328: The Short Unit that Never Fails

The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast | ELA

On this week’s mini-episode, I want to tell you about a one week unit that has never failed to produce incredible results from my students. I’ve done it with 10th graders and 11th graders, honors students and their counterparts, American students and Bulgarian students speaking English as their second language. And I’ve loved it every. Single. Time.

Wow, it’s kind of fun setting up all this suspense, but as you know, Thursday episodes are quick, so we better hop to it. The one week unit I’ve loved every time is a poetry slam unit, and I think you should try it too. Let’s walk through the week.

On Monday I introduce the concept of slam. I explain the arbitrary judging, the standing up with your poem and your guts and your dream, and I explain that we’re having one on Friday. I share some of my favorite performance pieces to help kids start thinking through what performance poetry is, and I invite them to score the poems on a 1-10 as if we were having our own slam already. Hilarious disagreements ensue, and everyone quickly realizes that judging is incredibly subjective. As we get ready to prep for our slam on the next three days, I let kids sign up to be on committees that will take care of the Slam venue, the slam judging and P.R., and the slam program and emceeing.

On Tuesday, we roll into poetic devices and performance techniques, looking at, analyzing and scoring more performance poetry and beginning to workshop ideas for their own poems. We write “I am from” poems. We meet in committees. Everything seems incredibly important, because everyone knows they’ll be performing a poem in just three days.

On Wednesday, we watch more poems, write more poems, and meet in committees again. At this point, most kids are zeroing in on a poem to perform in the slam. I check in with the venue committee to make sure they are formally requesting use of whatever school space they want to use on Friday and that they get approval. I check in with the program committee to make sure they are getting everyone’s titles, figuring out a fair order, and prepping an emcee who will do the event justice. I check in with the judging committee to make sure they’ve reached out respectfully to possible guest judges in the community and that they are getting some acceptances.

On Thursday, everyone is writing madly and practicing intensely. They perform alone, perform for partners, ask me questions, and keep experimenting. We might watch a few more performances. We’ll definitely meet in committees again.

On Friday, everyone arrives ready (and very nervous) for what is always one of the best days of the year. The venue committee has the ambiance dialed in, usually with refreshments, fun lighting, and a surprising location. The emcee steps up to the plate and keeps everything going. The guest judges lend an air of professionalism, and make everything feel higher stakes. The poets tend to surprise themselves. I love it every time!

OK, that’s a wrap on today’s quick episode. I hope I’ve convinced you to try a poetry slam this year when you teach poetry. For me, it’s the mini-unit that never fails to engage kids around poetry in a way they didn’t expect.

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