Spoken Word poetry

[Justin]

Hi,

I am interested in doing a Spoken Word poetry activity similar to Brave New Voices.  This is where the students write poems and then perform
them.  They don't just stand and read.  I am looking for some strategies
on how to get students to write strong poems about deep topics and
really get them to share it with emotion.  Has anyone done any
activities/exercises like this?  My goal is to break the students from
their shell and really get them to feel their writing.

Thanks.

Justin

[Jean McGinnis]

My 8th grade students LOVE performing two-voice poems (inspired by Paul Fleischman's Joyful Noise) and sliding doors poems (from John O'Connor's Wordplaygrounds). The two-voice poems really take off when you can use some student-created poems as models. The topics in Fleischman's books are nature focused, where 8th graders prefer relationship focus for their two-voice poems (girl-boy, popular-nerd, tall-short...). Plus, they can write with a partner, which they love. The sliding doors are powerful "what-if" poems, and many kids this age are struggling with those issues of good and bad choices. Enjoy!