Discuss sonnets with the students. Trace the history of sonnets from Petrarch to Shakespeare.
Instruct students to find the rhyme scheme of a sonnet. Have them label rhyming stanzas with letters. For example, the stanza "The cat spilled milk/all over my shirt/which happened to be silk/my feelings are hurt" would be labeled ABAB.
Ask students to consider what sonnets and rap songs have in common. Remind them that Shakespeare used slang from his own time. Point out similar rhyme schemes, alliteration, repetition and other common literary devices.
Have students identify poetry characteristics in the sonnet. Discuss the meaning of the sonnet. Focus on imagery, symbolism, metaphor and simile.
Invite the students to share what elements of hip-hop they can find in the sonnet. Focus on repetition, rhyme, alliteration and possible slang.
Play a hip-hop song for the class. Hand out copies of the lyrics of that song to the students.
Instruct the students to identify the rhyme scheme used by the hip-hop lyricist. Discuss the rhythm and pattern of the song. Compare it to a sonnet.
Discuss with the students the poetic characteristics in the rap song. Focus on the way that rhyme, rhythm and alliteration add emphasis to certain phrases.