How to Teach About Tupac Shakur in the Classroom
Tupac Amaru Shakur was born in 1971 in New York, New York. To say that his upbringing was difficult is an understatement. His mother was a Black Panther activist and his father's identity is unsure. Tupac occupied a majority of his youth writing poetry and as a member of the Harlem Theater. Teaching lessons on Tupac Shakur in the classroom can infuse pop culture and poetry lessons into the everyday classroom.
Instructions
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Introduce Tupac Shakur to the classroom. Give a brief summary of his life and death, including where he lived, any siblings and the general circumstances surrounding his death.
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Use the computers in the classroom to research different aspects of Tupac's life. Look for different events in his life that were of significant importance, such as joining the Harlem Theater and moving to Baltimore.Ensure students choose events that mark a significant period in Tupac's life. They will use these events to create a biographical timeline.
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Instruct students to plot the different significant events on poster board and clip out or print any related images of the events. For example, a picture of Tupac at an awards show where he won an award. Glue these images to the poster board near the event on the timeline.
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Encourage students to share the research they found on Tupac. Compare the different facts they found in order to get a more complete picture of the artist's life. Have students complete their biographical timelines and present them to the class.
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Discuss different lyrics Tupac wrote and ask the class to think about the lyrics as poetry. Choose a set of lyrics you deem appropriate for the class. Type them onto a handout and ask the students to translate them into their own words. Ask them to discuss with each other their different points of view about the meaning of the lyrics. This type of open discussion and permission to speak freely on a current topic leads to real thoughts and opinions and can be stimulating to students' minds.
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Tips & Warnings
Do not play Tupac's music in class for your students. Many of his lyrics are explicit.
Make sure you get approval from your principal to teach about this artist and that the age group you are teaching to is old enough to handle more mature content.
