Gangsta Rap by Benjamin Zephaniah

Gangsta Rap by Benjamin Zephaniah

Year 9 Reading Activities

Introduction

The following resources provide a three/four-lesson study of four key elements of the novel:

• How a writer can influence your feelings for a character (AF6).
• The culture of hip-hop (AF6).
• The use of Jamaican dialect (AF5).
• How ‘inter-texts’ contribute to the narrative (AF4).

Each element is introduced and explored in whole-class work before students work independently on an Assessment Task.

Resources include detailed lesson plans, marking guidance and student resource sheets.

Timing

It is envisioned that these reading activities will be taught over three or four lessons of about one hour each, although you may wish to adjust timings to suit the needs of your class. Lesson 2 could be used as well as or as an alternative to Lesson 1: both cover AF6.

The Assessment Tasks are introduced discretely, one a lesson. It is suggested that each task is completed before moving on to the next one. This might mean that extra time needs to be given for task completion, either in the form of extra lessons or homework.

Framework Objectives and Assessment Focuses

Once you have completed the study with your students, they will have engaged with the following Framework Objectives and Reading Assessment Focuses:

LESSON 1
Learning objectives:

• To analyse different viewpoints and ideas in the novel.
• To appreciate how Zephaniah makes us feel about characters.

/ Resources:

• Copies of Gangsta Rap.
• Resource sheet 6: The Assessment Tasks.

Starter / Share the learning objectives with the class. Divide students into pairs and give them two minutes to write a list of all the characters in the novel.
Introduction / As a class, ask students to thoughtflood initial ideas around key words and phrases in the objectives, e.g. different viewpoints, different ideas, analyse, feel, characters.
Development / Ask students to work in pairs for five minutes to consider their overall thoughts about how Ray changes during the novel and how our feelings about him change. Ask them to choose two points in the novel where our feelings about Ray are likely to be particularly strong. Take feedback from the class, then ask what makes us have those strong feelings?
Now direct students’ attention to one brief extract from the novel in which Ray features prominently and, with the class, analyse how Zephaniah writes to shape the reader’s response in particular ways. Extracts could be used form the following events:

• Pages 4–7 when Ray gets sent to Mr Lang.
• Page 55 when Ray attends his exclusion meeting.
• Pages 195–96 when Ray sees Yinka’s dead body.

Focus students’ attention on the way Ray speaks, the way he is described and his attitude.
Now introduce the first Assessment Task, which is also set out on Resource sheet 6: The Assessment Tasks:
‘We feel differently about Ray at different times in the novel. Write about the impressions we get of Ray at these three points:

• Pages 153–58 when Ray has his first proper conversation with Yinka.
• Pages 231–34 when Ray meets Dragon in the disused yard.
• Pages 248–50 when the Positive Negatives confront Duncan at their record company offices.’ (AF6)

Independent work / Ask students to complete the first Assessment Task. More-confident students can plan and write alone, but you may wish to pair less-confident students for the planning stages of this task.
LESSON 2
Learning objectives:

• To analyse different viewpoints and ideas in the novel.
• To appreciate how Zephaniah makes us feel about issues.

/ Resources:

• Copies of Gangsta Rap.
• Resource sheet 1: Bookmarks.
• Resource sheet 6: The Assessment Tasks.

Starter / Share the learning objectives with the class. If you completed Lesson 1 last time, explain that the learning for this lesson incorporates and builds on what was studied last lesson.
Introduction / As a class, ask students to thoughtflood[N1] initial ideas around key words and phrases in the objectives, e.g. different viewpoints, different ideas, analyse, feel, issues.
Development / Ask students for their overall thoughts about how our view of hip-hop changes during the novel.
Now direct students’ attention to one extract from the novel: pages 118–19 when the Positive Negatives collect their awards. Read through these pages commenting on how different readers might feel particular things about hip-hop. For example, when Ray announces that ‘this is for me’ he might appear to be very big-headed; when the band receive their best hip-hop act award they ‘casually’ return to the stage – they might seem to be boastful as they simply expected to win; ‘with their bodyguards in tow’ also suggests they are showing off.
You may wish to pair less-confident students for this activity. Hand out Resource sheet 1: Bookmarks and ask students to cut up and use the bookmarks for pages where the feeling on the card matches the way hip-hop is being presented. Tell students that they only have to use three of the cards. If they have time then they should use a blank bookmark to mark a page where they think another feeling about hip-hop is stirred up in the reader. They should write this feeling on the card and prepare to explain their choice to the class. Take some feedback.
Continued
LESSON 2 (continued)
Development (continued) / Now introduce the second Assessment Task, which is also set out on Resource sheet 6: The Assessment Tasks:
‘Re-read these sections of the novel:

• Pages 147–48: the Newham Echo's report.
• Pages 167–70: Ray’s defence of hip-hop at a press conference.
• Pages 218–19: Marga Man introducing the Positive Negatives to the audience at a gig.

In each case, explain what view of hip-hop is being suggested to the reader and how the reader is likely to react.’ (AF6)
Independent work / Ask students to complete the second Assessment Task. More-confident students can plan and write alone, but you may wish to pair less-confident students for the planning stages of this task.
LESSON 3
Learning objective:

• To appreciate the purpose and the impact of non-standard dialect in the novel.

/ Resources:

• Copies of Gangsta Rap.
• Resource sheet 2: Different dialects.
• Resource sheet 3: Wrong dialects.
• Resource sheet 6: The Assessment Tasks.

Starter / Share the learning objective with the class. Remind students of the meaning of standard and non-standard English.
Introduction / Re-establish the class’ understanding of dialect – vocabulary and grammar related to someone’s background. Show the dialogue reproduced in Resource sheet 2: Different dialects. Ask the class to spot and explain the differences in the way Marga Man and Mr Lang speak. Ask the class to consider the effect on the novel if Marga Man always spoke in standard English and Mr Lang always spoke in slang. Use Resource sheet 3: Wrong dialects to help focus students’ thinking.
Development / Introduce the third Assessment Task, which is also set out on Resource sheet 6: The Assessment Tasks:
‘How effectively does Benjamin Zephaniah use Jamaican dialect in Marga Man's speeches?’ (AF5)
Suggest that students could write about:

• Marga Man's words
• the way Marga Man puts words together
• differences between the way Marga Man speaks and the way Mr Lang and Tyrone's mother speak (see page 87).

Independent work / Ask students to complete the third Assessment Task. More-confident students can plan and write alone, but you may wish to pair less-confident students for the planning and research stages of this task.
LESSON 4
Learning objective:

• To understand the purpose of inter-texts in a novel’s structure.

/ Resources:

• Copies of Gangsta Rap.
• Resource sheet 4: Inter-texts analysis table.
• Resource sheet 5: Inter-texts analysis example.
• Resource sheet 6: The Assessment Tasks.
• Overhead projector / interactive whiteboard.

Starter / Share the learning objective with the class. Explain the meaning of an inter-text.
Introduction / Direct students to the examples of inter-texts in Gangsta Rap (pages 48, 108, 133, 147, 190, 214, 251 and 253) and ask them to quickly familiarise themselves with them.
Development / Introduce the fourth Assessment Task, which is also set out on Resource sheet 6: The Assessment Tasks:
‘At some points in the novel the narrative is interrupted by ‘inter-texts’. This happens, for example:

• in Chapter 5 (page 48): the Sunday Educational Supplement report on school exclusion
• in Chapter 11 (page 108): The Mix Mag review of ‘Collective Security’
• at the end of the book (page 253): ‘The Guns’ poem.

Explain the purpose each of these three inter-texts and what they contribute to the novel.’ (AF4)
Distribute Resource sheet 4: Inter-texts analysis table to students and use Resource sheet 5: Inter-text analysis example on the OHP or IWB to model for the class how to analyse an inter-text in terms of its purpose and impact.
Independent work / Ask students to complete the Assessment Task. More-confident students can work alone, but you may wish to pair less-confident students for the discussion part of this task.

1Gangsta Rap Year 9 Reading Activities

Marking guidelines

Level / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7
AF2 / Some relevant points identified.
Comments supported by some generally relevant textual reference or quotation, e.g. reference is made to appropriate section of novel but is unselective and lacks focus. / The most relevant points clearly identified, including those selected from different places in the novel.
Comments generally supported by relevant textual reference or quotation, even when points made are not always accurate. / Relevant points clearly identified.
Evidence compared from different parts of the novel.
Use of apt textual reference and quotation to support main ideas or argument. / Evidence precisely chosen and applied to the point being made, e.g.close analysis of impact of a single word, or, deft selection across a longer textual stretch to evaluate a writer’s viewpoint.
Ability to see the significance of a reference within novel as a whole.
AF3 / Comments make inferences based on evidence from different points in the text, e.g. interpreting Ray’s feelings from his actions at different points.
Inferences often plausible, but comments are not always rooted securely in the text or they simply repeat narrative or content. / Comments develop explanation of inferred meanings drawing on evidence across the text, e.g. ‘You know Ray hates the system by how negative he is to school at the start’.
Comments make inferences and deductions based on textual evidence, e.g. in drawing conclusions about Ray’s feelings on the basis of his speech and actions. / Comments securely based in textual evidence.
Different layers of meaning identified, with some attempt at detailed exploration of them, e.g. explaining the conflicting impact of words and phrases or exploring connotations in how hip-hop is presented.
Comments consider wider implications or significance of information, events or ideas in the text, e.g. tracing how details contribute to overall meaning. / Comments begin to develop an interpretation of characters and/or themes, making connections between insights, teasing out meanings or weighing up evidence, e.g.considering the relative importance of different pieces of evidence when evaluating our reactions to Ray; considering more than one interpretation of Ray; developing a critique of Zephaniah’s viewpoint by adducing evidence from a range of insights.
AF4 (Task 4) / Some basic features of inter-texts identified, e.g. ‘The texts comment on something that has just become important in the story’ or ‘They are from different sorts of text – news reports, reviews, etc.’ / Comments on use of inter-texts show some general awareness of Zephaniah’s skill, e.g. ‘They help us understand hip-hop from different angles’.
Various features of inter-texts are clearly identified, with some explanation, e.g. ‘Each one shows what other people would probably think without having to build in lots of extra characters’. / Some detailed exploration of how inter-texts support Zephaniah’s theme or purpose.
Comment on how different inter-texts contribute to the novel’s impact and make complex issues more understandable. / Some evaluation of the extent to which use of inter-texts supports Zephaniah’s theme or purpose, e.g. exploration of how inter-texts develop the novel’s themes, or analysis of how inter-texts provide an extra dimension to Zephaniah’s purposes.
Some appreciation of the skill with which inter-texts are used, e.g. evaluating or comparing the effectiveness of different sorts of inter-text.
Level / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7
AF5 (Task 3) / Some basic features of writer’s use of language identified, e.g. ‘Marga Man uses “d” instead of “th”’.
Simple comments on effects of dialect use, e.g. ‘Mr Lang sounds posh and respectable’. / Various features of Zephaniah’s use of dialect identified, with some explanation, e.g. ‘Zephaniah often spells words to show how Marga Man speaks them, so that we can almost hear his voice’.
Comments show some awareness of the effect of dialect, e.g. ‘“sharp-looking brothers” is a very vivid way of describing rap stars in videos’. / Some detailed explanation, with appropriate terminology, of how dialect is used, e.g. tracing use of one feature such as verb tense; identifying and commenting on patterns or structure in a dialect; or recognising changes in dialect at different points in a text.
Some drawing together of comments on how Zephaniah’s use of dialect contributes to the overall effect on the reader, e.g. ‘The different dialects create clear differences between the characters and help us to imagine those differences’. / Comments begin to develop precise, perceptive analysis of how dialect is used, e.g. showing how dialect reflects Marga Man’s personality or attitudes.
Some appreciation of how Zephaniah’s use of dialects affects the reader, e.g. demonstrating the differing effects of different dialects in the novel.
AF6
(Tasks 1 and 2) / Main purpose identified, e.g. ‘It’s about how people can change’.
Simple comments show some awareness of writer’s viewpoint, e.g. ‘He makes hip-hop sound exciting’.
Simple comment on overall effect on reader, e.g. ‘Ray is described as “determined” and that makes you think that he’s not going to change his mind’. / Zephaniah’s main purpose clearly identified, often through general overview, e.g. ‘Zephaniah doesn’t think hip-hop has to be violent and he wants to persuade the reader to agree’.
Viewpoint clearly identified, with some, often limited, explanation, e.g. ‘At the end he has learnt that violence and revenge are wrong because …’.
General awareness of effect on the reader, with some, often limited, explanation, e.g. ‘You’d probably stop thinking hip-hop was about mindless violence’. / Evidence for identifying Zephaniah’s purposes precisely located at word/sentence level or traced through the novel.
Viewpoint clearly identified and explanation of it developed through close reference to the text, e.g. ‘We feel much less sympathetic towards Ray at this point because …’.
The effect on the reader clearly identified, with some explicit explanation as to how the effect has been created. / Responses begin to develop some analytic or evaluative comment on how Zephaniah presents characters or themes, e.g. showing how Ray’s behaviour affects Zephaniah’s purposes.
Responses begin to develop some analytic or evaluative comment on how viewpoint is established or managed across the novel, e.g. tracing how our attitudes towards Ray or hip-hop develop during the novel.
Responses begin to develop an appreciation of how particular techniques and devices achieve the effects they do, e.g. how the words ‘mad’ and ‘possessed’ make Ray sound as though he has lost self-control.

1Gangsta Rap Year 9 Reading Activities

Resource sheet 1: Bookmarks

Violent
Proud
Defensive
Exciting
Entertaining
Arrogant
Divisive

Resource sheet 2: Different dialects

Mr Lang stretched his arm out over his desk to shake Marga Man’s hand. ‘Pleased to meet you. I have heard about you. I heard that you helped the boys to record a CD and that you’re being a great inspiration to them.’

‘Not really,’ Marga Man replied modestly. ‘They get on and do their thing and I just hold it all together. They create de beats, they write de raps, and it was they who decided to form de cooperative, so they are de creative force, I is just like a spectator throwing in comments from de side line.’

‘I’m sure you’re much more than just a spectator,’ said Mr Lang. ‘Tell me about this track that you have recorded.’

Marga Man looked around the room for a CD player. ‘You want hear dis bad beat?’

Page 85

Resource sheet 3: Wrong dialects

Mr Lang stretched his arm out over his desk to shake Marga Man’s hand. ‘Yo Marga Man! I so know about you. I know you’ve been like helping the boys cut a disc and that they really dig you.’

‘Not really,’ Marga Man replied modestly. ‘They get on and do what they are good at and I just provide the organisational framework. They create the rhythms, they write the lyrics, and it was they who decided to form the cooperative, so they are the creative force. I am just like a spectator offering comments from the side line.’

‘Jeez man. I so know you are much more than just a spectator,’ said Mr Lang. ‘Give me the low-down on this track you’ve cut.’

Marga Man looked around the room for a CD player. ‘Would you like to hear this wonderful track?’

Resource sheet 4: Inter-text analysis table

Inter-text / Purpose / What the inter-text contributes to the novel
Chapter 5, page 48: the Sunday Educational Supplement report on school exclusion
Chapter 11, page 108: The Mix Mag review of ‘Collective Security’
Page 253: ‘The Guns’ poem

Resource sheet 5: Inter-text analysis example

Inter-text / Purpose / What the inter-text contributes to the novel
Chapter 14, page 133: Newstalk South East report on the murder of Alton Benn / To summarise important events in the story, and to show what the general public might feel about these events. / It gives the reader a break from the way the rest of the novel is written – dramatic narrative and rap dialect. The reader might get swept along by the narrative and be completely on the side of the Positive Negatives, but the Newstalk text reminds the reader than there would be many much less supportive views out there. This less positive view is suggested by describing the band as ‘controversial’ and by reporting that the band’s record company only ‘claimed’ that they were innocent. The word ‘claimed’ might imply that the report doesn’t really believe them.

Resource sheet 6: The Assessment Tasks