In honor of Black History Month, 4th grade students in Mr. Mather's music class have spent the last few weeks learning about the history and origins of hip hop and writing and expressing their own raps in reference to Tu B'shevat and environmentalism. 

Students first wrote "I Am" poems from the perspective of a tree and then used it as inspiration for their verses. Then they used a program called Soundtrap to record their musical creations. Click play below for one example from Sophie R. and Tali S., called Stay Positive!

Similarly, 6th graders in Mr. Mather's class spent the last month writing I Dream a World blues songs. They began the process by listening to Kwame Alexander's crowd sourced I Dream a World poem.

The students then brainstormed what they wanted to see in the world and wrote a two verse song about it. Finally, they used a program called Soundtrap to record their musical creations. Click play below to hear a song about women's rights from 6th grade students Savannah S. and Dylan T.!