Understanding and Performing Spoken Word Poetry

Miacademy & MiaPrep Learning Channel

In this engaging Language Arts lesson, students join a narrator on a quest to wake the sleeping "Guardian of Voice" by learning the art of spoken word poetry. The video contrasts a flat, monotonous reading of a poem with a dynamic spoken word performance, vividly demonstrating how delivery transforms meaning. It breaks down the essential components of spoken word, defining it as a performance art that merges poetry with theatrical elements like facial expressions, body language, and vocal modulation. The content dives into specific literary devices common in the genre, such as alliteration, assonance, consonance, and internal rhyme. It explains how these sound devices enhance the musicality of a performance. Students are guided through the specific "tools" a performer has—voice (volume, pacing, pauses), body (posture, gestures), and face (expressions)—to convey emotion and connect with an audience. Ideal for middle school English classrooms, this video serves as both an introduction to the genre and a practical tutorial on public speaking and performance. It encourages students to move beyond merely reading words on a page to embodying them, helping them understand how performance can emphasize emotions, create drama, and bring a poet's message to life.