and/or police brutality. Interview this friend or family member regarding the incident that occurred. Outline their perspective and compare/contrast their experiences with those currently in the media.

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– Reflective video journal: Assess the difference between a moral right versus a legal right. – The overall purpose of hip-hop was rooted on a foundation of verbal protest. In light of recent events involving the deaths of many African American male citizens, how have various cultures united to combat oppressive measures that exist today? Do you feel such measures have been purposeful and have perpetuated change in the larger context of society? What could we learn from such epidemics? – Compose a verse that addresses the topic area and theme of the unit. Theme: Self-Truth, – Lauryn Hill, The Mis-education of Lauryn Hill values and the – Tupac, Keep Ya Head Up depiction of minority – Phenomenal Women, Maya Angelou women/what is our – Common, Believer worth? Building awareness – What are the most important values in your life that you live by? Explain why you selected these values as opposed to others? – Think-Pair-Share: Browse through magazines and the Internet to gather images of minority women. Create a collage with the images selected. Explain why each image was selected and its relevance to today’s image of minority women. – Create a Wordle collage describing your opinion regarding the ways women are portrayed in the media? In hip-hop? Do you think as a society, women are portrayed in a positive/negative light? Why or why not? – Roundtable discussion: How has hip-hop music perpetuated stereotypes of women as submissive objects and added to derogatory depictions of women in society? Active inquiry – Journal prompt: How can your values help you to confront and deal with difficult situations? – Select a hip-hop song or artists that portrays women in a positive light vs. negative light. Compare and contrast these elements to one another using a graphic organizer of your choice.

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– After reading the text, phenomenal women by Maya Angelou, what is your perception of women? Create a poem that highlights your views. – Compose a biography or short skit or monologue of your life including major events that have occurred, tragedies and victories; moments of joy and of sorrow. Write or act out how these events have shaped you as a human being and impacted your perception on the world. – Select a quote that describes the person you are and the person you wish to become in life. Create a social media post to explain the differences among the quotes as well as the reasons as to why they were chosen. Critical investigation – How can elements of hip-hop be utilized to transform the current perception of women as objects? Develop and recommend a plan of action to implement. – Create a self-portrait or an image of yourself. Describe your inner worth and value. – Create a rhyme or poem, assessing your worth to the world. What do you have to offer society and how can you as an individual propel change? Weekly portfolio – Create an album cover with tracks that describe your assignments life’s circumstances. Compare your tracks with that of your peers. – Create a timeline of pertinent events in American history that you deem are important to the achievements of minorities. – Create a blog summarizing the key elements that have directly impacted you within this unit. – Select a quote from the text of your choice. Evaluate the events of the chapter and the context in which the selected quote was written. How do these words resonate in your life?

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– The “street corner” has become a culture of life, family, loyalty and even betrayal in the text. Think about the street, which you grew up on. Compose a narrative skit or create a website depicting its culture and conduct an analysis of pivotal events that have transpired on the street corner pertinent to your life. – Recreate chapters of Carter G. Woodson’s text by describing how education is today based on your experiences using Video Blog. – Group collaboration: Select an issue discussed in this unit that resonates with you. Conduct research on the specific issue and trace its history in the world. How prevalent is this issue within your community? What can be done to combat this issue in a positive and pro- active manner? – Group collaboration: Reveal the strengths and weak- nesses of your community via photographs. What hope does your community have to offer its citizens? What are the despairs and issues that need to be recti- fied to propel change? Integration of – EdModo page technology – Instagram – Twitter – Hip-Hop archives – Use of iPads – Wordle.com

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