AutoRap

Trying to engage middle school students in studying science that is not relevant to them is hard work.  It is even harder when all they want to do is tap their pencils and sing during class time.  In an attempt to combine their interests, the science content, and literacy skills, I created a lesson/activity for next week that will definitely keep their attention by having them write rap songs.

Since we have been studying the Earth's layers, it was time for students to prove their knowledge in a summative assessment.  They will use their knowledge, notes, and activities to create, write, and perform raps.  They will be required to work in groups of three to write a rap that will last at least one minute and thirty seconds.  In the raps, they will have to include certain vocab words, processes, and sayings in order to be considered successful.  They will have two days to write and tweak the raps.  Once they have their rap written and approved by the teacher, the teacher will show them the app AutoRap.
AutoRap is an app that turns speech into a rap song.  The students will read the rap in a regular voice.  When they are done recording, they press sync.  Then, the app turns the voice into a rap.  The app has background music and beats to go along with the talking.  The app is also great because it repeats words to sound like an authentic rap.
This app is going to be a hit in my classroom because my students love to listen to raps and to write songs. The app helps me to excite them and organize the students' work.