Educational Rap by Rhythm Rhyme Results: Layers of the Earth

Two years ago, an educational aide in one of my classes mentioned that one of her students found this fantastic rap song that helped him learn the Layers of the Earth.  I pictured something excruciatingly amateurish off of youtube...boy was I wrong!  The song, called Layers of the Earth, by Rhythm Rhyme Results is a song that is so well produced, with fact filled lyrics that are accurate and useful (they don't just rhyme).

Click this link to hear a sample of the song.  If you scroll down on the page that the link brings you to, you can find the lyrics (which are easily copy-pasted into Word).  I paid $19.98 for the whole Science Album as a downloadable zip file, but as you see above...there's a coupon--but QUICK IT EXPIRES TODAY!


How I use the songs:
1. I copy the lyrics and give a copy to each student, along with a highlighter.
2. We listen to the song together (usually the downtempo version which is easier to learn because it is slower), nice and loud, while I have the lyrics up on the whiteboard.
3. After the first listen, I ask the students to go through the lyrics and highlight anything they find to be important, interesting or words that are unfamiliar or need defining.  Then we discuss anything, and I clarify what the lyrics may be referring to  (for instance, is the 4000 in degrees fahrenheit or is it 4000 miles?  what does he mean by "one down, three to go"?)
4. Then we listen again.  I don't require the kids to sing, but I do sing and dance around a bit myself  ( I know these songs REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEallly well) which encourages a little bit of grooving on their part.
5. I usually ask the kids if they want to try listening to the "Recall" feature, which leaves out certain words to see if they can fill them in.  This is easier to do if you have the lyric sheets that are provided on the download, which have the omitted words printed in blue ink.
6. If they are feeling really confident, they can then try the "instrumental" version.
7. The only rule I have is that they can sing during song play, but they can't talk.  Usually, students will want to listen to the songs at least three times...it's not too many because the music is THAT GOOD.

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• Other science songs:
• Layers of the Earth
• Sun, Earth, Moon
• Photosynthesis...see my post on this with a great YouTube video for the song and free lyric sheet download.
• Water Cycle
• Multicellular Organisms
• Circulatory System
• Weight, Mass, Volume, Density
• Lab Safety!

Educational Rap by Rhythm Rhyme Results: Layers of the Earth