Can teachers use spoken word poetry as a tool for literacy, empowerment, engagement, education, and community building across content areas?

Poet, performer, and educator Sarah Kay says absolutely, YES! Sarah is a founder and co-director of Project VOICE, an organization that uses spoken word poetry to entertain, educate, and inspire. Through Project VOICE, Sarah is dedicated to promoting empowerment, improving literacy, and encouraging empathy and creative collaboration in classrooms and communities around the world.

On this episode of Tch Talks, Sarah discusses the origin story of Project VOICE, her own introduction to spoken word poetry, and her work as a poet, an educator, and a bestselling author. Whether speaking from her heart or from her head, Sarah believes that spoken word poetry can be an important educational tool that will have a lasting positive impact on your students' motivation, creativity, self-esteem, agency, and their desire to share their own stories and listen to the stories of others. Listen in to find out more.

Resources:

Sarah Kay:

• Sarah Kay
• How Many Lives Can You Live? by Sarah Kay at TEDxEast
• If I should have a daughter… by Sarah Kay at TED2011
• Project VOICE
• Spoken-Word Poets Bring Words to Life for Students via EdWeek
• Video Playlist: National Poetry Month! via Sarah Kay on YouTube
• Spoken Word Poetry Guide for Teachers - Resources for Writers via TEDEd
• No Matter the Wreckage: Poems by Sarah Kay
• B: A Poem by Sarah Kay
• The Type: A Poem by Sarah Kay
• All Our Wild Wonder: A Poem by Sarah Kay

Tch Videos:

• Poetry Open Mic
• Exploring Poetic Elements
• Analyzing Poetry: Imagery & Emotions
• Poetry Workstations
• Taylor Mali: Undivided Attention
• Taylor Mali: I Teach for the Fire
• Taylor Mali: What Do Teachers Make?
• Taylor Mali: Miracle Workers
• Taylor Mali: In My Middle School
• Creating Found Poems

Spoken Word Poetry Resources:

• 5-Minute Film Festival: The Power of Spoken Word Poetry via Edutopia
• Louder Than A Bomb
• Youth Speaks
• Global Writes
• Lesson Plan: Crossing Boundaries Through Bilingual, Spoken-Word Poetry via ReadWriteThink
• Song of Myself: Spoken Word Poetry in the Classroom, by Shannon Reed via Visual Thesaurus
• 5 Reasons Why You Should Bring Spoken Word Into Your Classroom, via Funky Pedagogy
• Video Playlist: Classroom Friendly Poems via Button Poetry on YouTube
• 10 Tips for Teaching Hip Hop and Spoken Word Poetry by Brian Mooney
• Why I Dropped Everything and Started Teaching Kendrick Lamar’s New Album by Brian Mooney
• Part 2: High School Students Write Essays on Kendrick Lamar’s Album, To Pimp a Butterfly by Brian Mooney
• 25+ Slam Poems Appropriate for Middle School and High School via Teacher Off Duty
• Spoken Word Poetry Videos via Penny Kittle
• Say the Word...Spoken Word Poetry, That Is. via Megan McClure on BloomBoard