In me I trust | Rap writing activity

Warm-up game: call-and-response.

• Set up a steady beat – this can be through whole class clapping, stepping in time (like a march), hitting a drum, or even playing a piece of percussive music.  If there is a confident and enthusiastic beatboxer in the group, they could set up a simple beat for everyone to follow.    
• Alternatively, you could use a backing track from the Song Bank to provide a steady beat – try Grandma rap, Chilled-out clap rap or Gotta be me. You can adjust the tempo on the Song Bank whiteboard to take it slower if needed.
• Using the steady beat, say the following lines to your students, asking them to repeat after you (this can be in time with the rhythm of the song or a different rhythm decided by the leader or the students):  
   
  • ‘In me I trust, I’m feeling strong’ 
  • ‘I’m feeling good, I’m feeling great’
  • ‘I keep it moving, I won’t stop’
  • ‘I rise up high, I reach the top’ 
     
• Start slowly at first – you can gradually speed up the tempo.
• Ask students to repeat one line at a time, then two, and then all of the lines back to you, as they get more confident.
• After a few rounds, ask students ‘How does it feel to say those words out loud?’.
• You can encourage students to make links to themes of self-confidence and belief in their own voice.

(2 minutes)
 

Rhythm warm-up: feel the beat clapping activity (optional) 

The objective of this activity is to help students feel the beat naturally before they begin writing their rap. 

1. Find the beat:

• Play the In me I trust backing track and ask students to clap along to the beat. If finding the beat is proving tricky, you can help by demonstrating and asking the group to join in. 
• Start with your claps spread apart (e.g. at the beginning of the bar/count), then make them closer together (clapping more often), which will feel like the beat  is getting faster. For example: 
   
  • Begin by just clapping on beat 1: ‘1, rest, rest, rest’.
  • Then try beats 1 and 3 like this: ‘1, rest, 3, rest’. 
  • Then try clapping on all four beats: ‘1, 2, 3, 4’. 
     
• Ask: ‘Can you feel the patterns in the music made up of the rhythm of the words and the beat?’.   

2. Call and clap:

• Clap a short rhythm (e.g. two slow claps followed by four fast claps) and ask students to copy. Then try some other rhythms and ask students to copy them back, too.
• Start by clapping simple patterns – you can later increase the challenge by adding in offbeat rhythms (e.g. clap on the ‘and’ of the beat: ‘1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &’). You can use the In me I trust Rap activity – clapping example  audio track to help with this.
• Introduce some variation by saying a phrase from the song while clapping (e.g. ‘In me I trust’ or ‘I’m feeling strong’) and ask students to repeat. 

3. Rap to the rhythm:

• Clap or set up a steady beat (either using the backing track, another piece, or just body percussion with claps/stomps/stepping side to side) while students say a simple 4-bar rap over the top of it (either choosing one of the examples from the warm-up or devising their own line). 
• Encourage students to experiment with where their words land (e.g. stressing different syllables). For example: 
   
  • Try saying ‘I rise up high, I reach the top’.
  • Now try it again, but put more energy on different words:
    
    ‘I rise up high, I reach the top’.
    ‘I rise up high, I reach the top’.
    I rise up high, I reach the top’. 
     
• You can also play with timing. Try pausing slightly before your last word for effect (e.g. ‘I rise up high... I reach the top’.). 
• Or say the first half slow, second half fast (e.g. ‘I... rise up high, I reach-the-top’.). 
• It’s about finding what feels powerful — let students try different versions and pick what hits hardest.

(3 minutes)
 

Mini-discussion – why rap?  

• Use the following question as a prompt: ‘What do you think makes a great rap?’ 
• Possible student responses (and how you might build on them) include: 
   
  • ‘It rhymes.’
    (Yes! Rhyming is a big part of rap. But not just at the end of lines. Did you know some rappers rhyme in the middle of a line too? That’s called an internal rhyme.)
     
  • ‘It has a good beat.’
    (Definitely. The beat sets the mood. And the rapper’s ‘flow’ is how they ride that beat – fast, slow, bouncy, smooth. Think of it like dancing with your words.)
     
  • ‘It tells a story.’
    (Exactly – great rap is often like a poem with a beat. It can tell us how someone feels, what they’ve been through, or what they believe in.)
     
  • ‘It has emotion.’
    (‘That’s a powerful one. Rappers often talk about what they’ve lived through. Sharing feelings in rap can help us feel strong, brave or understood.)
     
  • ‘It makes you feel something.’
    (Yes! Whether it makes you feel hyped, calm, or proud – that connection is what makes rap so powerful.) 
     
• You can also encourage students to name a favourite rapper or songs they like and ask ‘What do you think that artist does really well?’
• If learners are stuck, you could use the following prompt: ‘Think about a time a song made you feel strong, or helped you understand something better – what was it doing that worked?’.
• Guide students toward discussing key elements of rap:
   
  • Flow (the rhythm and speed). 
  • Bars (lines of lyrics). 
  • Expression (delivering with energy). 
  • Message (rap tells a story or feeling). 
     
• To summarise, you could share the following with students:
  
  ‘Did you know that rappers use rap to process emotions? From feeling on top of the world to struggling with challenges, rap is like a diary in rhyme. Artists like Stormzy, Dave, and Little Simz have spoken about their struggles through their lyrics. That means today, you’re not just rapping – you’re expressing your truth!’.

(2 to 3 minutes)

The objective for this activity is for students to create their own 4-bar rap using ‘The rule of 4.’

Step 1 – generate ideas. 

• First pose the following questions to students: ‘What makes you feel strong? What do you trust about yourself?’
• Next, ask them to set out their ideas as a mind map. They could use themes such as: confidence, friendships, dreams, music, sports, overcoming fear, etc. 

(5 minutes)

Step 2 – writing. 

• Ask students to write their own four bars using this template:
   
  • Bar 1: What’s your message? (e.g. ‘I trust myself, I know I’m smart’)
  • Bar 2: Add detail (e.g. ‘Every day I work on my art’)
  • Bar 3: Build-up (e.g. ‘No fear, I stand up tall’)
  • Bar 4: Strong impact (e.g. ‘I trust in me, I’ll never fall’) 

(10 minutes)

Support and stretch ideas (optional).

• For those having trouble getting started writing you could:
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  • Offer starter lines (e.g. ‘In me I trust…’ or ‘I trust myself…’).
  • Provide a word bank to help spark ideas – see the additional PDF for some examples.
     
• Where timing is a challenge:
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  • Don’t make this a focus – the exercise can instead be expressed as spoken word aloud over the beat.
  • Use call-and-response with students, using their lyrics. You could also guide by clapping ‘on the beat’.
     
• Students looking for an extra challenge could:
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  • Be encouraged to add internal rhymes to the line (e.g. ‘So much I could teach ya, put it on the track, fast like a cheetah, top of the pack’) See the additional word bank PDF for more examples.
  • Write 8 bars instead of 4.