ELA6, CSS, Sferrazza

With enough passion and practice, you can become a spoken word poet. Explore a distant memory, explore an issue, or bring to life an emotion on paper; then, read it out loud. Revise it. Edit it. Try reading it out loud again. Add your finishing touches. Gayle Danley offers five steps to being a slam (or spoken word) poet - while being downright poetic in the process.

Your turn! You are going to write a performance poem of your own to practice (and practice) and then record for the teacher. (Maybe you can share it with some classmates, family members, or friends, too.) What will you write about?

WRITING YOUR OWN SPOKEN WORD POEM

TOPIC

Your Spoken Word poetry topic can be anything. Often, these poems are about a social or environmental issue or injustice. Injustice is a situation in which the rights of a person or a group of people are ignored, disrespected, or violated. 

• What are some examples of injustice that we can improve upon? These can include events from the past or present and/or can include examples you have experienced personally, heard about, read about, or saw in the news. (child labour, gender equality, historical racism)

• What are some issues in society? How can we address them to contribute to community? (Bullying, stereotyping, discrimination, homelessness, Internet safety) Brainstorm a list of issues in society that could be topics for spoken word poetry.

• Strong emotions can make strong spoken word poems. You can make a poem similar to the poem you read near the beginning of this lesson. 
  

• A recent or distant memory (or a set of memories all about the same theme).

Choosing something you're passionate about will help you translate your feelings into poetic language. You could think of a time someone made you angry, a current issue that upsets you or an emotional moment in your life, but performance poems don't have to be negative or weighty in tone. For example, you could also write about a sport or hobby you enjoy – using a key moment like scoring your first goal in soccer and the tension building up to that moment, or you could recall building your first fort while shaping memories, tying your shoe for the first time, or a special moment with your pet. Sometimes a small moment (in terms of time) can make a big poem.

THEME

What theme do your want your audience to think about? This is the purpose for your poem.

Open your Writer's Notebook, record your topic and theme, brainstorm ideas, and write, revise, and edit your own spoken word poem.