Classification Rap

The Video that Started it All! In 1989 T.H. Culhane, a brand new science teacher at Crenshaw High School in South Central L.A., joined forces with video instructor Phil Kuretski and together with their students they created T.H.'s first "Melodic-Mnemonic" -- a rap song that successfully embedded the Linnean system of classification -- Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species -- using rap and melody as the carrier wave for the textbook data that students were expected to memorize. Culhane's "Melodic-Mnemonic" method worked so well that his "at-risk" students were able to successfully compete with "gifted students" and test scores went up on biology exams. For the next near decade Culhane expanded the subject matter he and his students covered using the Melodic-Mnemonic approach. Recently, Culhane has been using the approach with the U.S. State Department's Cultural Affairs program, teaching science workshops in schools in Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Morrocco, Israel and Palestine.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Linnean
• Classification
• System
• Rap
• Mnemonics
• science
• education
• reform
• Crenshaw
• High
• School
• South
• Central
• L.A.

[skaterdeath100]

My teacher is making our science class do this for the talent show

[tculhane]

@skaterdeath100 That is great news! Please do videotape it and post it as a video response to this on youtube! We would be very grateful. Good luck with it, and I hope you and your class try creating your own melodic-mnemonics!

T

[QueenLuciana]

Why does he keep on missing out on spieces. He either says it really fast or doesnt mention it at all -___-

[tculhane]

@QueenLuciana Thanks for your question. I leave out "species" for artistic as well as pedagogical reasons -- almost everybody knows that we are Homo sapiens and though many people don't know that Homo is our GENUS they know we are the sapiens species. So it is unnecessary to repea species t except in the talking rap part when I say " KPCOFGS that means Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species." The melodic-mnemonic is intended to teach the parts most people don't know.

[5677mgh]

best song ever!!!!!

[5677mgh]

i know this song from science and me and my bff soph know all the words and dances by heart----BEST SONG EVER!

[Samaushio]

LOLL , my teacher made the class watch this video today in school and in the next period , the people who saw it sung it a bunch of times ! :D

[13florun13]

#wsrbio

[Slapchop200]

There all black.

[paarsekip]

if you press 6 after eachother they are just robots

[GODsmercifulgrace13]

lol watched this is my science class and for the whole day all people who went to our science teacher were singing this it got suck in my head lol

[TheCARLzzz123]

we watched this in my science class today! so funny! "kpcofgs, kingdom phylm class order famly genus specees. love this song!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!