Hip-Hop Early Literacy in K–1 Classrooms

• Published in: The Reading teacher Vol. 73; no. 1; pp. 29 - 37
• Main Authors: Meacham, Shuaib James, Meacham, Sohyun, Thompson, Misty, Graves, Hattie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Newark Wiley 01-07-2019; Wiley-Blackwell; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: 1‐Early childhood; Classroom communication; Correlation; Culturally Relevant Education; Early literacy; Elementary education; Elementary School Students; FEATURE ARTICLE; Grade 1; Heuristics; Instructional strategies, teaching strategies < Strategies, methods, and materials; Instructional strategies; methods and materials; Kindergarten; Literacy; Literacy Education; Motivation/engagement; Music; Music Education; Musical Composition; Purpose < Writing; Reading Processes; Students; Teaching Methods; Writing; Writing Processes; Writing strategies < Strategies, methods, and materials
• ISSN: 0034-0561; 1936-2714
• DOI: 10.1002/trtr.1809

The authors employ hip-hop music as a literacy heuristic aimed at supporting the literacy development of kindergarten and first-grade students. How do young students learn to write hip-hop lyrics? How do young students engage in hip-hop reading and writing processes? The classroom examples show that students engaged in individual and interactive writing practices and a variety of practices associated with music disciplinary literacy. Hip-hop reading and lyric composition constituted culturally relevant literacy, which connected the students to the literacy practices found in their community and families.