Book rap - The warrior as text: Othello Preliminary
English (Advanced) course

A book rap uses email to circulate discussion points, known as rap points, about a book or text. It can stimulate classroom activities and provide opportunities for students to share responses and ideas with other schools. The Othello online book rap will run over the next five weeks and will consider several key points of the play.

As Othello is a text for the Stage 6 Preliminary English Advanced course, rap points will look at key aspects in relation to this. As well, students will be required to explore and examine relationships between language and text. The rap points are not the only key aspects of the play. They should be used to supplement classroom programs and may guide and stimulate further work.

Scroll down this page to join the rap, and view the dates and support materials provided.

The academic, Hugh Craig, English Faculty, University of Newcastle, and English syllabus experts will be online during the rap to comment on specific ideas and discussions submitted by rappers. The Coordinator will advise participants when these experts are available.

Continue to scroll down this page to join your class group to the rap, and also to join the teacher support listserv.

Cathy Sly, English teacher (Barrenjoey High School), is the coordinator of this book rap. She will guide us through the rap, posting the rap questions and focuses for each week, and liaise with the academic and syllabus experts. She will also provide encouragement on the Teacher support listserv for this book rap, where teachers will be able to ask questions about and discuss professional issues related to the rap and how they are managing it with their classes. Thanks to Mary Tupou, Rutherford Technology High School, and Kay Albon, Merewether High School, for developing material for this rap.

Archives of the class email discussion

This rap is a joint project of the Library and Information Literacy and English Units, at Curriculum Support Directorate.

Othello rap support materials

Click on the hypertext (underlined) links to view the material

Rap introduction
Rap points or discussion questions
Program and planning Stage 6 (Suggested class activities in keeping with the rap points and time frame, linked to syllabus outcomes and possible resources)
Rap wrap up
Rap sheets (proformas)
Additional support materials for Othello rap points and further investigation.
Rap lingo
Implementing a rap (Book rap FAQs)
Email – Instruction sheet for students
Rap reflection sheets

Rap introduction

Term 3, Week 2: week beginning 30th July 2001

During the Preliminary activities week, students undertake activities as suggested in the Introduction of Program and planning Stage 6. In this week students would:

• Submit a class introductory message to the rap. (Whole class messages are sent to the rap, rather than individual student messages.)
• Compose questions they have about the play that they would like answered. Keep a class record of such questions though do not post them yet. If these questions are not answered during the rap, submit them as a class during the Rap wrap up.

Rap points

These discussion questions guide the book rap. The question for the week is posted to the rap at the beginning of that week by the coordinator. Class groups post their answers and can respond via the rap to other schools' replies during the relevant week for that rap point.

Rap Point 1
Rap Point 2
Rap Point 3

Rap point 1 (For related class activities see Program and planning)

Term 3, Week 3: week beginning 6th August 2001

Taking the persona of Desdemona or Cassio, compose a description of Othello, the warrior, including his physical features, personality and what he says and does.Your response should be written by the character in the form of a diary entry just after Othello has arrived in Cyprus (Act II).

Rap point 2 (For related class activities see Program and planning)

Term 3, Week 4: week beginning 13th August 2001

In what ways do you see Othello fitting, or not fitting, the role of a Shakespearean tragic hero? How have you come to these conclusions?

Rap point 3 (For related class activities see Program and planning)

Term 3, Week 5: week beginning 20th August 2001

How does Shakespeare position the audience at the end of the play? Do you see Othello as a warrior or as a tragic hero?

Rap wrap up

Term 3, Week 6: week beginning 27th August 2001

During the Final activities week, students undertake activities as suggested in the Rap wrap up of Program and planning Stage 6. In this week students could:

• Submit to the rap any questions (composed during the Introductory week) that they still have unanswered.
• Send any concluding messages, for example, about what they learned during the rap. Whole class messages are sent, rather than individual student messages.

Rap sheets (proformas)
Othello proformas are also available in pdf format. So you have no problems reading and printing these pdf files, please click here to update to Adobe Acrobat 5.

These sample proformas relate to the rap points, and are for class use to assist students to develop email responses to the rap points. At the bottom of each page, a link will download a pdf file to print out an A4 size worksheet to use with students.

Rap sheet 1
Rap sheet 2


Rap lingo

Rap reflection sheets

Ready to rap (for rappers to reflect on prior learning and expectations)
Rap reflection 1 (for rappers to reflect on the experiences and skills they have gained)
Rap reflection 2 (for rappers to reflect on the experiences and skills they have gained)