Unit 8
About raps
Raps are not sung; they are spoken. They have a strong beat and a lot of rhyme. There is often music playing behind the speaker. Reciting rhymes to music has its
roots in Africa. In many raps: • lines 1 and 2 rhyme with each other. • lines 3 and 4 rhyme with each other and so on. Each pair of lines that rhymes is a couplet .
1 What is special about a rap? 2 How many rhyming couplets are there in ‘Gran, Can You Rap?’ 3 Which two couplets are nearly the same? How are they different? 4 Read the first verse aloud, clapping on each beat. How many beats are there in each line? 5 What does the phrase has its roots in Africa mean? a) grows like a plant in Africa b) started in Africa c) is usually in an African language 6 What is the tone of this poem? a) serious b) amusing c) sad 7 Would you like to meet Gran? Explain why or why not. 8 What do you like best about this rap? Give reasons for your answer. Metaphor
A metaphor is a way of comparing one thing with another. A metaphor says that one thing is or was another thing. My gran is a rap queen. This ice cream was a dream.
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Which of these is a metaphor? 1 My gran is funny and kind.
5 The sea was a mad dog. 6 The waves were enormous. 7 My niece is a little monkey. 8 My niece is very naughty.
2 My gran is an angel.
3 Gran is a star! 4 Gran is famous.
• About raps: For question 5 encourage students to find the phrase ‘has its roots in Africa’ in the text and to work out the meaning by reading the whole sentence. Remind them to use context clues when they are reading to work out unfamiliar words.
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