School Poetry Slam Operations Manual

School Poetry Slam was developed in a multi-cultural classroom and is designed to excite students about poetry through the combination of the traditional slam poetry format, African American fraternity step routines, and way-cool sunglasses. You can access it below. Finally, below that is a list of Internet poetry links. Feel free to use this to stimulate reading, the love of poetry, performing, and pride.

School Poetry Slam Operations Manual by Gumsandals on Scribd

School Poetry Slam Internet Resources
Children’s Poets

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/68 (Jack Prelutsky bio and seven of his poems)
http://www.kidspoint.org/columns2.asp?column_id=1070&column_type=author (Jack Prelutsky bio and links to his poems)

http://www.gigglepoetry.com/ (Bruce Lansky)
http://www.kristinegeorge.com/kids_tips_01.html (Tips to kids for writing poems from Kristine O’Connell George)

http://www.kristinegeorge.com/foldmepoem.html (Author website for “Fold Me A Poem” with teacher resources)

http://www.kristinegeorge.com/poetry_power.html#Candle_Flame (More teaching resources from Kristine O’Connell George)

http://www.fizzyfunnyfuzzy.com/ (Gareth Lancaster)

http://www.mathstory.com/ (Math poems by Mr. R)

http://www.nikkigrimes.com/ (Nikki Grimes)

http://www.poetry4kids.com/ (Ken Nesbitt)

http://www.shelsilverstein.com/ (Shel Silverstein)

http://www.janetwong.com/ (Janet S. Wong website with audio clips)

http://www.xjanddorothymkennedy.com/ (X.J. Kennedy)

Cowboy Poets
http://www.bcchs.com/poetspage.htm (Cowboy poets website)

http://clantongang.com/oldwest/trade.htm (Cowboy poetry)

http://www.cowboypoetry.com/whatis.htm (Extensive cowboy poetry)

Poem-A-Day
http://www.poems.com/ (Daily poems)

www.loc.gov/poetry/180/p180-home.html (A Poem-A-Day for America’s High Schools— sponsored by Library of Congress)

http://www.randomhouse.com/knopf/poetry/poemaday.html (Sign up for Poem-A-Day emailing during National Poetry Month—April. Lists all poems from previous years)

Poems on the Net
http://www.theatlantic.com/index/fiction (Atlantic Monthly online poetry)

http://www.cortlandreview.com/ (Contemporary poetry links)

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pfa/dreamhouse/nursery/rhymesABC.html (Most of the Mother Goose rhymes)

http://www.rialto.k12.ca.us/curriculum/readtowrite/lp/lpstudent.html (Poems by kids)

http://www.slampapi.com/new_site/poems.htm (Marc Smith poetry site)

www.worldofpoetry.org/usop/ (World and U.S. of Poetry w/audio/video links including a poem by former President Jimmy Carter)

http://www.worldofpoetry.org/usop/faces.htm (United States of Poetry site. A great broad collection of poems including those written by cowboys, Indians, and Marc Smith)

Props
http://www.orientaltrading.com/ This the place to go for inexpensive props—hats (cowboy, Dr. Seuss Cat-in-the-Hat, etc), sunglasses, weird stuff to accentuate the performance. Get on the free catalog mailing list.

http://www.4funparties.com/ Inexpensive berets and more.

Spoken Word Poets on the Net
http://www.junemelby.com/ June Melby’s website. Please buy her “stuff.”

http://www.livepoets.com/DisplayPoem.aspx?id=89 This is an audio recording of June Melby reciting her poem “In Soup.” It is a fine example of what SPS encourages. The poem is spoken over a simple piano and drum accompaniment. WPs could have their squads back up their poems by contributing music and song.

http://www.livepoets.com/DisplayPoem.aspx?id=88 This is another audio recording of June Melby performing “Dust.” Humor, music, singing, and finger snapping too!

http://www.livepoets.com/DisplayPoem.aspx?id=35 Another June Melby poem called “Little Bonking Sound.” Inspiring.

http://www.livepoets.com/DisplayPoem.aspx?id=11 Video of Rives performing “Mockingbird” at the 2002 National Poetry Slam. Inspired and inspiring.

http://www.livepoets.com/DisplayPoem.aspx?id=13 Video of Jeremy Richards
performing “T.S. Eliot’s Lost Hip Hop Poem.” He is assisted by a “human beat-box” break-dancer.

http://voices.e-poets.net/SmithP/ Hear Patricia Smith, four-time National Poetry Slam winner.

http://www.slamnation.com/ Link to documentary about a novice NYC team traveling to Portland, Oregon to compete in the National Poetry Festival.

Stepping
http://www.bestprices.com/cgi-bin/vlink/043396102880IE.html “School Daze,” Spike Lee’s 1988 film.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0252024753/brothersistersgr/002-2026338-0180818 “Soulstepping,” by Elizabeth C. Fine

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0252065085/ref=pd_sxp_elt_l1/002-2026338-0180818?n=283155 “Steppin’ on the Blues,” by Jacqui Malone

Teaching Poetry
http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/p180-howtoread.html (“How To Read A Poem Out Loud” by former Poet Laureate Billy Collins, Poetry 180 Project)

http://www.rooknet.com/beatpage/writers/index.html (The beat poet site)

http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/jack_home.htm (Jack Prelutsky teaches kids-- everyone—how to write a poem! Includes a sample poem)

http://www.theteacherscorner.net/thematicunits/jackp.htm (Lesson plans, Jack Prelutsky poems, and more for teachers)

http://www.writenet.org/ (Teaching poetry through a “Virtual Poetry Workshop,” “Student Poem of the Month,” and more. Worthy)

http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/58 (Great source to poets, their bios, and their poems. An amazing one-stop-shop!)

http://www.wolinskyweb.net/word.htm Extensive link list for writers looking for that right word. Very good)

Miscellaneous Links
http://www.cavecanempoets.com/pages/links.php (Links to black poets and their poems)

http://www.clareultimo.com/news/dogtags.html (Poetry dog tags-- cool!)

http://www.grdodge.org/poetry/ National poetry festival with New Jersey HS programs.

http://shop.scholastic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=22632&langId=-1&storeId=10101&catalogId=10004&FullBreadCrumb=cookie Scholastic Books site for “Hey You! C’mere: A Poetry Slam” by Tony nominated writer Elizabeth Swados (Ages 8-12). This page also links to other books on age appropriate poetry.

http://indiefeedpp.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=56902 Performance poetry for download to your iPod or computer through IndieFeed.

http://indiefeedpp.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=56917 This link is for “Slammasters” who are encouraged to record their slam fests for podcasting. Thinking big, why not record your SPS slams for submission? Mongo, the IndieFeed: Performance Poetry rep loves the idea. So, record your SPS slams and get them out!

Or, record them for playback over your school’s intercom during morning announcements. What an honor and delight it would be for kids to hear their voices (and maybe even their original poems) echoing across the school! Talk about getting psyched over the possibilities your life has and the positive peer reinforcement that follows.

http://www.livepoets.com/default.aspx LivePoets website with streaming video of spoken word poets. Click its “Media Timeline” for the video clips.

http://www.newspoetnews.com/ The news in poetry.

http://www.nuyorican.org/Poetry/poetry.html Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe-- home to 92
slams a year! A national treasure in NYC since 1973.

http://www.poetcd.com/store/webpage.cfm?WebPage_ID=2&DID=64 Poet CD, a source to buy spoken word poetry.

http://www.poetryslam.com/modules.php?name=MainPage National Poetry Slam website (Poetry Slam, Inc).

http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/83 The mother list of all resources for poetry.

http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=65-0916397661-2 Online bookstore link to “Poetry Slam: The Competitive Art of Performance Poetry,” Edited by Gary Glazner. The site includes a synopsis and reviews.

http://sachem.suffolk.lib.ny.us/teen/poetry/poetry.htm Library recommended poetry books for teens.

http://www.splab.org/about.html Intergenerational spoken word performance, resource and outreach center based in Auburn, WA.

http://www.writenet.org/contacts.html List of State links for writers-in-the-schools programs.

http://www.youthspeaks.org/indexx.html Empowering teens through poetry.

For a great supplemental book/play for middle schools and up about African American entertainment history, please click the image below:

To read the first few pages, please click here.