Slam Poetry

What is Slam Poetry?

 It combines rhythm and vivid language to express the poet’s thoughts on  social issues.

Most poets write about…

differences,

fears,

love,

 and justice.

Poets experiences may include school, family and

world news, and the poetry may form from something real, imagined, or both.

We are going to become slam poets!

Through the use of figurative language and the connection of themes from literary works and our lives, we are going to write our own slam poetry.

What is figurative language?

  --Figurative language puts a picture in the reader’s mind.

“Food?”  Chris inquired, popping out of his seat like a toaster strudel.

Simile: comparison using "like" or "as"

His cotton candy words did not appeal to her taste.

Metaphor: direct comparison between two or more things - one thing IS another

Peggy heard the last piece of cheesecake in the refrigerator calling her name.

Personification: giving human characteristics to animals or objects

Alice's aunt ate apples and acorns around august.

Alliteration: repetition of sounds, letters, or groups of sounds in a series of words

Snap, crackle, pop!

Onomatopoeia:use of words to imitate or describe a natural sound or a sound made by an object

I could eat a horse!

Hyperbole:An extreme exaggeration – so dramatic that no one believe it

Theme 

How do you make inferences and connections to the text?

Examples: Themes from the Civil Rights Unit

Hate breeds hate

Until every American is treated equally, there is no equality 

Even the smallest, youngest people can make a difference

We also watched a slam poet, Devin Murphy.

 http://www.hbo.com/russell-simmons-presents-brave-new-voices/cast-and-crew/team-san-francisco/video/devin-murphy.html