In honor of the slam, I thought I would break down the project for you. Perhaps you would be willing to try it in your own class? I realize that poetry slams are not new to school cultures, and savvy English teachers have been hosting them for years. I think (and I'm biased) ours is special because of the music inclusion...
Our entry event is simply a flyer posted around the school announcing the slam. It has the date, time, and location, along with some of the musicians that will be performing before and after the show. The students see these early in the day and typically come to class asking about them before we get a chance to "present" them. Since this is our third year doing the project - our upper classmen could be heard in the hallways saying things like, "The poetry slam is posted!" and "Man, remember (so-in-so's) poem? That was awesome..." By the beginning of second block our sophomores knew what was going on.
After a brief discussion of the entry event, we ask the students to list all of the things that they know about the project, simply from reading the entry document. Once we've listed those "Knows", we discuss them together. Then we get a list of "Need-to-Knows" from the students. That list gives us a general idea of their pre-existing knowledge concerning the project, and a good idea of what we're going to need to workshop. We usually have a good hypothesis of what the students know and need to know before they come in, but sometimes they surprise us.
Then we introduce them to our favorite poems. It is truly my favorite thing, to introduce students to new stuff. We have readings and analysis of poetry. We break down the meaning of poems. We look at inspiration of the poets and history of the poets... Who do we listen too, exactly? Oh, poets like Emily Dickinson, Octavio Paz, Edgar Allen Poe, Pablo Neruda, Yeats, Martin Espada, Eddie Vedder... What? YES, we listen and look at poetry in music too. How are the two connected? What types of poetry work best in western music? How do you set a poem to a piece of music? What do the words "scansion" and "diction" mean when utilizing music? This is the meat of the Poetry slam and an integral part of our class - making that connection between the art of literature and the art of music.
Then the fun begins... Mrs. Papin-Thomas is a "boss," to use the vernacular, when it comes to poetry. A few years ago she came up with the idea of a Poetry Gauntlet; stations where the students could try their hands at sonnets, terza rima, haiku, and other forms. Also, we have a Gauntlet that lets students work with object poetry and inspiration. We even use games like "Apples to Apples" to help them with word choice, and we create "Shared Poems" where the students each add a word or phrase to a poem to create wonderful and fresh poetry.
Yes, it is my favorite time of year. We sit with them. We participate in the gauntlets with them. We share our poetry and discuss their poetry with them. We analyze what went right, what went wrong, and why. For a few weeks in the fall our room becomes a true academic forum of discussion and thought all revolving around the arts and inspiration.
Then, before we know it - because the project is only about 14 days - we host the slam. The community gathers and we settle into the library with coffee to listen to the stylings of our 14 strongest poems selected by vote. Prior to the slam we have live music. I usually bring my acoustic guitar and djembe' and jam with students. We sing songs and have a good time. Then the readings begin. Students stand up and pour their hearts out; lost loves, missing parents, exciting events, deaths, births, break-ups, desires, fantasies, dreams... it all comes out in beautiful words and rhythms. Some students write music to accompany their poems; they sing and play, others rap. Some simply stand and read in dramatic voice. It's truly magical, though, and every year there are one or two students who no one saw coming. Students that typically don't participate in after-school events. They find their way into the slam and we get a chance to see their creativity.
Yup... that time of year again. I'm excited!
No comments:
Post a Comment