© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

New York Teacher Drops Sick Beats For Grammar Lessons

NOEL KING, HOST:

Keeping kids' attention is a huge challenge for any teacher. At St. Charles Borromeo School in Harlem, N.Y., one teacher figured out a way.

DAVE ROBLES: (Rapping) Interjection's a word or a phrase that expresses emotion or exclamation.

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENTS: Yeah.

ROBLES: Write it out.

DAVE ROBLES AND UNIDENTIFIED STUDENTS: Write it, write it out, hey.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

That's Dave Robles. He teaches English in elementary school and created a curriculum called Grammar Raps.

ROBLES: In Grammar Raps, we essentially rap out all of the parts of speech.

MARTIN: The fifth graders love it.

ROBLES: There's a lot of anticipation. They're waiting for the beat to drop (laughter).

KING: This, says Robles, is what he wanted when he was a kid.

ROBLES: I always wanted to be the kind of teacher I needed when I was a kid. I would've - I love music. Music is life. You can use music for everything. And we do use music in other areas throughout the day in school. And I wanted to do something different with grammar.

KING: And he absolutely is.

ROBLES: (Rapping) Up, off, on, until...

(CROSSTALK) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.