High school-unit-slam-poetry

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High School Unit
“This is My Voice”: Slam Poetry in the High School Classroom
a 4-week unit for an 11th/12th-grade Creative Writing classroom
by Jordan Kuszak, Katherine McKenzie, Cameron Mount, and Nate Polacek
B. Overview/Introduction
This unit is designed with the overall intention of introducing students to slam poetry
and providing them with the skills and preparation necessary to create and perform their own
slam. Slam poetry is a unique genre of creative writing with few constraints that dictate how it
should be done. Slam also provides an avenue through which self-expression can be given a
greater and farther reaching voice. It is this voice-enabling aspect of slam that inspired the title
for this unit: “This is my Voice.” Every person has a voice but far too often students stifle theirs
for the false security of conformity. The safety of blending in creates a silence that juxtaposes the
great many issues against which students should not only feel free to speak, but should also feel
the need to speak. Slam poetry provides such an opportunity for students to express their own
beliefs and convictions and the classroom setting allows it to be done in a safe and nurturing
environment. Every student has a voice and this unit is designed to help each student find his or
her own.
A unit on slam poetry must be taught with deliberation. It cannot be taught without
consideration of the sensitive nature and personal nuances inherent to slam poetry. Writing in
general is a personal act of sharing and slam increases this disclosure by expecting a level of
intimacy between a poet and his work. This perhaps is the greatest issue with teaching slam
poetry. A teacher of slam must encourage personal expression without forcing it, enable genuine
performance without demanding it, and provide a grade without stifling the creative nature of the
art. The assessment issue is a unique one to slam in the classroom setting. Slam poetry in the
public domain exists on the premise that assessment is counterintuitive to the art form.
Competitions preach maxims such as, “The point is not the points, the point is the poetry.”
However a unit is not complete without a rubric for formative or summative assessment and so
teaching slam is most problematic for this reason. Therefore it must be taught in a way that
acknowledges this issue in a sensitive and thoughtful way.
Keeping the intimacy of slam poetry in mind, this unit is designed with the assumption
that a safe and enabling community has already been firmly established. Without this
community, students cannot be expected to share openly and candidly in front of their peers.
High school is a volatile time for adolescents who are constantly reminded of their differences

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and peculiarities and are told that these distinctions are bad. In slam, they are being asked to not
only accept that which makes them unique, but to embrace it and share it with the class.
Therefore, the classroom must be a space that naturally breaks down these barrios and this can
only be accomplished through time spent together and teacher-driven exercises that promote
community. In order to allow for the necessary time to build this environment, this unit is an
ideal year-ending project. It will be a unit that exposes students to issues faced by their
classmates or problems that impact the entire world. It will also be an exciting and enjoyable
endeavor as substantial time will be spent viewing professional slam poetry and watching one
another perform their own individual or collaborative pieces. The unit will provide a natural
closure for the class as they are made more self-aware at a time when important life decisions
will certainly be looming.

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These life-altering choices will be evident as this unit is designed for more advanced students. The
lessons and content within the unit assume a level of maturity only possible in Junior or Senior
level students and the expectations have been raised only befitting that of students soon to be
graduating. This unit is also designed with the framework of a creative writing elective course.
The emphasis on composition and creativity necessitate that much time already has been spent on
the writing process in which students have been exposed to and scaffolded on the appropriate
strategies of revision and the etiquette of peer-workshopping. In order to effectively introduce and
prepare students to perform their own slams, the unit will encompass four weeks in which proper
modeling will insure that each student feels confident composing his or her own piece or a
collaborative piece. Because this unit is anticipated to fall at the end of the year, it is essential that
what comes before properly guides students in the process of writing poetry and public speaking.
Due to the nature of the course, it can be assumed that writing creatively is a common focus of
every unit and that sharing writing is encouraged and expected. Students should not be surprised
or overwhelmed by the guidelines put forth in this unit.
To the students:
Each of you has a voice, unique and unlike anyone else’s. You voice is often the truest
measure of who you are and what you believe in. However, voice can also be silenced and even
misleading, spreading like wildfire a you who is not you at all. As Dr. Seuss once wrote, “Today
you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You,” and beginning
today you are going to learn how your voice is the greatest instrument you have to show the
world who you are. As we’ve been discussing all year long, creative writing is a vehicle for self-
expression and slam poetry is an even greater avenue by which you can articulate that which you
feel most strongly about. Slam is a genre of poetry that is not restricted by form or conventions
and will allow you the freedom to better express the true you. In the end you will be given the
opportunity to perform, an imperative aspect of slam, your own piece and explore how your
voice can enhance your words. The community we have established together will be
strengthened as we discover what makes slam poetry a unique and powerful art form and how it
can be used as a call for social and personal justice.
C. Understandings/Big Ideas
• LA 12.2.2 Writing Genres: Students will write for a variety of purposes and audiences in
multiple genres.
• LA 12.3.1 Speaking Skills: Students will develop, apply, and refine speaking skills to
communicate key ideas in a variety of situations.
Through our unit, students will develop the poetry writing (LA 12.2.2) and
performance (12.3.1) skills relevant to expressing social change to an audience. The genre of
slam poetry is embedded in community, seen in its competitive, social nature and subject matter
which is often tightly linked with calls for change. Merging a social dynamic with the critical
thinking involved in wide-scale change turns the classroom into a “community of inquiry,”
which “emphasizes dialogue, deliberation, and the strengthening of judgement and community”
(Lipman 230). This setting allows students to see their own identities and beliefs as they exist in

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tandem with society as a whole. In authentic social dialogue such as this, “disequilibrium is
enforced in order to compel forward movement,” and the critical thinking skills developed are
viewed in genuinely dynamic terms applicable to real-world contexts (87). The “purposes”
expressed in our big ideas are authentic and personal, the “audiences” are a genuine community
of peers, and the “situations” are a powerful and engaging social setting. The slam poetry genre
thus provides a powerful foundation for fostering communicative language skills.
Generally speaking, these principles are rooted in Smagorinsky’s unit rationale of “civic
awareness” (Smagorinsky 143). Through our unit, students come to their writing as a social
force, using the lens of the poetry genre “to act responsibly for a more equitable, democratic, and
dynamic society,” and seeing the range of perspectives in the classroom (and in mentor texts) as
“driven by different social goals [and] different types of conscience” (143). Though our unit
capitalizes on other justifications as well (such as “psychology,” in the importance of identity to
high-schoolers, and “preparation for future needs” involving the tools of rhetoric), our group
chose to ground our unit in “civic awareness” as a way to clearly guide students from
consideration of the expressive individual self toward consideration of the self as an active
citizen. Here, we had Dewey in mind as well, viewing the role of education as “giving shape to
human powers and adapting them to social service” (Dewey 23).
Essential Questions
1. How does the performance of poetry affect, enhance, or alter meaning, as compared to the
effect of language conventions in written poetry?
2. How can Slam Poetry broaden the range of voices, styles, cultural traditions, and approaches
as compared to “normal poetry?”
3. How can poetry serve as a catalyst for social change? To what extent is Slam Poetry an
innately rebellious genre?
4. In what ways can Slam Poetry enable self-expression? How can it inform and express identity?
Each of our Essential Questions points toward and propels our two long-term goals. #1
(How does the performance of poetry affect, enhance, or alter meaning, as compared to the effect
of language conventions in written poetry?) addresses students’ recognition of how both
performance elements (gesture, tone, pausing, etc) and written elements (metaphor, repetition,
imagery, etc) are inextricably linked in constructing meaning. This speaks to the UbD facet of
understanding of interpretations, unpacking the “contextual and specific” meaning behind
distinct rhetorical choices in order to “[bring] any ‘text’ to life” (Wiggins 91, 90).
#2 (How can Slam Poetry broaden the range of voices, styles, cultural traditions, and
approaches as compared to “normal poetry?”) addresses students’ understanding of the scope of
Slam Poetry as a genre. This speaks to the UbD facet of understanding of explanation, by
ensuring that students are able to “note how it [i.e., slam poetry] operates or functions...to see it
in its relations to other things [i.e., “normal poetry]” (86).
#3 (How can poetry serve as a catalyst for social change? To what extent is Slam
Poetry an innately rebellious genre?) addresses the rhetorical power of Slam Poetry as students
embed their own poems in dynamic, social, culturally-aware purposes, and transfer it into
practical contexts. This addresses the UbD facets of understanding of perspective and
application. It provides perspective by demonstrating the “big picture” of poetry as a legitimate
catalyst for change (84). This essential question also poses the principles of slam poetry as tools
for change, letting students ‘synthesize’ and ‘reinvent’ their knowledge beyond the classroom

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(93, 94).
Like #3, #4 (In what ways can Slam Poetry enable self-expression? How can it inform
and express identity?) deals with students’ purposes as writers and performers. Since Slam
Poetry is a deeply personal genre, it is necessary to explicitly consider the social change aspects
from the vantage point of self-expression and identity. This speaks to the UbD facets of
understanding of self-knowledge and empathy. The former is addressed in students thinking
critically about their identities as they examine “unexamined models, theories, analogies, and
viewpoints” surrounding concepts that define them (101). Empathy comes into play in the
consideration of self-expression on the social scale of a slam performance, where performers
open themselves up in order for audience members to “get inside another person’s feelings and
worldview” (98).
Through engaging with this unit, we want students to hone rhetorical (using critical
thinking, especially) and expressive (using creative thinking, especially) skills toward the
practical purpose of enacting change. Through this purpose, we hope to move students toward a
greater appreciation of themselves as social citizenry, echoing Dewey’s belief that “all education
proceeds by the participation of the individual in the social consciousness of the race” (Dewey
17).
D. Enabling Knowledge & Skills (Short Term Goals)
In planning our Slam Poetry Unit, we have recognized the importance that reading,
writing, presentation, and audience each play in the genre of slam poetry as a whole. In
watching slam, each of these areas build off each other in order to create an entity that is greater
than its individual parts. First, slam poetry is expertly written and has its own structure hinging
on elements of tone, voice, symbolism, metaphor while at the same time giving the poet ample
room for his or her interpretation. The ability to read slam poetry is also necessary—in reading,
students can spend more time analyzing the intricacies of the pieces by looking at the strategic
elements that have been put in place. However, the real appeal of slam poetry is the
presentational aspect. Hundreds of slam poetry events take place every year and thousands of
slam clips can be found with a quick youtube search. The presentation brings an entire new
element to slam poetry with how the poets are able to elicit emotion and passion from themselves
to the audience. Based on these layers, we have put together the following short-term goals from
the Nebraska Language Arts Standards in order to adequately focus and assess student’s
immediate and short-term growth.
Speaking and Listening
LA 12.3.1.b Demonstrate and adjust speaking techniques for a variety of purposes and situations.
One of our essential questions is “How does slam poetry change when performed?
How does performance add or take away?” With this in mind, one of our short term goals is to
have students focus on how to present their individually written slam poem. When looking at
slam poetry, poets typically bring multiple speaking techniques into the same poem to emphasize
different aspects. For example, when poets want their audience to think seriously, their voices
slow down and their tone gets deeper. When slam poets want their audience to feel especially
emotionally charged, they normally speak faster and increase the volume of their voices.
Therefore, the ability to demonstrate and adjust different speaking techniques is paramount for

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communicating and presenting slam poetry. By the end of the unit, students will be able to
demonstrate these speaking techniques in their presentation of their slam poem. One particular
activity we use to show the importance of speaking techniques starts with students reading the
transcript of a slam poem. The students then use their individual speaking techniques to
anticipate speaking strategies the poet would use to elicit a response from the audience. After
the students have their own theories on speaking techniques, the class will listen to the poet
performing the piece in order to see differences in strategy. From this activity, students will not
only hear differences but will put those ideas to practice in the presentation of their own slam
poem therefore giving students the short-term skills to not only write, read, and interpret, but to
present and speak.
LA 12.3.2.c Listen to and evaluate the clarity, quality and effectiveness of important points,
arguments, and evidence being communicated
This objective focuses on the short-term goal of critical evaluation. Instead of observing
slam, this objective calls for students to critique and analyze the effectiveness of poems,
presentations and their own work. Is the work clear? Does it have a clear message? Is this a
good or a bad thing? Through this objective, students will use critical thinking skills to look at
slam poetry in order to decide which pieces of the poem are effective and which elements could
use revision.
Reading
LA 12.1.4.c Recognize and represent writer’s tone and style while reading individually or in
groups (e.g., change genre of text to perform orally)
Through the slam poetry unit, we find it necessary to focus on tone and style while reading.
Poetry, especially slam poetry, is a medium of self-expression. Each slam poet brings his or her
individual tone and style to their piece. Focusing on tone and style as a short-term goal allows
the student to interpret how writer’s voice influences the piece of writing. Tone is essential
when studying a genre such as slam poetry. In presentation, the listener can understand tone
through the vehicle of the poet’s voice. In reading, students must be able to recognize a poet’s
tone through their writing.
Recognizing a poet’s tone gives the student the tools to better understand the poet’s goals and
motives for writing. Recognizing the poet’s style is also an essential short-term goal. A slam
poet’s goal is to illicit an emotional response from the audience—in competition, this is how
poets are scored. Besides their tone, their style of representing their poem is key in which
elements of the poem are emphasized. As the unit moves into writing, students will need these
reading skills in order to recognize and represent elements of other poet’s writing in order to
analyze and emulate which pieces of the slam poem the students want to incorporate into their
own writing.
Writing
LA 12.2.2.d Analyze models and examples (own and others’) of various genres in order to create
a similar piece

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LA 12.2.2.b Write considering typical characteristics of the selected genre (e.g., resume,
brochure, web page/blog, news article, job application and accompanying cover letter, senior
project, college application essay)
In scaffolding our final presentation for our unit, we have the short-term goal that
students will be able to analyze works that they have read, interpret stylistic, thematic, or
formatic elements that they enjoy and then write their own original piece based on a model that
they have chosen. This accomplished two short-term objectives. First, students will be able to
successfully analyze a piece of writing for its own individual parts. Students will be able to
distinguish different elements of a poem that are particularly creative and unique. Second,
students will fulfill the writing requirement listed above. The creation of a similar piece of
writing gives students the initial opportunity to write their own slam poem while having an idea
of where they are going. This also ties into our essential question, “How can Slam Poetry
broaden the range of voices, styles, cultural traditions, and approaches as compared to “normal
poetry?” Through this objective, students will be able to define slam poetry and be able to
illustrate elements of the genre in their own writing.
E. Assessments, collected evidence, and criteria:
In assessing our students’ understanding of slam poetry as a vehicle for social change,
we will have them work very closely with the form in one of three capacities. At the unit’s end
they will have the opportunity to either: individually create and perform an original slam poem,
collaboratively create and perform an original slam poem, or write an analysis of a favorite slam
poem and its themes in relation to their own lives. All three of these potential final products will
facilitate our students’ understanding of the big ideas around which our unit is structured:
• LA 12.2.2 Writing Genres: Students will write for a variety of purposes and audiences
in multiple genres.
• LA 12.3.1 Speaking Skills: Students will develop, apply, and refine speaking skills to
communicate key ideas in a variety of situations.
I. Major Products:
1. Final assessment:
A) Individual Performance Piece for unit’s end: Students will have the option of
concluding our study of slam poetry and its utility as a petition for social change by
individually creating and performing an original slam poem. Their understanding of
the typical written and presentational characteristics of slam poetry will be assessed
according to the attached rubric assessing students’ understanding of these
characteristics (Written component: use of elements of poetry and literary devices,
clear subject and theme, “correct” mechanics and usage, interaction of presentational
and written components, overall impact; Presentation component: body language—eye
contact, gestures, facial expressions—verbal cues—pauses, control of pace, volume,
and tone—practice—has practiced with a classmate as well as the teacher for
feedback—overall impact)

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B) Collaborative Piece: Slam poetry is intensely democratic in a way that few—if
any—other forms of poetry can attest to. This is because of the integral component that
not only the poet’s interaction with the audience plays in slam poetry, but also the
possibility for the interaction of multiple poets in the presentation of the same piece.
After studying slam poetry in its collaborative capacity, students will have the option
of collaboratively creating and performing an original poem following a rubric very
similar to that of the individual piece with the addition of criteria assessing
collaborative input in the writing and presentation of the poem.
C) Slam poetry analysis: While it is our goal to get our students to understand the
power of slam poetry as a vehicle for social change by experiencing the writing and
performing of a slam poetry piece first hand, we understand that our students may be
able to express their understanding in different ways. Additionally, while we will do all
that we can to create a classroom environment in which our students will feel
comfortable presenting and responding to poetry, some students still may be
uncomfortable performing for the teacher or their peers. One such alternative may be
for students to choose a favorite slam poetry performance piece and conduct research
into the author and other contextual factors (location, time period, and other factors
that influenced the theme) that the author brought to the writing of the poem. After
analyzing the poem in this way in an essay format, students would then write about
what they bring to the poem in terms of connective experiences, performative
modifications, and understanding of the poet’s intended goal and success in achieving
said goal. This option will not be explicitly stated as an alternative to the performance.
Rather, if a student or parent expresses concern to us personally about his/her comfort
level with the performance assignment, we will have this project in our back pocket to
avoid the possibility of making what may be the student’s first slam poetry experience
a negative one.
2. Assessment of participation in peer/facilitator feedback: The genre of slam poetry is bound to
be an unknown quantity for many students going in--in terms of not only the written, but also the
performance component. As such, students will be participating in regular small and large group
peer feedback circles to perform for and respond to the written and performative aspects of their
peers’ pieces. Additionally, students will be required to practice their piece for the teacher(s) to
ensure they are adequately grasping the performance quotient of slam poetry. In this way,
students will be meeting our short term goal of demonstrating and adjusting speaking techniques
for a variety of purposes and situations (LA 12.3.1.b).
3. Assessment of daily writing: The inspiration for an impactful slam poem cannot be expected
to come from out of the blue. Students will respond to semi-daily writing prompts on a number
of topics in writing journals to build a body of work from which to draw a functional slam poem.
This way, students will have a considerable amount of time to get a feel for the genre as they
write and respond to prompts, emulating the style of slam poetry, before they are expected to
produce a polished performance piece. This regular exercise will aid our students in achieving
our short term goal of writing while considering typical characteristics of a selected genre (LA
12.2.2.b).

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II. Potential products:
1. Companion poems: To scaffold students into an understanding of how to write slam poetry,
we may have them write slam poems imitating the stylistic or thematic qualities of a slam poem
of their choice. This exercise will help our students develop an understanding of how to analyze
models and examples of various genres in order to create a similar piece (short term goal LA
12.2.2.d).
2. Analysis and annotation of slam poems for written and spoken characteristics: Before students
can create their own slam poems, it will be hugely beneficial for them to spend some time
analyzing the written and spoken characteristics of select poems that display an abundance of
tonal and stylistic cues typical of high-caliber slam poetry. Students will complete their analyses
in a variety of capacities, be it individually, or in small and large groups. This analysis will be
key in helping our students achieve the short term learning goal of coming to recognize and
represent writer’s tone and style while reading individually or in groups (LA 12.1.4.c).
III. Final Assessment Rationale:
What better way for our students to reach an understanding of slam poetry’s unique
ability to incite the type of emotional response conducive to change on a social as well as an
individual level than by having them experience the writing, performing, and receiving of slam
poetry first hand? They will come to understand the techniques slam poets use to write and
perform emotionally evocative pieces by going through the writing and staging processes
involved with creating a performance level slam poem. By serving as fully receptive audience
members for the performances of their peers and experienced slam poets, they will also come to
understand how to appeal to an audience through their experiences as members of an audience
responsible for closely watching and listening to a performance in order to offer constructive
peer feedback.
If we take an understanding to be defined as “an inference drawn from facts,” we need
to consider what kinds of inferences we want our students to draw from their experiences with
the content of our unit (McTigue, Wiggins 132). We are placing a heavy emphasis on the written
aspect of slam poetry—as in, what devices, language, and structural choices do slam poets make
in order to communicate meaning to their intended audience? However, while we want our
students to understand how slam poets use language effectively to communicate meaning to a
specific audience, we are primarily concerned with impressing upon our students the knowledge
of why slam poets make the design decisions they do. In this instance, we want our students to
understand the utility of the typical language, devices, and structural choices of slam poets
towards inciting an emotional response in an audience. Once our students understand how these
written characteristics help slam poets achieve their intended goal, however, we want them to
understand how writers use these and other characteristics of writing to achieve their mutually
situationally dependent goals. Key in this understanding is an understanding of audience, and by
asking our students to write and perform for an audience, we believe we are effectively
facilitating an understanding of how writers can use the traits we are covering to affect meaning
in any situation—be it a poetry slam or an analytic essay.
For the written portion of the assessment, we will be focusing on students’ ability to
effectively use literary techniques in varying capacities. Students are required to include one

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instance of metaphor, vivid imagery, and repetition in their poem. Also, students are required to
include one instance of two of the following literary techniques: alliteration, rhythm,
onomatopoeia, irony, juxtaposition, or parallelism. These techniques are all used commonly in
poetry to evoke an emotional response from readers and will suit our poetry slam well because of
slam poetry’s inherent focus on evoking an emotional response from the audience. Our goal is to
get our students to understand the reason for our choosing these techniques is related to the
context for which they are writing—that is, they are writing to appeal emotionally to an audience
and these techniques will allow them to do that especially well. It is our hope that when our
students need to appeal to an audience’s emotions in a different context in the future, they will
recall the literary techniques that are best suited to that purpose, as per the concept of
transferability, with which we can “transfer what we have learned to new and sometimes
confusing settings” (McTigue, Wiggins 40).
A hands-on performance of slam is useful not only in leading students to an
understanding of the verbal techniques slam poets use to reach their audiences, but also an
understanding of how individuals speaking in any public capacity might affect the performance
of their presentation to effectively reach their audience. Our students will come to understand the
utility of the types of verbal cues typically put to use by slam poets in a variety of scenarios. The
reasoning behind this is that slam poets must be aware of their audience in a way that few other
types of public speakers are required to be, as slam “sets itself apart by displaying a keen
awareness of its presentation in front of an audience and its public judgment by that audience”
(Somers-Willett 52). The features of our assessments and deep involvement with slam poetry and
the slam poetry community will leave our students with an understanding that the verbal cues
and body language of slam poetry performance can be used in a variety of public speaking
scenarios with the appropriate variation of the extent and intent to which the cues and language
are put.
Similar to the written portion of the rubric, the performance portion will focus on
assessing students’ ability to appeal to their audience, but with body language and verbal cues,
rather than the written language of their pieces. As far as verbal cues go, we will focus on
students’ ability to pause for effect and exercise control over the tone, volume, and rate at which
they speak. For critiquing effective body language use, we will focus on students’ ability to use
gestures, eye contact, and facial expressions to communicate they meaning of their poem beyond
the words written on the page. We believe these examples of verbal cues and body language are
the most commonly used performance techniques in slam poetry, and it makes sense to assess
our students by their ability to use them. Once again, however, we will be looking to emphasize
the transferable potential of the skilled use of body language and verbal cues. It is more than
likely that our students are going to have to speak publicly in some capacity beyond our
classroom or the slam poetry stage. These performance techniques are useful for any public
speaking situation as long as you know why you are using them. Because of the focus on
emotional appeals, slam poetry relies a great deal on modulating the volume and rate of speech
to extremes to convey the extent to which the speaker is emphasizing a certain emotion. It is our
hope, however, that our students will develop the understanding that the extent to which you
modulate the volume, rate, tone, etc. of your speech depends highly on the context in which you
are speaking. If you are delivering a persuasive speech, for example, you may still speak
noticeably slower to make sure a point is understood. In this way, we are truly hitting on the
“variety of situations” component of LA 12.3.1.

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F. Planning For Learning
Overview/Rationale For Unit Organization
As you will see below, this unit is sequenced from a consideration of personal expression
toward expression of social identity, culminating in an active slam poetry presentation. Week 1
lays the foundation by expanding the notion of “poetry,” building off of students’ existing
schemas through exercises in contrast. Smagorinsky speaks to this strategy when he says that
“[w]e can really understand only those things that are familiar to us or similar to things we
already understand, so comparing and contrasting the unfamiliar with the familiar is one of the
most important techniques for writing” and that “[i]nsights into any given work are partly the
results of experience in reading others because concepts grow by comparison and contrast” (25,
118).
The use of “Louder Than a Bomb” as a focus in Week 1 speaks to our desire to build
students’ confidence in their writing and performing identities. The film portrays teens as poets
and asserts the idea of slam poetry as a common language, invoking Peter Johnston’s assertion
that “[t]his kind of conversation requires developing an understanding of what poets...do, and the
students construct these understandings and ways of talking and acting in the classroom”
(Johnston 23). In other words, this portrayal invites students to confidently try on a poet identity,
a necessary step if students are to engage their whole self with the writing process.
After Week 1 establishes a writing identity, Week 2 seeks primarily to give that
identity a voice, moving from consideration of tone and voice into issues of personal and social
importance. This is where momentum is created, by prizing fluent expression and investment
before moving into more focused study. In a way, this hearkens to Lipman’s note that “in
contrasting conversation and dialogue we cannot help seeing in conversation a process in which
the personal note is strong but the logical thread is weak, whereas in dialogue just the reverse in
the case” (Lipman 87). Week 2 thus enables open “conversation” in the classroom, working on a
thematic and expressive level, before honing that expression with rhetoric, logic, and deliberate
skill.
Week 3 builds from this energy with a focus on the skills and conventions that go into
writing. Stressed often is the fact that these skills are tools to enable and bolster expression, not
concepts devoid from it, upholding the “fluency” of the previous week. The principle guiding
this week is UbD’s reminder that “[s]kills are means, not ends; the aim is fluent, flexible, and
effective performance” (Wiggings 113). Giving this idea momentum and incentive is a Friday
visit to UNL, where students’ will see these skills embodied in a college classroom.
Now armed with identity, voice, and skill, Week 4 shifts students into the role of
performers in a social setting. The week capitalizes on the college visit’s modelling of confident
speaking, and prepares students to use active voice, captivating language, and expressive cues to
persuade and engage in a slam poetry community. This week draws on Smagorinsky’s belief that
“a conceptual unit should provide opportunities for students to read and think about what their
classmates have produced in relation to the unit concepts,” letting students see their learning not
in isolation, but in a supportive social matrix (118).
Thus, the unit is sequenced in a deliberate manner, establishing students’ identities as
writers, fostering their voices, honing their skills, and finally presenting the result of that growth
in a social setting representative of the “social change” theme slam poetry stands for.

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Slam Poetry Unit Calendar
Day 1:
Introduction to
Slam Poetry:
How is slam
poetry different
from and similar
to conventional
poetry?
Day 2:
Introduction to
Slam Poetry:
View Louder
than a Bomb
Day 3: View
second half of
Louder than a
Bomb: What
topics do slam
poets typically
write about?
What range of
emotions can
slam be used to
convey?
Day 4: Elements
of a strong
performance
Day 5: Breaking
down a slam
poem—elements
and in-context
grammar
Day 6: Tone and
voice in slam
poetry
Day 7:
“Rebellion” in
from—elements
of form in slam
poetry
Day 8: The
theme of
rebellion in
slam poetry
Day 9: Self-
expression in
rebellion: a call
for change
Day 10: Guest
speaker: slam
poet
Day 11: Begin
writing slam
poem as a group
Day 12: Finish
group poem
Day 13:
Workshop day:
group
discussion and
feedback
Day 14: Continue
to workshop
poems
Day 15: Field
trip: observe a
college class:
compare and
contrast slam
poetry
Day 16: Active
voice
Day 17: Avoiding
clichés and
juxtaposition
Day 18: Model
effective verbal
cues:
Day 19:
Presentation day
Day 20:
Presentation day

13
Daily Plans
Week 1
Day 1 (Monday): This is My Voice
Although by this point we can expect our students to have been exposed to a variety of
poetry, they may not have had a lot of exposure to slam poetry. Today will be spent orienting
students to the nature of slam poetry by first having them write about and discuss what they
already think they know about poetry. Then, we will observe and discuss “This is my voice” to
give students an introduction to what slam poetry can look, sound, and feel like. Today we will
lay the groundwork of getting our students to understand that while slam poetry is poetry in the
same way that traditional poetry is poetry, it is a unique form and its nuances must be respected.
To this end, students will be working towards answering the following essential questions and
completing the following objectives:
Essential Questions:
1. What can (and can’t) be considered “poetry?”
2. How is slam poetry different from and similar to conventional poetry?
Objectives:
1. Students will identify characteristics of conventional poetry.
2. Students will demonstrate a surface level understanding of the differences that exist
between slam poetry and conventional poetry.
Procedures:
[5 minutes] Semi-daily writing prompt—What is poetry? What are some characteristics that
poetry must have for it to be considered poetic?
[10 minutes] Share results of writing with the group and have the class produce a volunteer(s) to
record the characteristics on the board. Which are most universal or important? Review terms if
necessary.
[3 minutes] Hand out lyrics and show video—“This is my Voice,” by Shane Koyczan
[5 minutes] Discuss—Is what we just saw poetry? Why or why not? Refer to student-generated
list of poetic characteristics.
[10 minutes] In pairs, consider those characteristics deemed most universal or important.
Examine the lyrics of “This is my voice” and identify literary characteristics (metaphor, vivid
imagery, repetition, alliteration, parallelism, irony, juxtaposition, etc) as they crop up.
[3 minutes] Show video once more.
[14 minutes] Each pair will bring their observations to a large group discussion addressing how
the written poetic characteristics students identified interact with the performance of the poem.

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Day 2 (Tuesday): Louder Than a Bomb
In the same way that our slam poetry unit requires a near complete reconsideration of
what is or is not poetry, our students are also going to need to reconsider what it means to be a
poet. A poet does not require a book deal, mastery of every form of poetry, and a dusty copy of
Shakespeare’s collected works sitting on his/her bookshelf to be a poet. To be considered a poet
simply requires that one is a creator of poetry. By the unit’s end, we want our students to
acknowledge their potential as creators of poetry capable of producing work that can affect the
landscape of their social spheres. We will lay the groundwork for this understanding early on by
watching the documentary, Louder than a Bomb, which follows students from four Chicago high
schools as they work towards competing in the annual “Louder than a Bomb” high school poetry
festival in Chicago. It is our hope that by seeing students like themselves in the roles of
legitimate creators and performers of slam poetry, our own students will become aware of their
own potential as creators and performers of slam poetry—which is absolutely necessary for our
final class-wide poetry slam competition to be a success.
1. What does it mean to be a poet? Do poets have inherent characteristics?
2. Why write? To what ends do poets--specifically slam poets--write towards?
Objectives:
1. Students will be able to describe the anatomy of a poetry slam.
2. Students will be able to identify the primary characters and their motivations, as
witnessed in Louder than a Bomb.
3. Students will begin compiling a list of purposes for which slam poets write to
serve them in their writing in the weeks to come.
Procedures:
[5 minutes] Introduce Louder than a Bomb documentary and “Louder than a Bomb” youth
poetry festival in Chicago, as well as comprehension and response questions.
[45 minutes] Show first half hour (approx. 36 minutes) of Louder than a Bomb documentary,
pausing intermittently to give rise to discussion and check for student comprehension of
documentary. While watching the video, students will be recording responses to the following
questions, among others as they arise, in their writing journals: What strikes you about the
documentary? About the kids, their environments/situations, and their poetry? Comprehension-
wise, who are the main characters? Based on your current knowledge of slam poetry, what is a
poetry slam? More importantly, what does slam poetry represent for these kids--for what
purposes do they write?
Homework: For the discussion at the beginning of the next class, students will bring their
answers to the final question pertaining to the reasons for which slam poets write.
Day 3 (Wednesday): Inspiration

15
We’ve established that the most important component to being a poet is that you must
write. However, it can be a struggle to find the motivation or inspiration to write. Where the first
half-hour of the documentary reveals a lot about the nature of the poets in the documentary, the
second half-hour of Louder than a Bomb focuses on the sources from which the poets draw their
ideas, the motivations that drive them to write, and how these both help the poets develop their
authorial voices. One of the biggest hurdles between students and slam poetry may be their
reluctance to see themselves as poets. The more they write, the easier it will be for them to see
themselves as poets, and the greater their awareness of what forces inspire and motivate poets,
the more motivated and inspired to write they will be. The focus of the viewing today will be to
get students thinking about these vital aspects of writing, namely: Where do poets get their ideas
and how are they motivated to pursue them?
1. From where do poets draw inspiration? What topics and emotions are especially
inspiring?
2. What motivational forces exist that spur poets to write?
Objectives:
1. Students will come to an understanding of the various topics and emotions
available to slam poets that serve as motivational and inspirational forces.
2. Students will demonstrate the above understanding by beginning to build a list of
possible topics to write slam poems about, as well as possible emotions they would want
to draw from in their writing.
Procedures:
[10 minutes] Large class discussion of the last question from the previous class: for what
purposes do slam poets write? Students recorded examples in their writing journals during the
previous class and we will spend a short amount of time before continuing the video compiling a
class list of reasons for which slam poets write.
[40 minutes] Show second half hour (Approx. 33 minutes) of Louder than a Bomb documentary,
following a procedure similar to the previous day in which students must answer questions about
and respond to the documentary with intermittent pauses to foster brief large class discussion.
The questions students will be considering today are as follows: Where do poets get ideas
(activities, family life, personal life frustrations, etc.)? How do poets get motivated to write?
What do you use as motivation? Does slam poetry have to be angry? What range of emotions can
slam poetry be used to convey? What range of topics are you seeing so far and what might you
add to that list of typical slam poetry topics?
Homework: For the discussion at the beginning of the next class, think of the answers you
recorded to the questions: Where do poets get ideas? What topics do slam poets typically write
about? What range of emotions can slam poetry be used to convey?
Day 4 (Thursday): Beyond the Stage
While one of the primary hurdles standing in between our students and the slam poetry

16
stage may be their reluctance to see themselves as writers and poets, a similarly daunting hurdle
is likely related to the stage itself, in that our students may be reluctant to view themselves as
performers of slam poetry. The final 30 minutes of the Louder than a Bomb documentary is flush
with impactful slam poetry performances by the young people that have served as the main
characters of the documentary thus far. Owing to the emotional connections that our students
will have made with these teens by this point, this segment is easily the most emotionally
evocative and will serve as an inspirational linchpin for our students to come to an understanding
of why the performance aspect of slam poetry is so important. While the focus of today’s
viewing will be on the performance of slam poetry, today will also give us an opportunity to
come to a global understanding of what slam poetry and the Louder than a Bomb documentary.
In thinking about the importance of the performances that take place on the stage, students will
be better prepared to think about how slam poetry is bigger than what happens on the stage,
especially in terms of the poetry itself and the sense of community that comes from an event in
which people from an incredibly diverse array of backgrounds bring their perspectives to their
poetry and performances.
1. How do vocal and physical cues affect performances of slam poetry?
2. How is the impact of slam poetry felt beyond the confines the stage?
Objectives:
1. Students will begin to develop an understanding of what physical and vocal
characteristics make for a powerful performance.
2. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the value of the documentary by
recording and sharing their responses to it, as per the comprehension and discussion
questions they will consider during the viewing.
Procedures:
[10 minutes] Large class discussion of the questions assigned for homework. Similar to the first
10 minutes of the previous class, student examples will be compiled into a class list to serve as
inspirational material from which students may get ideas for their writing in the coming weeks.
[35 minutes] Show the final segment (Approx. 30 minutes) of the Louder than a Bomb
documentary, following a procedure similar to the previous two days in which students must
answer questions about and respond to the documentary with intermittent pauses to foster brief
large class discussion. The questions students will be considering today are as follows: How do
people judge poetry--and art in general? Are the criteria used by poetry slam judges sufficient? If
not, how should poetry slams be judged? What about a performance makes it powerful (body
language, control of volume, tone, and rate of voice, etc.)? How is slam poetry bigger than what
takes place on the stage? In other words, the Louder than a bomb motto is “The point is the
poetry, not the points,” so from their point of view, it’s all about the poetry students bring to the
festival. Tell me what you think it’s all about (the poetry, bringing people together, winning,
finding yourself, speaking out, etc.).
[5 minutes] Hand out summative assignment handout, “This is my Voice,” inform students what
the final assessment will consist of, and hand out field trip permission forms, informing them

17
that the forms must be turned in before they can go.
Homework: Consider the performances you witnessed today and bring a short list of
characteristics for what you think made the performances especially impactful. Be thinking
especially of the physical actions and vocal traits of the performances.
Day 5: Friday (In-context grammar lesson: Punctuating Poetry)
Now that students have been inundated with the viewing and hearing of slam
poetry, it is time to dig into the anatomy of an actual slam poem and poetry performance. Today
we will be discussing the characteristics of the language, vocal cues, and body language that
make a slam poetry piece successful in performance by using Taylor Mali’s “Totally, like
whatever, you know?” as a model. We want our students to begin to see how the language, vocal
cues, and body language used by slam poets all work together to create a powerful slam poem.
Specifically, we’ll be looking at how punctuation can be used to tie all three components
together. To create an effective slam poem the language, vocal cues, and body language all have
to be given equal consideration and a close analysis of Mali’s poem will give students a good
look at how experienced slam poets go about crafting the written and performance aspects to
create a well-rounded slam poem. Splitting students into groups to focus on these different
aspects will allow us to most effectively manage the time spent analyzing Mali’s poem while
putting students in the driver’s seat of the discussion so that each group can share their unique
insights with the class at large.
1. How does the written language of a poem affect the vocal cues and body language of a
slam performance, and vice versa?
2. How do poets use—or neglect—punctuation to communicate meaning?
Objectives:
1. Students will demonstrate an understanding of how to identify specific vocal and physical
traits of slam poetry performances by watching, listening to, and reading a slam piece.
2. Students will come to an understanding of how the written language, vocal modalities,
and body language of a slam poetry performance all work together to make a complete,
impactful performance.
3. Students will develop an understanding of how punctuation plays into both the writing
and reading of poetry.
4. Students will begin brainstorming ideas for their final slam piece.
Procedures:
[5 minutes] Return of the semi-daily journal entry. Students will use this free write as an
opportunity to brainstorm about topics, ideas, and reasons for which they could see themselves
writing a slam poem. If they need inspiration or motivation, they can refer to the class lists
compiled during the previous classes.
[8 minutes] Students will break into four small groups and will be handed unpunctuated copies
of Taylor Mali’s “Totally, like whatever, you know?” A student volunteer will attempt to read

18
the unpunctuated copy and a brief discussion of the difficulties he/she may have experienced will
follow.
[10 minutes] Watch Taylor Mali’s performance of “Totally, like whatever, you know?” In each
of the four groups, each student will watch the performance for a different performance
characteristic and mark each of its occurrences on their unpunctuated lyric sheet. Students
watching for an interrogative tone will appropriately mark their sheets question marks. Students
watching for pauses will appropriately mark their sheets with either periods or commas,
depending on their assignment. Students watching for increases in volume will appropriately
mark their sheets with exclamation points. These are not the only punctuation marks we’ll be
looking at, but because they are the most common and understandable, they will be what the
students will primarily be looking for. If there are more students than there are available
punctuation marks students will be instructed to mark notable body language as it occurs.
[15 minutes] Small groups share what they noticed as far as the interplay of the language of the
poem with the vocal modalities of the speaker and—technology permitting—student volunteers
will mark their observations from their lyrics sheet on a master copy via an Elmo or projector. As
a large group, we will center discussion on the master copy and reconcile the observed
punctuation with the actual punctuation of the poem, noting similarities and differences (not
every pause requires a comma, period, etc; some commas and periods are run over, etc.) and
consider how additional punctuation marks (dashes, hyphens, quotation marks, ellipses) at use in
the poem affect the reading.
[10 minutes] If there were a sufficient number of students to have watched and marked the
performance for body language, they will contribute their observations to the master copy. We
will then watch the performance once again as a large group and every student will watch for and
mark body language as it appears to confirm or add to their peers’ observations. A discussion on
the coincidence of punctuation and body language/vocal cues will ensue (How does punctuation
direct the performance of the piece? Does it at all? Why does Mali move or speak a certain way
at different points? Are his decisions to move and speak the way he does effective?).
[2 minutes] Assign homework for the weekend, instructing students to take note of one of the
items from their free write at the beginning of class, one from the class list of topics/idea, or
something different of their own design, as per the homework instructions.
Homework: Consider the free write you completed during the first few minutes of class. At some
point during the weekend, pick one of the things you wrote about, one of the ideas/topics from
the class list, or something completely different and write about it to begin planning what you
might write a slam poem about and how you might go about writing it.
Week 2
Day 1 (Monday): Tone/Voice:
Day 5 of week 1 is an important scaffolding day--this is the students’ first sustained

19
looked at slam poetry and what specific elements the poet uses both in the writing and
presentation of the piece, two major areas that affect slam poetry but also in the students’ final
presentation. With the importance of these ideas, we wanted to make sure we took an extra day
to continue to scaffold from Friday. We continue to delve into tone and voice. Poetry is an
expressive form of literature and voice is key in an author’s presence in the piece. As we move
students into a position where they will be writing their own pieces, we wanted to provide
another activity to clarify the importance and influence of voice. In this activity, they will see
the transcript of a poem and will fill in how they think the voice will sound. This will require
them to look at the entirety of the slam poem in order to decide what it worth emphasizing and
then how to properly emphasize it. As this will be a major stepping stone in looking at slam
poetry, the students will work in groups. After the completion of the activity, we will come
together as a class to clarify different elements of voice. One purpose of this is to make sure that
students understand how authors use voice in their writing. The second is to allow students to
begin thinking about how they can implement their own voice in their writing later on.
1. How does tone/voice affect poetry?
2. How can readers “hear” voice in written work?
Objectives:
1. Students will understand how voice can influence poetry.
2. Students will be able to identify voice in reading.
3. Students will see how a change in voice can drastically affect the meaning of a poem.
Procedure:
[30 minutes] Activity: Friday, we looked at Taylor Mali’s “Totally, Like, Whatever” and
analyzed elements of voice and tone through the video and recorded different elements that Mali
used to emphasize different parts of his poem. This activity will ask the opposite--students split
into groups and be given the transcription of Katie Makkai’s “Pretty.” Students will then insert
elements of voice they feel that Makkai would use in her presentation of the poem. Students will
put voice to the words. After the students have broken down the sections of the poem (4
sections, 4 groups) the students will present their section of the poem. Once students have
presented their section, we will watch Makkai’s youtube video of “Pretty” and compare and
contrast how she presented to the students’ interpretation. (discussion will carry into next
section).
[15-20 minutes] Group Discussion on the Board: Referring back to Friday, what elements did we
emphasize in Mali’s poem? (volume, speed, tone, staccato, overall voice) How did we see these
elements incorporated in “Pretty?”
Day 2 (Tuesday): Rebellion and Form
We spent the first week introducing slam poetry by comparing it to our conventional
beliefs and understandings about what “poetry” is. After providing a brief introduction, we

20
moved into Louder than a Bomb and the idea of “unconventional conventions.” Slam poetry,
then, can be be identified by its sense of rebellion to conventional poetry. Calling it “slam”
confirms this. Whereas the first week looked at slam poetry as a whole, in the second week we
break down different elements of slam poetry and what makes it “rebellious.” For the first day,
we are looking specifically at form. Form is essential in poetry as it is a major area that differs
from that of prose. How poetry is structured is one of the primary foundations that makes poetry
a unique form of literature. We rationalize starting week 2 on the basis that talking about form
and structure will give students the focus of looking at what a poem looks like and which
formatic elements were chosen to produce meaning. We chose this before theme and content as
form lays the groundwork for how the poem is organized and therefore the content. As indicated
through Louder than a Bomb, another essential element of slam poetry is that of rebellion. This
is applicable to form as well and the use of a rebellious form scaffolds the idea of slam poetry as
an entity.
1. How is slam poetry an innately rebellious form of literature?
2. What does it mean to be rebellious?
3. In what ways can form be rebellious?
Objectives:
1. Students will be able to define and recognize what it means to be rebellious
2. Students will be able to differentiate formatic elements of slam poetry from more
traditional poetry.
Procedures:
[25 minutes] Compare “Pretty” with “The Road Less Traveled”
As a class, make make a list of formatic elements that differ--especially those of rhyme
scheme, meter (refer back to the activity from Friday on establishing conversation for different
elements, but focus on what elements are different and why a poet seeking expression would
want to make those changes)
[5 minutes] (writing extended into homework) Which style do you prefer and why? Do you like
the sense of structure or the freedom of free verse?
[20 minutes] In context grammar lesson: Complex Sentences Handout
compound sentences
independent and dependent clauses
sentence combining
In poetry, especially free verse poetry, it is essential to be concise. Using “exactly the right
word” is one of the elements that makes poetry different from prose. Poets, then, must be able to
link ideas together to form complete, concise sentences--therefore, the ability to blend ideas into
each other becomes essential. To address this idea and to move from simple sentences to
complex sentences, we will address the handout focusing on compound sentences, different types
of clauses, and sentence combining. This in-context grammar lesson will take students to the

21
next level of sentence composition.
Day 3 (Wednesday): Rebellion and Theme
Slam poetry as an act of rebellion does not merely extend to form. A major component
of slam poetry is the theme of rebellion, a push for social change or to point out something
wrong in the world that is often overlooked. While this takes place in more traditional poetry,
the theme of rebellion is essential to the identity of the slam poem. For the second day of week 2,
we will focus on how rebellion is implemented through theme. As this is April in the second
semester of a creative writing class, the students already have a firm understanding of the
concept of theme in writing so we will move into the perception of theme as a rebellious entity.
Whereas Day 2 focused on comparing how slam poetry deviates from traditionally recognized
theme, Day 3 will focus on what slam poetry has to say. We will be looking at “Pretty” and
“Totally Like Whatever” in order to further understand what the poets are rebelling against,
what elements they use to voice their rebellion, and how students can apply these elements to
their writing.
1. How can a style of writing be deemed “rebellious?”
Objectives:
1. Students will be able to identify theme in writing.
2. Students will be able to apply the theme of rebellion to the writing.
Procedure:
[20 minutes] some sort of activity focusing students on the theme of rebelliousness: beginning of
class tie to rebellion in form?
[5 minutes] Listen to “Pretty” again
[10 minutes] Journal: What is the poet rebelling against? Is she effective? Why or why not?
[5 minutes] Listen to “Totally Like Whatever” again
[10 minutes] How are the “rebellious” messages of these poems similar/different?
Day 4 (Thursday): Rebellion Continued (Social/Political issues)
After two solid days of scaffolding the rebellious nature of slam poetry, Day 4 will give
students the opportunity to begin thinking about what issues they feel strongly about. From the
beginning of the unit, we have told the students that they will be expected to write and perform
their own slam poetry. In order to scaffold this, we will focus first on an issue that the students
feel passionately about. Like all poetry, slam poetry is about feeling. Students need to be able to
identify what they feel strongly about in order to write strongly. Keeping with the theme

22
of “rebellious writing,” we will take the day to discuss different social/political/personal
injustices that the students see in their world. This can be as concrete as an “unfair” school rule, a
friend mistreating another friend, or as abstract as a call to end world hunger. The main priority
is to focus on brainstorming and to get students thinking about what themes influence and impact
them. We have seen in “Pretty” and “Totally Like Whatever” themes that rebel against the ideas
of gender perceptions and an avoidance of a culture of ignorance. Therefore, this day is about
talking about what themes and topics can be utilized in slam poetry.
1. How large does an issue have to be in order to write about it? Is there a limit?
Objectives:
1. Students will be able to identify relate what they have learned about slam poetry to
relevant issues in their lives.
2. Students will be able to applying elements of rebellious form and theme in their
individual slam poetry.
Procedure:
[10 minutes] Journal activity: What areas do you feel need to change in the world?
[15 minutes] As a class, make a list of items worth rebelling against--the teacher will need to
scaffold different levels of issues from global to regional to personal, from abstract to concrete.
The topics will be divided into “world,” “national,” “personal,” and “school.” more categories
can be
[25 minutes] Each student will pick two items and spend time in class writing/practicing
“rebellion” against one of the issues
Day 5 (Friday): Guest Speaker: A Slam Poet’s perspective
Having a slam poet would be terrific way to transition into primarily focusing on the
study of elements of slam poetry to combining those elements into a solid piece of writing and
presentation. Having a slam poet come into the class would provide the students with a
multitude of insight. First, this will help show students that slam poetry is alive and active near
them rather than a separate and alien entity. Second, the slam poet will be able to share some of
his or her insights in writing slam poetry--what topics they typically like to write about, how they
implement structural elements, how they produce work in competition, how they approach
presenting their work, etc. The poet will be able to share insights about how slam poetry
happens. Next the slam poet will be able to present a piece to the students live. This not only
allows students to see the presentational element of slam poetry in action, but gives them a
personal connection as well. Finally, the students would have an opportunity to ask questions in
order to clarify different elements they may confused about or to learn more about what parts of
slam poetry interest them. Bringing in an expert would not only be a fun way to spend a class
period, but be educational and insightful as well.
Essential Question:

23
1. How can slam poetry come from our everyday lives?
Objective:
1. Students will be able to see how slam poetry happens live.
Week 3
Day 1 (Monday): Understanding Conceits and Descriptive Language (In-Context
Grammar Lesson)
Effective slam poets are only so powerful because of the language they meticulously
choose and the literary devices they implement in order to enhance their message. As students
begin to view themselves more as writers of slam and less as viewers of the performance, they
will need to better understand the rhetorical devices poets use in order to evoke greater meaning.
Slam is about how convincing the writer is in articulating his point, and poets do this in a number
of ways. One of the most effective and easiest to master strategies in making a piece more
powerful is to incorporate language that is descriptive and unique. By using adjectives that elicit
responses from the audience, the slam performer is able to control emotion and guide his
audience to the conclusion he wants. Adjectives that are successful can also enhance literary
devices that may be at play. The particular piece we will be viewing uses an extended metaphor,
or a conceit, and this poet’s language adds to the metaphor. By using an existing poem to
demonstrate these strategies, students will be more capable of incorporating language that is
descriptive in their own poems.
1. How does descriptive language enhance a piece of writing? Can it also be distracting?
2. Is illicit language lazy or can it serve a purpose in certain domains? How?
3. How can a conceit make a message more powerful?
Objectives:
1. Students will be able to define and identify a conceit from an example.
2. Students will be able to identify descriptive language and adjectives and the role they
play in creative writing, specifically slam poetry.
3. Students will discuss the place of illicit language in slam poetry and the choice to use
these words.
Procedure:
[5 minutes] Students will be given a transcript of Shane Hawley’s 2010 National Poetry Slam
performance from the semifinal round of competition. They will be instructed to underline or
highlight instances where his language seems particularly descriptive and they will have to
identify what the metaphor is. Remind students that a metaphor is a figure of speech in which a
word or phrase is said to be something to which it is not ordinarily applied. Play the YouTube
video performance while students read along and note the above instances.
[15 minutes] Write the word “Conceit” on the board. Ask students if anybody knows what it
means. Write the definition next to it- an extended metaphor. Ask students what the conceit was

24
in Shane Hawley’s poem. Pose the following questions to the class in order to spark discussion:
What is the conceit?
What does Shane accomplish by using this conceit?
Does it make his message more powerful? Why or why not?
What descriptive language was most striking to you?
How does his language inform or enhance the conceit?
Are the instances of illicit language necessary or could Shane have used an appropriate
word that would have been equally powerful?
Is there a time and place in which illicit language is acceptable?
[10 minutes] Pass out In-Context Grammar/Conceit worksheet and direct students to complete
the handout using the transcript of Shane Hawley’s poem. By completing this handout which
asks students to identify certain rhetorical strategies Hawley implements, we are meeting our
short term goal outlined by Nebraska State Standard “LA 12.2.2.d Analyze models and examples
(own and others’) of various genres in order to create a similar piece.”
[20 minutes] To finish class have the students break into their workshop groups that have been
used throughout the entire year. Have students choose one metaphor from one of their handouts.
From the list of adjectives created based on the metaphor, the groups will have to compose a
short poem using the words to shape the metaphor into a conceit. The poems should be brief and
manageable in the short time given. Remind students that the poem they create does not have to
be perfect or astonishing and that they will have time the following day to complete it. Also warn
them that it will be presented to the class.
Week 3- In-Context Grammar Lesson
Understanding Conceits and Descriptive Language (Adjectives)
Extended metaphors, or conceits, are one of the most commonly used rhetorical strategies
in poetry. In slam poetry, in particular, the use of a conceit can add considerably to the power of
the poem and the response it evokes from the audience. Metaphors and symbolic structures in
poetry are enhanced by the poet’s choice of words and the descriptive language he or she uses.
These adjectives, when chosen correctly, can make an ordinary poem more powerful and can add
imagery to the metaphors or the conceit created. When students have a command of adjectives
and know how to incorporate descriptive language, the figurative language in their poetry will be
more powerful and imaginative. Likewise, when students are able to identify when other poets
use these strategies and how using them enhances the work, students will be better able to model
and incorporate these into their own writing. As Constance Weaver writes in The Grammar Plan
Book, “Precise nouns and lively verbs can, indeed, greatly strengthen a piece of writing. What
makes the greatest difference, though […] is using modifiers to add detail, voice/style, and
sentence variety/fluency” (34). Adjectives are modifiers that can do all this and are especially
potent in slam poetry.
1. Can teaching students how to identify descriptive language and metaphor in a mentor text
enable them to practice the same strategies in their own writing?
2. Can completing a grammar worksheet, however related to what they are doing and

25
regardless of thorough contextualization, apply to students’ real and authentic writing.
Objectives:
1. Students will be able to identify the instances of adjectives and other descriptive language
within an example text while also noting how these strategies enhance the figurative
language used.
2. Students will be able to apply what they have learned in the above objective to their own
writing by incorporating adjectives that enhance the figurative language they must
include in their poem.
Day 2 (Tuesday): Collaborative writing
Writing in small groups allows the intimidation inherent in writing to be lessoned. It also
scaffolds students towards individual writing by allowing them to practice the techniques
necessary to write effectively and to gain confidence in their writing ability. Slam poetry is an
especially intimidating genre of writing for it forces students to share intimately what they feel
most passionately about. In a group setting, students can scaffold this form of disclosure while
still maintaining a level of group comradery. By sharing the collaborative slam poems, students
who perform their group’s piece will have the opportunity to rehearse what performing slam
feels like. This is an important scaffolding step towards performing even for those who opt out of
it at this stage. Those who are hesitant will gain confidence by seeing their peers step up and
perform for their groups. The poems will not be memorized or perfect by any means which will
provide those who are nervous to perform courage from the knowledge that they will have the
time to revise and practice their individual pieces later on.
1. Why is collaborative writing important?
2. How can writing in a group prepare a student to write individually?
3. How does observing others perform, empower more hesitant students to perform later?
Objectives:
1. Students will be better able to compose slam poetry after practicing with a small group.
2. Students will better understand what performing slam poetry looks and feels like after a
few students present their groups’ poems for the class, further enabling individuals to
perform their own slam poems.
Procedure:
[10 minutes] Complete work on group poems. Remind students that the poem does not need to
be long and that someone from the group will have to perform it, imitating vocal elements that
they have seen throughout the unit.
[20 minutes] Have a member from each group, beginning with volunteers and then randomly
selecting students, come to the front of the class to perform his or her group’s poem. Tell
students that in real slam poetry performances the audience always claps, cheers, and shows
appreciation following every performance; they should as well. Allow students to have their
poems in front of them as they perform.

26
[20 minutes] Remind students about the field trip to be taken Friday to UNL, during which they
will have to have a draft of their individual slam poems. Remind them that several collegiate
students will be performing their own pieces of writing, not necessarily slam, but that if any of
them are interested, they are encouraged to share their own. Allow students the last twenty
minutes of class time to begin brainstorming for their poems. They should have already begun
developing a list of issues about which to write, and now is the time to pick one for their poem.
Help those who are struggling by suggesting that they begin by developing a list of descriptive
words and images they would like to evoke in their poem pertaining to the overall issue. Suggest
that they outline their poem before beginning to write.
Homework: Draft a poem or outline of their poem, keeping in mind the guidelines from the
assignment sheet.
Day 3 (Wednesday): Individual Writing
Writing is a complex and intimidating process. It cannot be achieved overnight and
often involves many mistakes, false-starts, and frustrations. Students are not immune to these
difficulties, and in fact are often plagued by them more so than writers beyond the school setting.
For one thing, students are captive participants in writing and often regard it with disdain. Slam
poetry writing, although an enjoyable art form to view is perhaps more intimidating than most
forms of writing. It demands a level of disclosure beyond any other genre and asks its writers to
bare their soul on paper while forming an argument about a certain issue. For these reasons, it is
imperative that proper consideration be paid for the plight of the student writer. By devoting
class time to composing their slam poems, the students will feel comforted by the knowledge that
writing is a difficult endeavor to everyone and not only them. It will also provide students with
the opportunity to ask for help or seek reassurance from the teacher during the writing process
and not after. They can use this time to further brainstorm with their peers or to even rehearse the
performance of a certain part of their poem. In-class writing is an essential step in composing
and will help mitigate at least some of the intimidation associated with writing.
1. How does using class time for individual writing promote student confidence in their
writing and alleviate some of the intimidation?
2. How can teachers use in-class writing time to further engage students with their writing
and be intrinsically motivated to write?
Objectives:
1. Students will understand that writing is a complex and lengthy process that necessitates
substantial time and revision.
2. Students will be more motivated to write as they see their peers tackling the same
difficulties as them.
Procedure:
[5 minutes] Remind students again of upcoming field trip to UNL and answer any questions
posed by the class pertaining to the individual slam poems.

27
[30 minutes] Allow students nearly the entire class time to work on their slam poems. Field any
questions they have and offer guidance when necessary. Circulate throughout the room to ensure
that students remain on task and are progressing with their poems. Students should be close to
completing their first drafts by the end of the class period.
[15 minutes] Remind students that the following day they will be working with their peer
workshop groups to revise and assist each other’s drafts. Scaffold effective slam poetry revision
with Peer Revision handout.
Homework: Finish a completed draft of the poem and bring in 4 copies for peer workshopping.
Day 4 (Thursday): Peer Workshop Day
To continue emphasizing the importance of the writing process, a day will be devoted to
peer-workshopping. Perhaps the most important aspect of writing is revising and too often
students do not fully understand why or how to properly revise their writing. By devoting a day
to teaching the strategies of a peer workshop and allowing class time for students to take part in
one, students will therefore see the important place revision has in writing. Working alongside
peers is also an incredible enabling and empowering exercise. Students who may feel that they
are struggling to compose their own slam will see that their peers are also experiencing these
difficulties and because every student will excel in a slightly different area of writing, they will
be able to collaboratively assist one another without feeling as if they made a mistake which can
be caused in teacher-student workshopping.
1. How can peer revising not only improve a student’s writing but also lesson the
intimidation associated with revision and the overall writing process?
2. How can teachers insure that students working in a workshop group will remain on task
and be engaged to the level necessary for them to benefit the most from the activity.
Objectives:
1. Students will practice what they have learned about the proper techniques of peer
workshopping in order to improve their writing and assist others in their group.
2. Students will be able to identify the figures of speech and themes in a peer’s poem as
well as what works and what might need improving.
Procedure:
[5 minutes] Remind students that they will be spending class revising their poems with their
workshop groups and that they must complete the Peer Revision Worksheet for each of the 3
member of their groups, for whom they will be providing feedback. Have students break up into
their permanent workshop groups and begin working.
[45 minutes] Students will take turns reading their poems to their groups while their group
members read along and complete the Peer Revision Worksheet. They will each provide their
peer who has just read with three stars and a wish before moving on to the next reader. Before

28
class is over, remind students once again that they are to meet in class the following day before
they head to the UNL campus for their collegiate field trip. Several volunteers will be given the
opportunity to read/perform their poems at the end of the trip in an open mic. activity.
Homework: Revise poem with peer workshop suggestions in mind and prepare for field trip.
Day 5 (Friday): UNL Field Trip
As juniors and seniors prepare for the end of their respective years, future plans are more
than a consideration and most will already have their prospects chosen. By allowing students the
opportunity to enter a collegiate setting still as high school students, they can begin to identify
with the new surroundings and for those who have not yet decided if higher education is for
them, seeing themselves on a college campus may be the deciding factor. Many students do not
get the opportunity to see a college campus so soon to becoming college students, and many
more are not given the experience of meeting with and working alongside college students. With
this field trip, the student will get such an experience as they meet with small groups led by a
collegiate writer and share their writing. This is not so much of an additional workshop, although
revision suggestions are always helpful, as it is an opportunity for a community of writers to
meet and share. Several collegiate students will have been chosen to perform during an open
mic. and students from the high school class will be provided the chance to perform if they wish.
By reading others’ pieces and by seeing peers perform and by performing themselves in a low
anxiety setting in which nothing is graded, students will again be scaffolded in the process of
writing and performing.
1. Can seeing a college campus and working with college students help high school students
view themselves better as potential collegiates?
2. How can sharing writing with college students further scaffold effective writing?
Objectives:
1. Students will improve as writers as they work with a small group of writers, sharing their
work and identifying each other’s strengths.
2. Students will gain confidence in the act of performing as they observe students not unlike
themselves performing.
Procedure (Given extra time allotted beyond normal time constraints):
After arriving to UNL:
[5 minutes] Introductions and guidelines for effective group work (Share poems and identify
strengths of each poet). Break into small groups with collegiate students.
[40 minutes] Group sharing and discussing. Each student will read his or her piece and the group
will commend the strengths of the author.
[45 minutes] Reconvene as a large group and begin open mic. session. College students who
have been previously selected will share their pieces, no piece should take more than 5 minutes

29
to present. After these students have performed, volunteers from both classes will be allowed to
take the floor to present their pieces. Once everybody who wishes to read their piece has finished
or the allotted time is up, students will board the bus and return to school.
Week 4
Day 1 (Monday): Active Voice
Week 4 represents a shift from students thinking of themselves solely as writers, to
thinking of themselves as performers with a purpose. The catalyst for this shift is the visit to a
college classroom, which gives students an opportunity to consider their identities post-high
school. Day 1 of Week 4 will take advantage of this modelling, emphasizing the need for
conviction and active voice in speech. The texts used will come from previously studied poems,
so that students will consider active voice in terms of the poems’ effect (inductive) rather than
viewing active voice as something separate from overall meaning.
1. How can different phrasings influence the power and effect of a text?
2. How does active voice bring clarity to writing?
Objectives:
1. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the difference between active and passive
voice in their own writing.
Procedure:
[10 minutes] Discussion: What did you take away from the college visit? What surprised you?
[15 minutes] Shift into a discussion of confidence in writing, explaining that effective slam poets
don’t just convey confidence through their delivery, but through their writing as well. Write
“Active Voice” and “Passive Voice” on the board.
Put four quotes on the board (from “Pretty” and “Like Totally Whatever”):
“I will wipe that question from your mouth like cheap lipstick”
“That question will be wiped from your mouth like cheap lipstick”
“So I implore you, I entreat you and I challenge you / to speak with conviction.”
“So you are implored, entreated, and challenged / to speak with conviction”
Ask: Which are more powerful? Why?
Underline the subjects of each sentence and explain how when a sentence is passive, there are
parts of the sentence that are unclear. (What is wiping the lipstick off? Who is imploring?) and
the reader doesn’t get the whole picture, and doesn’t feel the full punch.
[20 minutes] Students will revise their own poems for instances of active and passive voice.

30
Day 2 (Tuesday): Avoiding Cliches With Juxtaposition
The emphasis of our unit is on expression and social change, which makes it easy for
creativity to be left wanting. Slam poetry is not merely a persuasive speech; it is poetry.
Juxtaposition takes the study of metaphor to a creative extreme, forcing students to make novel
connections and make new relations. This lesson creates disequilibrium by having students
brainstorm a list of nouns before considering them in terms of comparisons. This will help
students realize that they can look anywhere for creative inspiration, not merely from a formula
or regimented process. This lesson speaks to our short-term goal “LA 12.2.2.b Write considering
typical characteristics of the selected genre,” writing with consideration of the poetic
conventions of metaphor and juxtaposition.
1. How do creative connections strengthen a writer’s argument?
2. How can writers prevent writing from becoming cliche?
Objectives:
1. Students will be able to explain and use juxtaposition in their own writing.
Procedure:
[10 minutes] Bellwork (with brief discussion afterward): Rewrite this sentence into active voice:
“The bellwork was finished.”
[10 minutes] Have students call out nouns and make a list on the board. After a dozen or so are
on the board, pick two unrelated nouns and ask students to connect them in some way. Repeat 2
or 3 times.
[10 minutes] Pass out and explain “Juxtaposition” worksheet (See Materials). Explain that
metaphor is how we make connections and comparisons between things. The way those two
things contrast is called juxtaposition. Some of the most creative comparisons come from
juxtaposing two words that at first look, don’t seem connected: sunsets and ice cream, homework
and metal music, a car and a cat.
[20 minutes] Students will work individually and with partners on the “juxtaposition” worksheet.
Day 3 (Wednesday): Modelling Effective Performance
This final work day before presentations serves to model discrete elements of effective
performance that may still stand in the way of students’ confidence and self-assurance. Through
specific attention to a few key considerations, such as tone and gesturing, students come to
realize that the identity of “performer” is within their reach. By allowing students to perform
their poems with a partner then small groups, students are able to gradually overcome their stage
fright and see themselves as members of a supportive team.

31
1. How do verbal cues and body language contribute to meaning when performing a text?
Objectives:
1. Students will analyze a spoken text for verbal and gestural cues.
2. Students will work collaboratively within a small group to practice performance skills.
Procedures:
[15 minutes] Students will be handed a transcript of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream”
speech and shown 2 minutes of the speech on YouTube. Students will be asked to draw a line
break where there are pauses and arrows for increase/decrease in volume. Discuss.
[10 minutes] Teacher will model effective use of verbal cues (pauses and control pact, volume,
and tone) and body language (gestures, eye contact, expression) using teacher’s own poem.
[20 minutes] Students will practice performing their poems with a partner, and afterward in
groups of 4.
[5 minutes] Explanation of slam poetry performance rules and etiquette; pass around sign-up
sheet of Day 4/Day 5 schedule.
Days 4 & 5 (Thursday and Friday): Presentation
The unit culminates in two days of presentation. This is where the unit’s skills and
understandings are synthesized in a community setting, involving both active listening and
performing. To ensure that students experience the fun of slam poetry while still critically
engaging, students will only be required to respond to their fellow workshop group members.
This will focus on the positive (“3 stars) while still ensuring that students are also critically
attending to the performance.
[50 minutes] Students will present their slam poems and provide “3 stars and a wish” feedback
for each member of their workshop group, drawing from the rubric criteria. Since students are
providing feedback to classmates they have worked with throughout the writing process, they
will be encouraged to comment on the development and growth of the poem.
1. How is meaning constructed through the social experience of presenting poetry?
Objectives:
1. Students will actively participate as performers, audience members, and responders to
slam poetry.

32
Materials
I. Final Assessment Assignment Sheet
Name:
Slam Poetry: This is My Voice
As Shane Koyczan says, “This is my voice. There are many like it, but this one is mine.” We all
have our own voice, our own tool for self-expression and a call for change and social justice.
The last few weeks, we have been reading/discussing/living slam poetry--what makes it “slam,”
what it stands for, how it is structured. After looking at a multitude of poems’ themes and styles,
it is time to create your own, to exercise YOUR voice, which no one else has.
Just as a voice is not meant to be silent, neither are you and neither is your poem. We have also
watched slam poetry and analyzed how the presentation of slam poems can affect its meaning.
Slam poetry competitions exist because slam poets are able to display insane amounts of
emotion themselves and draw emotion from their audience. The performance aspect of slam
poetry can greatly increase how effective the poem is as we have seen from slam poems across
the web. Strong presentation adds an entire element to the piece.
So here’s the assignment: you will write your own slam poem that represents you and some
element of your identity--your voice. Just as we have seen in (list of slam poems), another huge
element of slam poetry is a call for the correction of some social change. (This can be as
individual as a little kid who is bullied at school or as large as a call to end world hunger.) You
will clearly establish a “wrong” that you wish to rectify and provide a sense of solution/direction
for change in your slam poem. Identity and a call for social change will be the primary topics for
your slam poem.
Within each poem, you will also exhibit elements of slam poetry that we have discussed in class.
Poems will need to establish a strong use of tone, volume, rhythm, pacing, gesture to convey
purpose. You will also need to include metaphor, vivid imagery and repetition
and at least two instances of: alliteration, rhythm, onomatopoeia, irony, juxtaposition. Do not let
these literary devices limit the poem--after all, slam poetry is still about expression.
Can you imagine any of the slam poems we’ve seen and read without the performances that
bring them to life before an audience’s eyes? Neither can we. As such, your involvement with
slam poetry won’t end with what you’ve written on the page—you will be utilizing what we’ve
learned about the performative power of slam poetry to bring your own slam pieces to life in a
classwide poetry slam! After viewing Louder than a Bomb, you should have an idea of what a
typical poetry slam looks like. We are going to hold a similar event in the final days of the unit
so you can show off the hard work you’ve been putting into your poems over the last couple of
weeks—with a few changes to the rules:

33
Slam Rules:
1. The poetry slam will take place over two days, with the class split into two groups of
performers for the purpose of having an equal number for each bout.
2. Each student participating in the slam will perform one piece and one piece alone, be it
individual or collaborative.
3. Performances will be judged by a panel of guest judges culled from the list of guests we’ve
entertained this semester.
4. The judges shall give each performance a score between 0.0 and 10.0, with the highest and
lowest scores being dropped.
Content, form, and structure guidelines—borrowed directly from the “Louder than a bomb—
Omaha” website:
1. All poems must be the original work of the poet(s) performing them. Plagiarized poems
will be disqualified (i.e. will receive a score of 0.0). Note: direct quotations, allusions, or clear
inspiration typically do not count as plagiarism.
2. Content matter should not exceed a PG-13 rating, i.e. avoid excessive violence, sexually
explicit content or language, profanity, discriminatory language, or language which is degrading
to any group of people. Poems may still deal with the ideas or notions of violence, sex, profanity,
discrimination, or degradation (and so on), but should not perpetuate such things.
3. Poems may last up to 3 minutes and 10 seconds before time-penalties are assessed. Time
penalties shall be 0.5 points for every 10 seconds over the time allotment (rounded up). After 4
minutes and 10 seconds, poets will be asked to leave the stage.
4. Poets may not feature props, musical accompaniment, costumes. Poets may, however,
stomp, clap, snap, sing, beatbox, etc., so long as all noises are created by the interaction between
the poet’s body, the stage, and/or the microphone.
5. Beyond these rules, there are no restrictions placed on form, content, or structure of the
poems or the performances thereof.
Throughout the unit we’ve been primarily concerned with slam poetry’s unique ability to incite
the type of emotional response conducive to change on a social as well as individual level. While
you all are going to be concerned with evoking those emotional responses from your chosen
audience, you must also consider your roles as effective audience members. Over the course of
the unit we’re going to be doing a lot of peer work and revision in the form of small and large
group workshop and feedback circles. You will all be held to high standards of etiquette in
responding to your peers in these capacities--which includes your active participation as a
receptive audience member during the final poetry slam. Also, as per the rubric, you will all need
to complete a practice requirement where you perform for feedback as well as give feedback to
yourself and your peers (see attached rubric).
You might think about these topics as you develop your poem...
-An injustice you’ve seen
-A time in which you were scared
-A time in which you were proud
-A dream
-When you are older...
-A losing battle

34
-A time when you’ve overcome a tough situation
You are encouraged to be creative with your poetic form, but it may help to consider this
common poetry slam structure...
I. What? (Present a paradox)
II. Character/Narration (Introduce speakers, characters, story)
III. Refrain (like a chorus -- what is most important to repeat and emphasize?)
IV. Sermon (what is your moral?)
V. Closer

35
Slam Poetry Performance Piece Rubric
4 3 2 1 0
Literary
Technique 1
(metaphor,vivid
imagery,
repetition)
Student includes
at least one
instance of
metaphor,vivid
imagery, and
repetition,using
each
appropriately and
highly
effectively.
Student includes at
least one instance
of metaphor, vivid
imagery, and
repetition,but there
are slight
inconsistenciesin
the appropriateness
of the applications.
Student is
missing one
instance of
metaphor,vivid
imagery, or
repetition,but it
is clear if he/she
understands how
to use them
correctly.
Student does
not include the
required
number of
poetic
techniquesand
those that are
included are
used
incorrectly.
Student did
not include
any poetic
techniques.
Literary
Technique 2
(alliteration,
rhythm,
onomatopoeia,
irony,
juxtaposition,
parallelism)
Student includes
at least one
instance of
his/herchoice of
two of the
secondary poetic
techniquesand
uses each
appropriately and
highly
effectively.
Student includes at
least one instance
of his/herchoice of
two of the
secondary poetic
techniques,but
there are slight
inconsistenciesin
the appropriateness
of the applications.
Student is
missing one of
the two instances
of his/herchoice
of the secondary
poetic
techniques,but it
is clear he/she
understands how
to use them
correctly.
Student does
not include the
required
number of
secondary
poetic
techniquesand
those that are
included are
used
incorrectly.
Student did
not include
any secondary
poetic
techniques.
Conventions Student displays
a consistent set of
conventions.Any
grammatical
anomalies are
purposefuland
enhance the
overall effect of
the poem.
For the most part,
student displays a
consistent set of
conventions,but
some grammatical
anomalies are not
clearly intended or
beneficial to the
overall effect of the
poem.
Student’s
displayed set of
conventions is
not consistent
and some
grammatical
anomalies
intrude upon the
poem’s intended
effect.
Student does
not adhere to
conventions of
any sort and
grammatical
anomalies
obstruct the
meaning of the
poem.
Student
displays no
awareness of
conventions
to speakof.
Subject/theme The focus of the
poemnever
wavers from the
established
subject in a
distracting way
and the student
clearly takes a
proactive stance
on the issue.
The focus of the
poemwavers ever
so slightly from the
established subject,
but is not
distracting.Student
clearly takes a
proactive stance on
the issue.
The focus of the
poemwavers
from the
established
subject and is
distracting.
Student’s stance
on the issue is
unclear.
The poem
does not focus
on a clear
subject,but
the student
shows
enthusiasmfor
a stance of
some sort.
There is not
clear subject
to speakof
and no stance
exists for the
student to
take.
Page requirement: 4 3 2 1
Writing / 20

36
4 3 2 1 0
Verbal Cues Student displays
excellent
understandingof
effective verbal
cues,utilizing
pauses foreffect
and controlling
the tone,pace,
and volume of
his/hervoice.
Student displays
a superior
understandingof
effective verbal
cues,utilizing
most of the
established cues.
Student displays
an adequate
understandingof
effective verbal
cues,utilizing
some of the
established cues.
Student displays
a sup-par
understandingof
effective verbal
cues,utilizing
very few of the
established cues.
Student does
not utilize
verbalcues at
all.
Body Language Student displays
excellent
understandingof
effective body
language,
utilizing gestures,
eye contact and
facial expressions
to the fullest.
Student displays
a superior
understandingof
effective body
language,
utilizing most of
the established
body language.
Students displays
an adequate
understandingof
effective body
language,
utilizing some of
the established
body language
Student displays
a sub-par
understandingof
effective body
language,
utilizing very
little of the
established body
language.
Student does
not utilize
body language
at all.
Practice and
Planning
Student has met
the practice
requirement and
the piece shows a
significant of
planning went
into the
performance.
Student has met
the practice
requirement and
the piece shows a
fair amount of
planning when
into the
performance.
Student has met
the practice
requirement, but
little planning is
evident in the
performance of
the piece.
Student has
made an effort
to meet the
practice
requirement, but
it is not clear
he/she planned
appropriately for
the performance.
Student has
made no effort
to meet the
practice
requirement
and the
performance
displays no
evidence of
prior planning.
Performance
length
Student meets
performance
length
requirement. One
point will be
deducted for
every 30 seconds
performed below
or above the
initial grace
period of 10
seconds.
Overall Effect: 4 3 2 1
Presentation / 20

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