Sonnet examples by students about family how to#
We all learned it from each other, the way each generation taught the next how to knit…” “That’s why women in my family have been shrinking for decades. That if not done carefully we will wander the Earth cursing those still living.” “My mother tells me that death is a slow journey back, “It can’t imagine a life beyond that door. We are constantly transferred, shifted and renewed.” “I pray that his seizures won’t kill him before his diabetes does.” Kudos to the “father” of slam and his poem that helps students to discuss “But hey, I’ve always been a thorn in the side of injustice.” Who wants to be a robot when she grows up.ĭonovan Livingston “Harvard Commencement Speech, 2016” I love the interaction of this poem between the poet and the girl “Her accent is a stubborn compass always pointing her towards home.” I know how strong an ordinary human has to be.”
Sarah Kay & Phil Kaye “When Love Arrives”īrenna Twohy “In Which I Do Not Fear Harvey Dent” “I’m down for the revolution which may not be televisedĪnd it may not get radio play, but it will be told through poetry.” “We’d forget about the Tupperware, talk about the future like we always do…always did.” “My mama, she never had no wings, but she’s always had this global warming of a smile…” This one is haunting, as told from cancer’s perspective, “I’ll always come back for you.” “I challenge my students to explore the silences in their own lives through poetry.” “…to train you, to keep you on track, to track downĪn American dream that that has failed so many…” Malcolm London “High School Training Ground” “We fight foreigners when we are the ones who would shoot you. “Love and hate are beasts and the one that grows is the one you feed.” Shane Koyczan “Instructions for a Bad Day” “When you played at war, I was perfecting head shots. Jesse Parent “To the Boys Who May One Day Date My Daughter” I just love everything about this…math puns abound! Harry Baker “A Love Poem for Lonely Prime Numbers” There’s water in the cup drink it and stop complaining…”
“It doesn’t matter if the glass is half-full or half-empty. Rudy Francisco “Complainers” (Clean Version) “…the soul of the brave warrior rising slowly with the smoke.” Taylor Mali “Tony Steinberg: Brave Seventh-Grade Viking Warrior” “You will be pretty intelligent, pretty creative, pretty amazing, but you will never be merely ‘pretty.'” “Why wouldn’t I spend more time in the world where there are more people that ‘like’ me?” “If you just wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, “Speak every time you stand so you do not forget yourself.” Phil Kaye, Marshall Davis Jones, Rudy Francisco, Shane Koyczan, and Taylor Mali are my favorites and all of them tend to be school appropriate…most of the time… 40 Slam Poems for Your English Language Arts Classroom If you love a particular poet’s style, I would encourage you to search for more poems by him/her. If there’s one thing I want to break for my students, it’s the stereotype that all slam poetry is always angry, rant-like, and sad!Īnd I’ve tried to restrain myself from fangirl posting a bunch of slam poems from each poet.
There are some oldies, but goodies, and some new poems to love – a little bit of everything!.This list of slam poems is geared toward high school students, but many are appropriate for middle school students, as well! This being said, I would still encourage you to make certain they will be a good fit for your group of students and your own comfort level. Although some of the poems touch on heavy topics such as suicide, they are all clean and classroom-friendly in terms of language used.In this post, I’m sharing 40 different and classroom-friendly poems, each one by a different slam poet. Finally…a Classroom-Friendly List for TeachersĪs a teacher, I’ve spent hours scouring the interwebs looking for the best poems for teaching slam poetry. So, whether you show slam poems to your class for a quick pick-me-up, use them to make connections to a more traditional text, or treat your students to an all-in slam poetry experience, you’re sure to love the following performances. In short, they find that their truths are universal and that’s empowering. In writing slam poems, students find their truth, and in performing slam poetry, students become connected to each other. I think that’s why my students love slam poetry so much. It’s hip and it’s hot, but it’s as ancient as storytelling itself.
I’m sitting here on spring break SO excited because it’s almost time for my students to begin exploring, writing, and performing slam poems.