Poetry Slam

Description

Poetry slams blend poetry and theater to create a fun event that emphasizes creativity while it exercises -- and stretches -- students' thinking and presentation skills. Videotape your poetry slam, or use it as a fundraiser or Parents Night activity. Slams are great events to plan during the winter blahs, end-of-year slump, Poetry Month -- or at any other time of the year.

Learn More About Organizing a Poetry Slam

Stage a Poetry Slam
Poetry slams encourage students to focus on what they're saying and how they're saying it. Students select or write poems that lend themselves to being performed, and then plan performances that follow slam guidelines. Included: Organization and assessment tips.

A Poetry Slam Cures the Midwinter Blahs
Educator Brenda Dyck reflects on how she used a Poetry Slam to refocus her students during the winter blahs. She shares how students took this 1980s art form and turned it into an opportunity to connect with peers and teachers.

Poetry Slam PowerPoint Style
Make poetry come alive with this English lesson for grades 7-12. In a unique twist to a standard poetry reading, students select poems, create PowerPoint presentations to enhance their poems, and then display the presentations as they read their poems aloud.

Objection Overruled
Taylor Mali, a former middle and high school teacher who is currently a professional performance poet -- and poetry slam champion -- shares with Education World readers his thoughts about "what teachers make."

Additional Resource

April Is Poetry Month: Archive of Ideas
Dozens of activity ideas for Poetry Month or for any other time of year.