Dave Hook and Stanley Odd learning resources
Using hip hop in the classroom
Senior Phase (Ages 14-16)
Contents of this resource
About this resource
About Dave Hook and Stanley Odd
Talking and writing about spoken word
Composing and performing a spoken word piece
More artists, books and films
About this resource
This resource has several main goals:
●to introduce pupils to Dave Hook’s work,
●to inspire them to think about and discuss spoken word texts,
●to help them to compose and perform a spoken word piece
●to help point them in the direction of other texts to enjoy.
You can differentiate the topic depending on what you think pupils will
respond best to. You don’t need to incorporate every section of the resource: if writing isn't your aim, you can focus on just the first and lastsections. If you choose to get pupils writing, you can choose whether theyperform or just write their pieces; and most importantly you can choosewhether pupils compose an imaginative or a discursive spoken word text.
We hope you and your pupils really enjoy investigating the world of spoken word – it’s rich and diverse one which offers a powerful medium of expression.
About Dave Hook and Stanley Odd
Dave Hook, the frontman of hip hop band Stanley Odd, has toured extensively, as well as playing at T in the Park and Edinburgh's Hogmanay Street Party. Stanley Odd won the Scottish Music Awards Big Apple Award in 2013, and their second album Reject was shortlisted for Scottish Album of the Year. Dave also lectures in recording studio theory and practice at Edinburgh Napier university. You can find out more about Stanley Odd, and listen to their music, at
Talking and writing about spoken word
Introducing spoken word artists
In this activity your pupils are going to investigate different spoken word artists and recommend their favourites to others. Ask them to listen to the following songs so they can see the wide variety of styles adopted by UK artists:
●Stanley Odd – Chase Yirsel: bit.ly/2cMNYYd
●Kate Tempest – Teens’ Speech:
●Dan Le Sac, Scroobius Pip – Letter from God:
Encourage pupils to search for more poems or songs by the artist they like best.
After this, you can ask pupils to do different things. You can ask them to create small bookshop-style recommendations cards for the artist they like best, writing short descriptions of their musical style and the kind of things they write about. If you want to make this an opportunity for pupils to work on their use of language, you can use David Didau’s ‘slow writing’ technique - find out more in this blog post:
If you want your pupils to curate this content digitally, you can use Padlet: padlet.com/. This tool allows users to collect content like images and videos together and annotate them, creating a gallery. You can create a free account, where pupils can all use a common login, or you can have a paid account. Using Padlet, pupils can curate videos of artists and annotate them - they could use what they write on the recommendation cards for this. You can find an excellent Padlet tutorial here:
What can spoken word be about? Articles and interviews
Of course spoken word can be about anything, but these articles and interviews will help your pupils see some of the subjects that have interested spoken word artists and help them start to think about subjects that might interest them.
Firstly, get pupils to have a look at this interview by Scroobius Pip:
Show pupils the following interview with Dave Hook about the artists who have influenced him, as well as his political views:
After this, ask pupils to read the following interview with Scottish rapper Loki about his childhood:
This interview with Loki also gives an insight into what informs and influences his writing:
This documentary by Loki gives a strong idea of what his childhood was like, but be warned that the language and content needs vetted:
Discuss with pupils the things they found out in these sources. Here are a few questions to think about:
- Scroobius Pip talks about his love for both hip hop and poetry. Are hip hop lyrics and poetry two different things?
- Dave Hook talks about his love of ‘storytellers’. Can you think of any songs which tell stories? Tell the group about them. What do you think makes these stories interesting?
- What was the story of Loki’s childhood like? Do you feel that a traumatic childhood is likely to affect a person even when they enter adulthood? Does a person’s background excuse bad behaviour? Do people need help to overcome a tough childhood, and if so, do you think enough help is provided?
- Why do you think gangs form, and why do they fight each other? Is it other people’s responsibility to try and end the kind of gang fighting seen in the Loki documentary? If so, what needs to happen for the violence to stop?
Discussing the use of regional accents in art
In this video, Loki and Dave Hook suggest to pupils that their authentic voice is a fantastic tool which they should embrace:
Discuss with pupils how they feel about the use of regional accents in art. Do they like hearing voices like theirs in music and literature? How do they feel about artists who don’t use their authentic accent in music and rap?
This discussion could lead nicely into a reading and discussion of Tom Leonard’s poem ‘The 6 O’clock News’. You can find a copy of the poem with some helpful teachers’ notes here:
Composing and performing a spoken word piece
Scottish Book Trust resources
If you want to get pupils composing their own spoken word pieces, the following Scottish Book Trust resources should be of help:
●Steven Camden learning resource - this resource helps pupils create a character and deliver a spoken word dramatic monologue, with activities to help with characterisation, structuring the piece and delivering the performance;
●Word War resource package - this resource and case study bundle shows you how teachers Peter Kelly and Helen MacKenzie got their pupils composing and performing battle rap, based on social and political issues.
Having fun with language
This activity is a nice addition to the above resources. It aims to introduce pupils to how spoken word artists can play with language for an audience’s enjoyment.
Show pupils rapper and poet Dizraeli’s poem about mobile phones, which starts at 28 minutes in this video:
Show pupils the poem twice. On the first viewing, they should simply listen to try and absorb its main subject and message. On the second viewing, ask them to pick out and write down one line or phrase which they particularly liked.
Afterwards, ask some volunteers what they have written down, and see if anyone else has written down the same line. Discuss the lines with the class, asking them to point out if any techniques like word choice, imagery, alliteration etc have been used.
After this, get your pupils experimenting with language by using Scottish Poetry Library’s ‘Playing with Language’ resource, which has some fantastic ideas to build pupils’ confidence in using imagery:
If you want an alternative to the Dizraeli poem, you could always show your pupils this video of two Scottish pupils competing in a poetry slam event:
Artists, books and films to check out
Spoken word artists
Stanley Odd (Dave Hook’s band)
Loki
Polarbear
Scroobius Pip
Kojey Radical
Jay Prince
Little Simz
Dr Syntax
Kate Tempest
Mark Grist
Bands and singers who embrace the Scottish accent
Arab Strap
Sons and Daughters
Fatherson
Admiral Fallow
Idlewild
Glasvegas
Twin Atlantic
Frightened Rabbit
The Twilight Sad
Meursault
James Yorkston
Books about hip hop
Dr Dre: The Biography by Ronin Ro
Decoded by Jay-Z
The Way I Am by Eminem
Ice Cube: Attitude by Joel McIver
How to Ruin Everything: Essays by George Watsky
Films about spoken word
The British Film Institute has an excellent list of documentaries about hip hop: You can also check out the film Louder than a Bomb, a fantastic documentary about a high school poetry slam in the USA.
Biopics and fictional films include Straight Outta Compton, 8 Mile and Get Rich Or Die Tryin’.