Hip-Hop Hooray!

It’s hip-hop’s fiftieth birthday! Celebrate this huge cultural milestone by teaching your class what hip-hop is and where it came from. With your class, research the Black communities that started the cultural movement, what it stood for and why it was born.

After talking about the history of hip-hop in the classroom, have your students observe and appreciate where they may see hip-hop in the world around them. Maybe this is a rap song they listen to with their friends, graffiti they see on their way to school or breakdancing they see on television.


After a week, reconvene to engage in a discussion about where hip-hop lives and how it may have evolved over time. Some questions to get you started are:

• What is the subject matter of hip-hop today?
• Who is creating this art? Is it similar or different to hip-hop made fifty years ago?
• Why or why not?

Then, have your students pick one aspect of hip-hop they saw in their communities (graffiti, rap, DJing, etc.) and research a famous hip-hop artist who engaged in that art form. In their research, have them create a presentation that honors the artist and their work.


As a bonus, invite students to create or perform a bit of hip-hop inspired by their chosen artist! Finally, have everyone share their presentation with the class to honor the past fifty years of hip-hop tradition and artmaking.

To support this unit, use the My Pride Rap Handout.