Summary
This B2 ESL lesson on creative writing invites students to explore their inner poet and unleash their voice through the art of slam poetry. Using a captivating video and hands-on activities, students will learn the five steps to crafting a powerful spoken word poem. The lesson focuses on expressing personal experiences, developing vivid imagery, and performing with impact.
Students will engage in discussions about creative expression, enhance their listening skills, expand their vocabulary related to poetry, and practice reported speech to discuss characters' thoughts and words. The material is designed to inspire creativity and provide practical tools for self-expression.
Activities
- A warm-up discussion where students share personal experiences with creative writing and expressing emotions.
- Listening comprehension based on a video introducing "Miss Gayle's 5 Steps to Slam Poetry," where students fill in the blanks with exact words.
- A vocabulary matching task focusing on key terms related to slam poetry such as performance, rhythm, emotion, audience, and delivery.
- A grammar exercise on reported speech, allowing students to practice transforming direct quotes into indirect statements, focusing on tense and pronoun changes.
- A vocabulary in context activity to reinforce the newly learned terms by completing sentences.
- A creative challenge to write a short, four-line slam poem stanza, encouraging students to apply the learned techniques and express a strong memory or feeling.
- Speaking practice involving discussion questions about the impact and elements of slam poetry, using the lesson's vocabulary and grammar in conversation.
Vocabulary focus
The vocabulary section introduces terms essential for discussing and performing slam poetry. Key terms include "vagrants" (wandering people), "toss them out" (discard), "machete" (a large, heavy knife, used metaphorically for cutting words), "disbelief" (unwillingness to accept something is true), "performance" (the act of presenting a poem), "rhythm" (the flow and beat of words), "emotion" (strong feelings), "audience" (listeners/watchers), and "delivery" (the style of speaking a poem).
Grammar focus
This lesson concentrates on reported speech (also known as indirect speech). Students will practice transforming direct quotes into indirect statements, focusing on the necessary changes in tenses, pronouns, and time expressions. This skill is crucial for recounting conversations and narratives effectively, making it highly relevant for discussing the personal stories found in slam poetry.
