4. Essay

My lesson teaches students about slam poetry and allows them to write and present their own slam poem. It is based on a traditional lesson plan about slam poetry which incorporates no technology. In the original lesson plan, the teacher would read several slam poetry examples out of a book, then have students create their own poems using newspaper clippings. Students would present their poems to the class in slam format, with other teachers and students coming into the classroom to observe and / or judge the presentations. In the end, students would compile their poems into a class book.

While this lesson is very clever and fun for students, I have re-designed it to be even more engaging and more practical for the modern world. In my lesson, students watch youtube clips of live performances of slam poetry rather than simply hearing the teacher read aloud. This helps students to see the real world application of the lesson, understanding that there are real people who do this in real life. Watching the videos is also more engaging than simply listening to the teacher.  The next addition / alteration I made to the lesson specifies that in creating their own slam poetry, instead of using construction paper and newspaper clippings, students use PowerPoint as their visual enhancement tool. Here, students can make a professional presentation and have any image they want, while at the same time eliminating paper and supply waste. Students also gain valuable practice using PowerPoint for a specific purpose. A third change I made to the lesson requires students to be videotaped while presenting their slam poem. This way, they can look back on their presentation and reflect on how they did. Students are be required to watch their videos and write a short reflection essay about the entire process. Finally, instead of housing the projects in a “class book,” students upload their videos to the class blog or website. This way, they can all access the final projects far into the future, rather than having only one copy, housed with the teacher. Additionally, by including the videos on the websites, rather than just the written poems, students can get the full effect of slam poetry; after all, the presentation is a major component of this poetry style.

Slam poetry and technology fit hand in hand, as the Internet allows students to see real world applications of this art, and PowerPoint and video recording allow students to experience the project more fully. The changes I made to the lesson save time and costs, as the teacher no longer needs to cut out newspaper clippings or compile construction paper, scissors, tape, and other materials.  Most importantly, incorporating technology into this project benefits students’ media and technology literacy, skills which are crucial in our modern world.