Running Head: LANGUAGE ARTS

Note the nice title page with all necessary information indicated on it. I expect this.

Curriculum Remix: Integrating Hip-Hop Culture with the Ontario Language Arts Curriculum Sultan Rana- 0327164 EDUC 4113 YB Lakehead University Facutly of Education

The citation style of my university was APA , not MLA (like Taylor's CPU requires). Do not copy or emulate my citation style in this essay.

Curriculum Remix: Integrating Hip-Hop Culture with the Ontario Language Arts

Ugh this text should be at the top of the other page. Formatting issues.

State some sort of problem or current issue.

Curriculum Large proportions of urban students in the intermediate grades detest and merely do not try in the language arts. Ontario teachers in urban schools have tried to engage students with selected literature, and by stressing the use of literary skills and functions inside and outside the classroom. Years of attempts have resulted in failure, and many
I'm being! Ontario teachers are left puzzled as to why urban students have shown a lack of effort in specic about! what type of ! the language arts. Numerous studies on the clash between language arts and its schools I am! implementation in the urban school setting have concluded: it is the Eurocentric bias of speaking about. the curriculum that persuades students to impede both effort and interests in the language

arts. One must ask, if it is not the popular Eurocentric content of the curriculum that can
Notice I did not say "I ask".

engage the interests of these urban students in the language arts; what is it that can? Hip-hop culture and rap music has been an emerging culture across North America for

A critical question is asked. That's why I told you it was good to listen to the socratic questioner because their questions might persuade you to come up with a thesis. This question did for me.

Introduction and ! explanation of the new concept that will be so important to my essay.

the past three decades. It emerged from the inner-city streets of America as a voice of the urban youth. It amplified their hopes, dreams, concerns and aspirations; it was a vocal reflection of the urban youth of that time (Powell, 1991). Presently, hip-hop culture and rap music is more prominent in urban and mainstream cultures than ever before. Entering the 21st century, the genre sold more than 81 million units (Morrell & Duncan-Andrade, 2002, p.88). Aside from the recognition it achieved from urban and mainstream
Here I am trying to make it sound really impressive, consumers, it gained industry recognition when both Lauryn Hill (The Miseducation of persuading the reader to keep reading and see what Lauryn Hill) and Outkast (The Love Below/ Speakerboxx) won best albums of the yearmy point is.

in 1999 and 2004, respectively (www.grammy.com). White and Cones (1999) writes, Hip-hop is a catch-all term for a contemporary, urban- centred youth lifestyle (p.96). If
Another critical question that pushes the thinking of the reader, making them want to know what I am going to talk about.

this is the culture urban students identify with most, then why have no attempts been made to integrate it into their academic lives? In-line with the requirements of the

This is actually my thesis. When you get good at writing essays later on in your career as a student, you will start putting your thesis statements in alternate places, and follow it up with your arguments like I have. For your essays though, lead in with your arguments, and then end off with the thesis.

Ontario Language Arts Curriculum guide for intermediate students, the fusion of hip-hop/ rap culture can promote excellence in the language arts for students in urban school environments. The idea is still fresh to the education field. The few relevant (and some irrelevant) journals I read that could contribute to this paper have lead to three ideas as to how the union of hip-hop culture and the language arts would be beneficial to urban students. First, incorporation of hip-hop culture into language arts will put the curriculum in a cultural context that is reflective of the students home and social life. Second, the
Means these are my arguments.

use of hip-hop music, media and lifestyle in the program allows a teacher to choose from a variety of material that is visual, audio and kinaesthetically appeasing to all learners. Finally, rap songs contain numerous (if not all) literary devices; furthermore, these skills can then be used to analyze writings and literature of different genres outside of hip-hop culture. I present the evidence for these three arguments, and conclude with a discussion in regards to the controversy hip-hop/ rap culture has in our present society, and how the education system can help overcome this opposition. The crime, poverty, abuse and peer pressure associated with many inner-city
This was kind of like the navigation map of my essay letting the reader know everything I was going to talk about. If you want to do this, just make sure you do it clearly, and so it is easy to read.

Just an intro to my argument.

urban neighbourhoods is the day-to-day reality for these school-aged youth (Morrell, 2002). Language arts are a subject where these societal concerns can be addressed. However, irrelevant subject matter and literature from a Eurocentric perspective are often used instead (Daniels & Arapostathis, 2005). If the societal ills and stressors that pertain to the students were addressed in the language arts curriculum, teachers may not have as difficult a time engaging their students interests (Beachum & McCray, 2004). By making use of hip-hop writings and rap songs as literary pieces for in-class analysis, students can analyze a piece that reflects their everyday life. Deceased, nevertheless legendary rappers, The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur are known for writing poetic
Though this is not word-forword the same, this is my rst argument (look at the rst check mark above).

EVIDENCE 1

and powerful lyrics. Songs like JUICY and Dear Mama vividly depicts the trials and tribulations of a difficult childhood, and growing up in the inner-city ghettos. Relating this thought to the intermediate (grade seven) Ontario Curriculum Guides reading
AND THE THESIS CONNECT EVIDENCE TO ARGUMENT (ANALYSIS)

expectations; interpretation done through hip-hop lyric analysis can fulfill nearly all of the expectations laid out on page 37 of the guide. By fusing hip-hop into the language
EVIDENCE 2- These items after the colon (:) are actually from the Ontario Curriculum Expectations for Grade 7 students in reading, and I am saying hip-hop will encourage them to engage in reading using these skills mentioned.

arts curriculum at the intermediate level, students will eagerly: read aloud, explain their interpretation of written work using evidence from their own knowledge and experience, and engage in reading independently (Ontario Curriculum Guide, 1997, p.37). In addition to altering the curriculum to be more reflective of urban students, the My second argument. hip-hop integration will be of great assistance for a teacher to engage students who possess different learning styles. Relating to Gardners work on Multiple Intelligences, hip-hop material can be used to intrigue students who possess five out of the eight

Evidence 1-! Researched and applied.

intelligences: linguistic, musical, body/ kinaesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal (Multiple Intelligences, 2002). According to Carrey-Webb (1995), hip-hop has a powerful beat, vivid rhyme and images, and an energized street perspective (p.n/a). A student can write, hear, dance/ move, and orally dictate a hip-hop related analysis independently and among their peers. When they do so, they embark on the above five multiple intelligences, respectively. Once again, this cultural fusion fulfills the requirements of the Curriculum Guide (grade 7); specifically the oral speaking and
A connection back to my evidence 1 and 2 and see how they are related. I had to organize that myself, it was not written in my resources for me. I found two separate ideas and I had to marry them together.
Evidence 2- A quote I am using and then I am "massaging" it to t what I want it to, which is that the hard beat can make kinesthetic learners more engaged in their learning.

Connection back to the thesis.

writing components. Students will be capable of writing pieces of a hip-hop nature that: communicate ideas and information for a variety of purposes, use forms appropriate for their purpose, use writing for a range of contexts, and express ideas creatively (Ontario Curriculum Guide, 1997, p.23). For the oral speaking component, students will be capable: of rehearsing and revise material prior to presentation (if they were to perform
These are all things that the curriculum expectations of Ontario say we have to teach our students, and I am saying how Hip-Hop can encourage students to ll these expectations. Now, looking back at it, I could have explained HOW, but it was meant to be a short essay.

their works), use analogies and comparisons, create media works of some technical complexity (possibly a video/ visual poem) (Ontario Curriculum Guide, 1997, p. 46). Integrating hip-hop into an intermediate language arts program will gratify five different multiple intelligences; all while fulfilling many reading, writing and oral speaking
Connection back to the thesis.

expectations from the Ontario Curriculum Guide, and engaging urban students in the language arts. Hip-hop and rap music has been depicted in this paper as a multi-face literary
This last argument! I consider to be! my strongest ! argument.

theme; one that can relate to students of urban environments and can appease five of Gardners Multiple Intelligences. In addition to the previously mentioned, hip-hop/ rap music is perfect to be used as poetry in the language arts curriculum (Carrey-Webb, 1995). The lyrics of conscious-thought rappers are overflowing with literary devices (Morrell & Duncan-Andrade, 2002, p.89). An excerpt from Lauryn Hills 1998 To Zion - a song dedicated to the birth and life of her son, Zion, illustrates the use of literary devices in hip-hop culture:
Unsure of what the balance held, I touched my belly overwhelmed, by what I had been chosen to perform But then an angel came one day, told me to kneel down and pray, for unto me a mans child would be born. Woe this crazy circumstance, I knew his life deserved a chance, but everybody told me to be smart. Look at your career they said, "Lauryn, baby use your head", but instead I chose to use my heart.

I used the lyrics of a song I liked and explained all the literary devices in it, and showed how "rich" it was to use in Language Arts.

The previous verse has a: prolepsis, metaphor, hyperbole, and climax. Hip-hop passages are rich in imagery and similes. Rap songs can be used to teach irony, tone and
Even if the greatest ideas are mentioned by someone else, I never ever DO NOT cite them. Everyone is cited.

diction; they are the urban poems that depict a typical inner-city urban lifestyle (Morrell & Duncan-Andrade, 2002). In sequence with the Ontario Curriculum Guide, specifically the intermediate reading component, the use of hip-hop in poetry promotes the student to: identify stylistic devices in literary works, make judgments and draw conclusions about ideas in written materials (Curriculum Guide, 1997, p.37). Hip-hop has always been known as the poetry of the streets, and Morrell and Duncan-Andrade write that hip-hop is
Connection back to my thesis. I am proving that hip hop can satisfy curriculum expectations for disengaged urban students (just incase you forgot).

the representative voice of urban youth, since the genre was created for and by them. Seeing all the parallels hip-hop has to both the language arts and the lives of these urban students; rationally, one should look at integrating the culture/ genre in their lessons to foster a yearning to learn for these disengaged students. In conclusion, I must state the two limitations that laid before me prior to this paper. First, the content and length of this paper was to be to the point and
An explanation to the reader as to why I didn't prove some of my points way more than I could have (remember the comment before where I said I would have explained a certain point better). I know, I said "I", well it was expected of me for this assignment to state what my limitations were writing because I was told that I should put into practice what I researched after, so I was permitted to talk about "ME".

condensed, respectively. Therefore, the length of this paper could not be as extensive as I would like it to be. Second, there was a lack of scholarly sources written about such a topic. All the same, that does not mean the idea to reform the urban language arts program does not warrant any further discussion or research. I add my perspective to the idea of integrating hip-hop culture into the language arts curriculum, and only hope that

opinions about the topic will flourish in the very near future. The discussion to address in my conclusion is the controversy that surrounds the hip-hop culture. Political, religious and many womens groups feel that rap music and all that it is associated with is entirely misogynistic, violent, and is a manifestation of all that is wrong with society (Morrell & Duncan-Andrade, 2002). These categorizations to the entire genre will pose much difficulty for any integration in the language arts program to occur, especially as some of

Now here in my conclusion I am calling it out that there needs to be more research on this topic, and I hope my research has added to the concentration of "hip hop and the language arts".

Then in my conclusion I attempt to argue with anyone who disregards my opinion because of the negative thoughts they have about hip hop culture and music.

these opinions parallel those of many parents. I refute these claims with three statements, in hope that teachers will take it on themselves to do the necessary research to know what kind of hip-hop/ rap content is suitable for the classroom. Rap lyrics violent or non-violent, are in most cases, a reflection of the lifestyle the artists were raised in (Morrell & Duncan, 2002). [Rap] emerged from the streets of inner-city neighbourhoods as a genuine reflection Rap is essentially homemade, street-level music genre primarily focused on the contemporary African American experience (Morrell &

Duncan-Andrade, p.89). Instead of placing the blame on these rappers for their

My attempt to explain why hip hop is the way it is.

controversially detailed lyrics, maybe one should place the blame on the society rappers depict in their lyrics. Regardless of the previously stated issue, there is an abundance of rap artists and rap songs that are very suitable for the classroom. The lyrics of controversial and prolific rappers; who speak of societal issues, racism, global injustices and human emotions, just to list a few themes, can be used in an array of language arts activities. The analysis of these hip-hop perspectives can be the precursors to: research projects, poetry, debates and detailed analyses. Students will develop independent thought and analytical skills from their study of hip-hop culture. Furthermore, students will be able to distinguish between genres of hip-hop; from the vulgar and the poetic, to the mindless and conscious. It is not my intention to say there is not any illicit rap out there- it is hard to say that about any music genre in this present day. It is only my hope that teachers will see this untapped resource as a means to reel in the interests of the urban youth in the language arts. By doing so, realize there are great pieces of poetic work in the hip-hop culture that can be used in the classroom. When students will witness the beauty and depth these pieces have, they will be able to censor themselves from various perversions of the hip-hop art form - the type that the media has labeled the whole hip-hop genre with. References
Ending off the essay with a message of hope for teachers to consider using it.

My suggestion of where hip hop can just be used when it comes to the Language arts (I am giving people who have a problem with it a solution).

Remember, I did APA style, you are to do MLA, don't copy my style of end note citation.

Beachum, F.D., McCray, C.R. (2004). Cultural Collision in Urban Schools. Retrieved October 18, 2005, from http://cie.asu.edu/volume7/number5/index/html. Brookhart, S.M., Rusnak, T. G. (1993). A Pedagogy of Enrichment, Not Poverty: Successful Lessons of Exemplary Urban Teachers. Journal of Teacher Education, 44(1), 17-26).

Daniels, E., Arapostathis, M. (2005). What Do They Really Want? Student Voices and Motivation Research. Urban Education, 40(1), 34-59. Hill, L. (1998) To Zion [Lauryn Hill]. On The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill [Compact Disc]. New York: Sony Recordings. Learning Disabilities Resource Community. (2002). The Multiple Intelligences Inventory. Retrieved October 20, 2005, from www.ldrc.ca. Morrell, E. (2002). Toward a critical pedagogy of popular culture: Literacy development among urban youth. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 46(1), n/a. Morrell, E., Duncan-Andrade, J.M.R. (2002). Promoting Academic Literacy with Urban Youth through Engaging Hip-hop Culture. English Journal, 9(6), 88-92. Powell, C.T. (1991). Rap Music: An Education with a Beat from the Street. The Journal of Negro Education, 60(3), 245-258. Shakur, T. (1993). Dear Mama [2pac]. On Me Against The World [Compact Disc]. Los Angeles: Death Row/ Arista Records. Webb-Carrey, A. (1995). Youth violence and the Language Arts: A Topic for the Classroom. English Journal, 84(5), n/a. Wallace, C.M. (1995). J.U.I.C.Y. [Notoroious B.I.G.]. On Ready to Die [Compact Disc]. New York: Bad Boy/ Arista Records.