RAPP Star Strategy for Prose Constructed Response Writing

Good evening all!

     Today I attended a fabulous workshop by the lovely Leia Lewis Henderson.

     The workshop taught us how to implement her RAPP Star Strategy to help students answer constructed response questions after reading a text. Leia created her very own rap song to engage her 4th grade students. This coming school year Leia will be teaching 6th grade. I definitely think that her RAPP Star Strategy can be implemented in every grade level. It would just need to be modified for the lower grades.

     Leia began her lesson by teaching us the song lyrics. You can download the lyrics for free on her TPT website {HERE}. She then gave us a graphic organizer and notes page to help us understand the strategy further. We then delved into a text together and utilized her notations as we read. Here are some examples of notations that good readers use while reading (These are not Leia's, but are similar):

 This one can be found {HERE} for FREE!

 Or you can make your own anchor chart with symbols you like.

     After reading the text, we then used the RAPP Star Strategy to answer a constructed response question. Here is an image of the strategy from her FREE power point (with lyrics guide):

     This strategy is fantastic, and I am so excited to implement it! I will be purchasing her CD with two versions of the song set to music! You can purchase that {HERE}.

     If you would like more information on the strategy or would like to attend one of her upcoming trainings please e-mail Leia at leia@leialewis.com!

Have a fantastic night and enjoy your summer break!

My Classroom Playlist

I'd like to share my classroom playlist with you all! My playlist includes songs for all kinds of activities: energizers, welcome songs, finding a partner, games, yoga, etc. I've also included a playlist of Gary Lamb's instrumental music. Lamb only produces songs that are 60-80 beats per minute. "Compelling brian research concludes music has the power to reduce stress, enhance cognitive functioning, and improve productivity and creativity. The human brain is an amazing instrument that can be tuned to perform optimally with the right kind of music."60-80 beats enhances mental performance. *Shout out to Christi at Kagan for some great songs to add to my playlist!

I hope you can utilize some of my  music in your classroom as well!