Def Poetry Jam Lesson

I really enjoy using Def Poetry Jam videos in my classroom. I usually choose 3-4 videos, readily available on youtube (or for sale by the season), and show them as examples of spoken word poetry. I can always find subjects that are relevant to my students, which makes a huge difference in capturing, and keeping, their attention.

What I like best about using spoken word is that the poems are indeed spoken. I think so much of poetry is lost when read quietly to one's self. I first tried teaching spoken word when planning a unit on Shakespeare. I read somewhere that Shakespearean plays were not meant to be read in a book; the plays were meant to be performed. Duh. So, I used this argument as an excuse to introduce the students to poetry through spoken word and insist that all of the poetry we would be discussing would be read aloud in the classroom.

While I use the Def Poetry Jam lesson plan to focus on the vocabulary of poetry (alliteration, meter, etc.), I also use it to help the students understand the meaning behind language. My first question after each and every spoken word performance is, "What is this poem about?" The students are not allowed to be literal with their answers, which pushes them to think about the meaning behind the words. This translates to their being able to read more deeply into any literature that we study while also helping them understand the nuances of language and the complexity of poetry.