Despite high levels of disengagement in urban literacy classrooms, few teachers have seen fit to explore spoken word--the performance of poetry--as a tool to engage students in literacy. Spoken word poetry serves as a powerful means of self-representation for youth that are traditionally portrayed as threatening, menaces to society that do not…

IN THE SHORT STORY WHERE NEITHER CHARACTER, SETTING, NOR PLOT IS DEVELOPED SUFFICIENTLY TO ALLOW A THOROUGH INTERPRETATION OF THE STORY, THE STRUCTURE OR SHAPE OF THE STORY COULD BE USED AS THE TRANSMITTER OF MEANING. THIS APPROACH, WHICH DEPENDS ON INTELLIGENT SENSITIVITY, CONSISTS OF ESTABLISHING THE STRUCTURAL PARTS OF THE STORY, JUSTIFYING…

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…

The language arts component of the California State "Model Curriculum Guides" series, this document sets guidelines for the elementary and middle school English language arts curriculum. The guide suggests a learning sequence--core, integrated, and across the curriculum--and delineates concepts, skills, and activities appropriate for…