Spoken Word Poetry

for BC Classrooms

"Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn." - Thomas Gray

Poetry is a topic or English unit that many students and teachers alike absolutely dread. When I ask my own students why they don't like poetry, they positively explode with answers.

"It's so boring, and it's hard!"

"I had to write like, 50 different types of poems, and I absolutely hated it."

"It doesn't make any sense!"

Personally, I hated poetry as a student because I didn't see the point in analyzing poetry written in language that didn't make sense to me, and written by poets that had long since passed away. Now, I can see the value in different types of poetry for different individuals, but this wasn't so as a student. That's why, for the past two years, my poetry unit with my 8th-graders has had a significant emphasis on listening to spoken word poetry. It's engaging and relevant to topics that students care about.

I would argue that by giving passionate insight into topics like racism, misogyny, and climate change, spoken word poetry can be used to help develop personal and social responsibility in students. That's why I've created this resource. On this site, you'll find numerous poetry collections, curated by topics, but also curated to align with the Personal and Social Core Competencies mandated by the BC Curriculum. If you discover any poems that you think would fit into any of these categories, please send me an email with your suggestions at mikaela_mcmanus@sd33.bc.ca.

*** Please take care to preview each poem before you show them to your class. Certain selections contain mature content that may not be suitable for your students.