The Classroom Slam - Patrick Flores-Scott

[Pages:3]TheClassroomSlam/PoetryUnitCulminatingEvent

Thefollowingideasarebasedonthemiddleschoolclassroompoetry slamsthatinspiredJumpedIn.Theseeventswerefun,energized,celebrations ofpoetryandcelebrationsofaclassroomcommunitythathadworkedhard buildinguptothedaytheycouldsharetheirstuff.You,asateacher,have gradedyourstudentsontheirwritingandeffortthroughouttheunit.Thisevent shouldfeellikeacelebrationoftheworkthestudentshavedone,asopposedto afinalexam,oranassessmentoftheirperformanceability.

Oneofthemiddleschoolslamstookplaceinaself-containedspecialed. languageartsclassandtheothertookplaceinasuperdiverse(economically, culturally,academically)regulared.class.

Thisstuffworks.

1) MakeaChangeintheEnvironment.

Studentsarrivetoclassthedayoftheslamandtheyknowthisisgoingto bespecial.How?Thelightsarelow.Jazzmusicwaftsfromspeakers. Thereiscoffeeandthekidsmaydrinkit.Thereisamusicstandupin frontoftheclass.(Maybeamic?)Tablesanddesksaremovedtotheside. Astageareahasbeencarvedoutoftheclassroomspace. Thespecificchangesdon'tmattersomuch.Justmakethemworkforyou. Makethemworkforyourclassroom.Evenonelittlealterationcanmakea hugedifference.Enliststudentstohelpplanthechange.Theywilllove this. Ithinkthismightbethemostimportantthingyoucandotomakeyour slamwork.Maketheenvironmentspecialandkidswillstepuptothe challengeasperformersandasaudiencemembers.

2) Norms

Havestudentscomeupwithnormsforaudiencemembers.Askyourkids toimaginehowtheywouldliketobetreatedduringandaftertheir performance.Makethelistasshortaspossiblewhilestressingthe importanceofrespect.Thisisnotonlyapoetry-sharingevent;it'san

opportunitytopracticeRESPECTandunbridledpositivity.

3) Everyoneperforms/Anythinggoes

Everyoneperforms.Everyone.Thisistheculminationofthepoetryunitso allstudentshavematerial.Itcanbetwolinesfromaquick-writeexercise they'reproudof,ortheycanbustoutafull3minutepoem(youmakethe callontimelimits).Itcanbesomethingtheywrotethatwasn'tapartof theunit(aslongasyou'vecheckeditoutbefore-hand). Thewordslambringstomindastyle.Thiseventshouldhavetheexciting vibeofapoetryslam,butthestylesofpoetryshouldbeaseclecticas yourstudents.BuddingSylviaPlathsandquiethaikupoetsareas welcomeasthehottesthip-hopslamsters. Anythinggoes.Buttherearenoouts.Noexcuses.Everyonegetsthe opportunitytorock!

4) Novolunteers.Thebucketdecides.

Saveatonofwastedtime.Allnamesgointhebucket.Haveastudent whowouldbenefitfromhavinganimportantjobpullthenames.Your namegetscalled;youareup.Now.

5) Theun-slam,slam

Somefolkswillsaythatthefollowingideamakesthisapoetryreading,as opposedtoaslam.However,ifthisclassroomeventisgoingtoworkfor allyourstudents,thereshouldbenooneratingthepoemswithnumber cards.Nojudges.(I'mnotsayingyoushouldn'teverputonatraditional

slamthatturnspoetryintoasportingevent--Ilovepoetryslams--butif youdothis,youcan'taskeveryonetoperformbecausethejudging elementisgoingtofreaksomekidsoutandthey'llrefusetosharetheir stuff.)

6) Reflections

Studentsshouldreflectontheworkoftheirpeersonpaper.Createavery shortreflectionsheetinwhichstudentslettheirclassmatesknowwhat workedwell.Keepthesethingspositive. Don'thaveeverystudentreflectoneverypoem.Spreadoutthework. Maybeeachperformerwillreceivereflectionsfromonlyfivestudents. Thiswaytheworkofwritingreflectionsdoesnotbogdownthepaceof theevent. Havefunandletmeknowhowitgoes.I'dlovetopostvideoorpositive feedbackaboutyourclasspoetryslam.Thesesuggestionsarealsoaworkin progress.Feelfreetohelpmetweak. Also,ifyou'dliketoshareyourreflectionssheets,classroomnorms,or evenpoetryunitideas,I'dlovetosharethosewithotherteachers. Thanksforallthehardworkyoudoeveryday,andthanksforcontinuing toseethevalueofpoetryandperformanceinthesetest-centrictimes. AndthankstoMs.Christenson-WongandMs.CassidyfromPacificMiddle SchoolinDesMoines,Washingtonfortheslamideas.Youtworock!

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