It’s Time for the Breakdown!

Get ready to bust a move! Introduce your students to hip-hop with a unit all about breaking.

To kick things off, watch some videos of breakdancing to get context around the art form (you can start with this 80s television special or this history of breaking from Vox).

Next, divide your class into groups and task them with coming up with a name for their new hip-hop crew. Prompt each crew to come up with four to five breakdancing poses. They can even do research on their own to find additional inspiration for their moves, whether that’s a fun freeze or some fancy footwork. Afterward, have each crew take turns teaching their breaking steps to the class, so everyone can learn.

Once your students have a bank of different poses and moves, host a cypher, or a circle where everyone takes turns performing in the center. Ask your class for their favorite hip-hop jams and let students improvise between what they learned from each other and what they feel in their heart. You can even ask another class to watch the cypher, creating an audience for your students’ newfound skills.