In the fall of 2015, the author conducted a national survey of over 1,000 former high school speech and debate competitors. As he told a colleague, he was drowning in data. It was a good problem to have, but he was not sure how to thoroughly examine the heart of data; how would he make meaning of their experiences? Then, he realized, the answer…

In this article, the author, a poet and teaching artist, shares how he successfully brought slam poetry to College Hill Middle School in Texarkana, Arkansas. In 2001 he discovered slam poetry--a poetry-reading format in which poets compete in dramatic readings of their works--and went to Slam Nationals in Seattle on the Arkansas slam team. He…

Slam poetry was born in the Green Mill Tavern, a one-time Chicago speakeasy where Al Capone imbibed, when a construction worker and poet named Marc Smith revolutionized poetry readings with an Uptown Poetry Slam in 1986. Slam borrows heavily from the rhythms and wordplay of rap and hip-hop, as well as the stream of consciousness and metaphysical…

This lesson plan contains poetry-related activities that aim to help students read and interpret English poetry, and write their own poems. The activities are introduced in each of the following parts: talking about poetry, understanding poetic devices, interpreting poems, using poetry for language acquisition, writing original poems, performing…

Contends that inconsistent judging often leaves contestants more confused than educated. Analyzes the effects of training and experience on judges' agreement in oral interpretation contests. (PD)

Eight coaches of oral interpretation from colleges across the United States were asked to tape record the coaching sessions that brought eight novices to tournament readiness. All of the students used the same three-poem program on the general theme of animals and children, but each student was required to write the introduction and transitions.…