Call it poetic justice, but not only is performance poetry the hottest, hippest way for students to engage in literate behaviors, it’s also an effective vehicle for helping students meet language arts standards. In fact, poetry performance meets eight of NCTE and IRA’s twelve national standards for English instruction and contributes to the mastery of the other four. Best of all, it works in any setting, and with Outspoken! you’ll learn how the spoken word can rev up the energy in your classroom while achieving your curricular goals.

In Outspoken! poet–educators Sara Holbrook and Michael Salinger take you through the process of developing, implementing, and assessing poetry performance—and beyond. Beginning with ideas for encouraging even the most reluctant students to speak clearly and write from the heart, this handbook uses familiar workshop structures to guide young poets toward vibrant completed pieces and an exciting, dynamic delivery. With lessons involving memoir, metaphor, character, point of view, and articulation, you’ll find a fully realized unit that’s as enjoyable to teach as it is to learn and that’s full of specific advice on assessing the writing, speaking, performing, and learning of your students.

Holbrook and Salinger also go outside the classroom, providing ideas and guidelines for running a poetry slam in your school, conducting a poetry performance series, and bringing in a visiting poet. In addition, Outspoken! comes with a DVD that contains Outspoken: Playhouse Square Center’s Slam-U Program, a documentary that chronicles Salinger and his students as they prepare to compete in a national poetry slam, demonstrating what student performance poetry looks like up close and the positive effect it has on students’ lives and learning.