Poetry Cafe

Each year the month of April is set aside as National Poetry Month, a time to celebrate poets and their craft. After studying and writing poetry all month, students in Room 100 chose to celebrate poetry with a slam.

Slam Defined

Poetry slams gained fame in the 1980’s. A poetry slam is a blend of poetry and performance in live competitions. Performers use voice and gestures to score points out of the judges.  

Preparation 

In preparation for our poetry slam, we transformed our classroom into a coffee café. Coffee shops always have something in common – coziness and warmth. Desks were arranged into comfy tables covered with tablecloths and battery-lit candles. Dim lighting set the mood. Chalkboard signs and chalkboard menus added an artistic flare to our café, and friendly baristas were stationed behind the counter ready to serve. Judges were selected from our middle school staff and programs were created.  

The Poetry Café Opens 

The energy and excitement displayed by our students from start to finish was inspiring. Scribble linen tablecloths added to the fun and creating the chalk art helped ease the nervousness before the performance.

The judges opened the slam by reciting individual poems written just for our students. These poems set the tone for a fun, enjoyable competition. 

Center Stage 

Each finalist had his or her turn in the spotlight reciting a poem. Apart from the actual poets, the audience played a major role - they snapped their fingers (which is music to the poet's ears), they laughed, they encouraged, and they let the performer on stage know exactly how they felt by their reactions. Snap! Snap! Snap!

Congratulations to the 2015 Poetry Slam Champions 

Austin Miller, Katie Morse, Cydnee Hopkins, and Tyson Test were this year's medal winners. In addition to the winners we want to thank each one of our students who inspired us with their amazing performance of poetry.

Thank you, THANK YOU!  There are so many clever teachers who have posted and shared ideas for a poetry slam: Grace Rubensyein at Edutopia, Beth Newingham at Scholastic, and Brenda Dyck at Education World. 

Poetry Slam

Each year the month of April is set aside as National Poetry Month, a time to celebrate poets and their craft.  Students in Room 100 celebrated poetry with a classroom poetry slam.

Slam Defined

A poetry slam is a blend of poetry and performance in live competitions. Poetry slams gained fame in Chicago in the 1980s. Slam is a fast-paced competition where poets recite a poem to impress judges. Performers use voice and gestures to score points out of the judges.

Preparation

In preparation for our poetry slam, students decorated our Poet-Tree with their selected poems. They spent several class periods coaching each other to stand alone in front of their peers and recite poetry.

We transformed our classroom into a vintage 1980s coffee café by rearranging desks into cozy tables covered with paper tablecloths and battery-lit candles. The dim lighting set the mood for our Poetry Café. Menu boards lined the walls. Judges were selected and programs for the event were created.

The Poetry Café Opens

The day of our poetry slam excitement was high. Chalkboard tablecloths were lots of fun and creating the graffiti helped ease the nervousness before the performance.

The judges started things off by reciting individual poems they had written for the students. Their poems set the tone for a fun, enjoyable competition.

Center Stage

Each finalist had his or her turn in the spotlight. They took their place on the stage and recited a poem. Instead of clapping at the end of each poem, guests were asked to snap their fingers in honor of the true poetry slam culture. The students enjoyed the active role an audience plays in a traditional poetry slam.

Congratulations to the 2014 Poetry Slam Champions

Lauren Bosh, Gemma Mendez, Charli Bates, and Grace Day were this year's medal winners. In addition to the winners we want to thank each one of our students who inspired us with their amazing performance of poetry during National Poetry Month. 

Thank you, THANK YOU!  There are so many clever teachers who have posted and shared ideas for a poetry slam: Grace Rubensyein at Edutopia, Beth Newingham at Scholastic, and Brenda Dyck at Education World.