Zanewood Community: A STEAM School hosts poetry slam

Zanewood Community: A STEAM School had a packed library media center the afternoon of Dec. 23, when it hosted a fourth grade poetry slam to share the students’ poetic verses with families. 

Leading up to the event, students spent time learning about poetry in their classrooms, then creating their own poems based on an anchor poem of the day. The unit also included a visit from a published poet and an exploration of digital idioms, metaphors and similes that brought art and technology into the exploration. 

Some of the poem topics included dream jobs, memories, similes for what happens when your teeth aren’t brushed, and more. Event organizers used movemindfully techniques with the student audience between poem categories to keep even the youngest audience members tuned in and engaged with the poetry. 

“While this could have been just another language arts unit in our curriculum, we chose to STEAMify the learning and support each and every scholar in successfully engaging in authentic poems in fun and meaningful ways,” said fourth grade teacher Katie Heule. “The performance was a culmination of the learning to showcase their voices and perspectives, and it was a great way to engage families in our learning.”