Monday, September 19, 2016

"Flocabulary" Vocabulary, "Week in Rap Jr." AND a Giveaway!

I've always been a fan of Flocabulary, ever since I played the "Five Elements of a Story" video for my class for the first time. They have evolved so much since then. They offer songs and videos in every subject,and so much more.

For those who are not familiar with Flocabulary, it is a web-based learning program for all grades and subjects that uses educational hip-hop music to engage students and increase achievement. There are so many resources and features available, I decided to choose 2 of my favorites. However, enter the giveaway below, so that you can check out all the features yourself!

Vocabulary
Vocabulary is an integral part of the lessons in my classroom. However, providing my students with  a list of words, telling them to look up the definitions, and giving a quiz on Friday was not how I taught them. Creating lessons for vocabulary took a lot of time. Finding the appropriate words took time.

Flocabulary offers a way for me to introduce new words to my class in a format that is engaging,uses standards-aligned skills and content, while helping my students develop academic vocabulary. 

Their lists are made up of grade appropriate vocabulary and go from K-8, up to 9-12 SAT words. The great part is that I am able to differentiate instruction without added stress. Each group has a video which uses the words in a song, printable lyrics, and then printable activities. The printable activities are amazing, not your run of the mill worksheets.The students love the videos and the songs, and have a clearer understanding of the words after completing the exercises. The new Pause and Play feature pauses the video and asks students questions about what they are viewing.This feature is applicable to all their videos, not just vocabulary.So much better than looking up words and writing their definitions!

Current Events
Week in Rap, Week in Rap Jr., and Week in Rap Extra
What a fun, engaging, way to discuss Current Events, and it's perfect for elementary students. This is a weekly staple in our classroom, and my students remind me if I forget to share it. 

We watch the video which contains events which have taken place during the week. The educational hip-hop videos are not long, but they give enough content that leads to meaningful discussions. Perfect!
Teaching summarizing? Assign one of the videos and have students summarize the content.

Looking to implement Flocabulary in your school?
Explore these resources for information and ideas on how to use Flocabulary!

    • It includes a self-guided training presentation as well as a short tutorial video about getting started with Flocab.
  • Explore our Lesson Resources page for implementation ideas per subject.
  • Please also find our lesson plans on Pinterest (we have one board for elementary and one board for middle and high school)!

Flocabulary Giveaway
Here'e your chance to find out what the fuss is all about! Good Luck!


    • You will need to enter each field in the form to be eligible (it should only take them a minute!)
    • Everyone that enters the giveaway will receive an email for an extended 45-day school-wide trial of Flocabulary. Yes, schoolwide!
    • Winners will be drawn at random.
    • You must enter by October 16th at 11:59ET.