Ashley Kraus

ME-311 Secondary Classroom Methods

Dominick Ferrara
9 May 2023

Unit Plan Outline

Teacher: Ashley Kraus

Unit Title: Hip-Hop Part 2: Creating Your Own
Grade: 9-12th Grade High School Elective
Number of Classes: 5 Classes

National Standards:
 MU:Re9.1.T.Ia Evaluate music using criteria based on analysis, interpretation,
digital and electronic features, and personal interests.
 MU:Cr1.1.T.Ia Generate melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic ideas for compositions
or improvisations using digital tools.
 MU:Cr2.1.C.Ia Assemble and organize sounds or short musical ideas to create
initial expressions of selected experiences, moods, images, or storylines.
 MU:Re7.I.T.Ia Cite reasons for choosing music based on the use of the elements
of music, digital and electronic aspects, and connections to interest or purpose.
 MU:Cr2.1.T.Ia Select melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic ideas to develop into a
larger work using digital tools and resources.
 MU:Cr3.1.T.Ia Drawing on feedback from teachers and peers, develop and
implement strategies to improve and refine the technical and expressive aspects of
draft compositions and improvisations.
 MU:Cr3.2.T.Ia Share compositions or improvisations that demonstrate a
proficient level of musical and technological craftsmanship as well as the use of
digital tools and resources in developing and organizing musical ideas.
 MU:Re8.1.T.Ia Explain and support an interpretation of the expressive intent of
musical selections based on treatment of the elements of music, digital and
electronic features, and purpose.
 MU:Cr1.1.C.Ia Describe how sounds and short musical ideas can be used to
represent personal experiences, moods, visual images, and/or storylines.
 MU:Cr3.1.C.Ia Identify, describe, and apply teacher-provided criteria to assess
and refine the technical and expressive aspects of evolving drafts leading to final
versions.
 MU:Cr3.2.C.Ib Describe the given context and performance medium for
presenting personal works, and how they impact the final composition and
presentation.
 MU:Re9.1.C.Ib Describe the way(s) in which critiquing others’ work and
receiving feedback from others can be applied in the personal creative process.

MA Frameworks:
 Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work. Consistently apply
research to generate compositional ideas (e.g., to help generate new ideas,
students listen to several different recordings of pieces that use industrial sounds).
(AG.M.Cr.01)
  Select, analyze and interpret artistic work for presentation. Explain how one’s
composition relates to established musical genres, styles, forms (e.g., explain how
one’s piece combines elements of jazz and Celtic music). (AG.M.P.04)
 Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work. Analyze the ways one’s own
cultural and personal perspectives and biases affect how one understands specific
musical works. (e.g., noticing how a song's popularity influences student
perspectives on the song). (AG.M.R.08)
 Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.
Explain the development of one’s musicality or musical style and how it relates to
a composition. (AG.M.Co.10)
 Refine and complete artistic work. Refine musical pieces to extended rhythmic
and harmonic ideas (e.g., composing in unusual time signatures or moving beyond
I, IV, V progressions). (AG.M.Cr.03)

Rationale:
This unit allows students to put the knowledge that they have of a musical genre into
practical application by creating their own original composition and lyrics in the style of
that genre. This allows for the students to have a deeper understanding of the genre as a
whole and how the creation process is both similar and different to other genres in music
history. By using elements of other genres (as samples) in their composition as well, the
unit ties in students prior knowledge from the entire course into this large scale project.

Essential Questions:
What elements go into creating an original Hip Hop song? What are common musical
and stylistic elements throughout backing tracks of all Hip Hop songs? What is Sampling
and why is it important to the Hip Hop genre? What are the different rhyme schemes
commonly used in rap songs? How does story telling in rap songs differ from songs in
other genres studied in this course? What musical and stylistic elements did you use in
your project to make it sound like a song that belongs in the Hip Hop genre?

Enduring Understanding:
From this unit, students will be able to compare and contrast different genres of music on
both a musical and lyrical level. Students will also have a stronger understanding of
Digital Audio Workspaces, specifically GarageBand. Students will have the knowledge
of how to create music that fits into a specific genre, both musically and lyrically.
Students will be able to contextualize genres of music and how the way their music is
made fits into the broader scope of music history.

Student Learning Objectives:

 Students will be able to identify what musical and stylistic elements of songs in
the Hip Hop genre work well and do not work well, as well as what they would
change about the song through an active listening activity and analyzing their own
musical preferences.
  Students will be able to compare musical and stylistic elements of the backing
tracks of songs in the Hip Hop genre by discussing the similarities between songs
in the Hip Hop genre in a classroom discussion.
 Students will be able to create their own backing track that emulates the Hip Hop
genre by using GarageBand MIDI instruments and loops from the GarageBand
Loop Library in their own composition.
 Students will be able to identify songs from different genres and time periods
being sampled in music from the 21st Century through an active listening activity
and recalling prior knowledge from previous units.
 Students will be able to distinguish what a sample is in a piece of music by
identifying songs that they know from the Hip-Hop unit thus far that include
elements of sampling.
 Students will be able to implement samples of songs into their “Hip-Hop Original
Song” GarageBand projects by creating audio files through a YouTube to MP3
converter website and importing those files to GarageBand.
 Students will be able to describe their musical intent with the sample and how it
fits into their overall composition by filling out a worksheet analyzing their
sampling process.
 Students will be able to identify the different rhyme schemes that are commonly
used in rap music and the Hip Hop genre through an active listening activity
where the students share aloud to the class which rhyme schemes are being used
in each listening example.
 Students will be able to compare and contrast how story telling through lyric
writing is used in the Hip Hop genre compared to genres that were studied before
the Hip Hop genre in the course through discussing the similarities and
differences aloud in class discussion.
 Students will be able to write their own rap lyrics using a specific rhyme scheme
that portrays a story of their choosing by using inspiration from the active
listening examples in class to write a rough draft and final draft of an eight-
measure rap verse.
 Students will be able to apply corrections given by the teacher about their
Original Hip Hop Song GarageBand project and rap lyrics in order to improve
both aspects of those projects by using independent working time at home and in
school to update their project according to the critiques given.
 Students will be able to self-analyze how successful they were in their Original
Hip Hop Song project by completing a minimum of one-page reflection on the
experience of creating the project, including what they enjoyed, what they would
improve for next time, and how they used each step of the project to emulate the
style of Hip Hop.

Assessment/Evaluation:
Informal
 Students will share with the class in a group discussion what elements they
find are similar between all backing tracks in songs from the Hip Hop genre.
  Students will share with the class examples of songs from the Hip-Hop unit
thus far that include sampling in order to demonstrate their understanding of
what a sample in a piece of music is.
 Students will share with the class the portion of their GarageBand project that
includes a sampled section of music that they gathered from the YouTube to
MP3 converter website.
 Students will discuss as a class which rhyme schemes they hear in each of the
Hip Hop examples in the active listening activity.
 Students will each meet with the teacher individually in order to get
corrections and critiques on what they have already completed on their project
and will apply those critiques during independent working time in class and at
home.
Formal
 Students will complete a worksheet answering the questions “Why did you
choose the section of that song to sample in your Hip-Hop original song
project? How does the section of that song enhance your project as a whole?”
as a way to describe their musical intent with the sample and analyze how it
fits into the overall composition thus far.
 Students will submit a rough draft of their rap lyrics that they either completed
during class or for homework that will be graded and returned by the teacher.
 Student will write a minimum of one-page reflection on the experience of
creating the project, including what they enjoyed, what they would improve
for next time, and how they used each step of the project to emulate the style
of Hip Hop.
Long Range Assignment/Project/Product
 Students will create an original song in the style of the Hip Hop genre
using the Digital Audio Workspace GarageBand that includes a Hip Hop
inspired backing track, song samples from units prior to the Hip Hop units,
and 8 measures of original rap lyrics.

Prior Knowledge and Skills:

 Students will need to be familiar with the songs that were studied in the Hip Hop
Part 1 unit as well as songs studied in the units before Hip Hop
 Students must know the five characteristics of Hip Hop (DJ, Emcee,
breakdancing, beat-boxing, and rap)
 Students must be proficient in GarageBand, including creating a new project,
creating MIDI and Audio tracks, finding and using the different MIDI
instruments, finding and using loops in the Loop Library, recording audio, and
different audio and MIDI editing tools
 Students must know how stories are conveyed through lyrics in the genres studied
before the Hip Hop unit.
 Students must have a basic understanding of rhyme schemes and how they are
used to write lyrics in genres studied before the Hip Hop unit.

Accommodations:
  Students who do not have access to GarageBand at home can use different Digital
Audio Workspaces that are web-based such as SoundTrap or BandLab.
 Students can use audio commands or request assistance from a teacher when
using functions on their laptops
 Closed Captions will be added on all video/audio examples
 Both digital and paper copies of the packet will be available to students
 Students will be able to write the lyrics to their song in any language they feel
most comfortable writing it in

Activator:
Students will discuss their favorite songs that they learned about in the Hip Hop Part 1
unit and will pick two songs to analyze further. Students will identify what musical
elements they like and do not like about each song. Students will identify what they
would change about each song if they were the ones that wrote it.

Repertoire:
 Mother by Meghan Trainor
 Mr. Sandman by The Chordettes
 Bootylicious by Destiny’s Child
 Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks
 Sing for the Moment by Eminem
 Dream On by Aerosmith
 Rapper’s Delight by The Sugarhill Gang
 Lose Yourself by Eminem
 Gin and Juice by Snoop Dogg

Materials Needed:
 PowerPoint Presentations for each lesson
 Packets for each lesson that include worksheets for students to fill out and
instructions for each section of the final project
 GarageBand
 Speakers
 Projector
 YouTube/Apple Music
 YouTube to MP3 converter website: https://ytmp3.cc/en/8c6/
 https://www.rhymer.com/

Lesson Outlines
Lesson 1: Getting Started (Creating the Backing Track)
See Lesson Plan 1

Lesson 2: Sampling
See Lesson Plan 2

Lesson 3: Writing Rap Lyrics

 Assessment/Evaluation
 Students will submit a rough draft of their rap lyrics that they either
completed during class or for homework that will be graded and returned
by the teacher.
Prior Knowledge and activator
 Prior knowledge:
o Students must know how stories are conveyed through lyrics in the
genres studied before the Hip Hop unit.
o Students must have a basic understanding of rhyme schemes and
how they are used to write lyrics in genres studied before the Hip
Hop unit.
 Activator: One word story – The class will try to create a story together
with each person saying one word at a time. If time permits, we will play
the game again but try to create sentences that rhyme.
Lesson content
 One word story
 Simple rhyme schemes used in rap music
 Discussion about the use of explicit language in rap music
 Active listening: What rhyme schemes are being used in each song?
 Stories in rap music and how it differs from music in different genres
studied in the class
 Criteria for the lyric writing portion of the Original Hip Hop Song project
 Writing the rap lyrics for the Original Hip Hop Song project (start in class,
finish for homework if needed)

Lesson 4: Finalizing the Project

Assessment/Evaluation
 Students will each meet with the teacher individually in order to get
corrections and critiques on what they have already completed on their
project and will apply those critiques during independent working time in
class and at home.
Prior Knowledge and activator
 Prior Knowledge:
o Students must know the criteria for all parts of the Original Hip
Hop song project
o Students must be proficient in GarageBand, including creating
Audio and MIDI tracks, recording audio, finding and using MIDI
Instruments, finding and using the Loop Library, and using audio
and MIDI editing tools
 Activator: The full criteria for the entire Original Hip Hop Song project
will be projected on the board and the teacher will review it with the class,
the class will have a chance to ask any questions they have before
independent working time.
Lesson content
  Review of criteria for the final project and time for questions about the
project as a class
 Students will have the class to finalize their project, including revising and
recording their lyrics, and putting final tweaks and editing onto the
backing track and sampling portions of the project
 Students will each have an individual check in with the teacher to present
the progress they have made on their projects and get critiques and
corrections from the teacher on what they have done so far.

Lesson 5: Presenting the Project

Assessment/Evaluation
 Students will present their final Original Hip Hop Song project to the class
and write a minimum of one-page reflection on the experience of creating
the project, including what they enjoyed, what they would improve for
next time, and how they used each step of the project to emulate the style
of Hip Hop.
Prior Knowledge and activator
 Prior Knowledge:
o Students must know the criteria for all parts of the Original Hip
Hop song project
o Students must be proficient in GarageBand, including creating
Audio and MIDI tracks, recording audio, finding and using MIDI
Instruments, finding and using the Loop Library, and using audio
and MIDI editing tools
 Activator: Students will share their thoughts about the project with the
class, including what they liked and did not like about creating an Original
Hip Hop song
Lesson content
 Class discussion about project experience
 Students will share their project with the class and the class and teacher
will provide feedback
 Student will write a minimum of one-page reflection (start during class,
finish for homework if not done) on the experience of creating the project,
including what they enjoyed, what they would improve for next time, and
how they used each step of the project to emulate the style of Hip Hop.