Nebraska Writer’s Collective Poetry Workshop Request for $475

Nebraska Writer’s Collective Poetry Workshop, Christine Ronan 7th English Team 7B-FMS

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Making a Difference Request for $475.00 Funding

(Partial Funding of $300 of the $775 requested provided by a Creative Teaching Grant from the Foundation)

  • Nebraska Writer’s Collective Poetry Workshop
  • Christine Ronan 7th English  Team 7B Fremont Middle School

The grant would be used to invite for a full day, a group of  professional “slam poets” from the Nebraska Writers Collective (NWC) for an extensive full day of poetry writing and performance workshops that culminate into a friendly, inspiring and powerful experience working with students to write practice performing original, individual and group pieces.

The visiting poets from the Nebraska Writers Collective create and implement constructivist, authentic, and individualized learning experiences for multiple students’ learning styles. When they arrive we gather in the library and the poets perform at the microphone, as an introduction to performance poetry.

The main objective of this workshop is to give students from all races and demographic backgrounds, regardless of gender or sexual orientation a safe space for self-expression. It has been a perfect time to allow students to step away from classroom stressors and delve into unique (similar & different alike) perceptions, world issues and self reflection, with fresh perspectives.

After the writing sessions, they have a practice session where they are coached as to how to better speak into the microphone in front of an audience, in anticipation to perform for their peers at the end of the day.  The atmosphere is electric, with all students cheering for one another as poetry bridges the divides that formerly alienated them, perhaps, from one another. The main goal is to help as many as possible find and share their voices …in the midst of the learning.

The final product of this process are a number of individually created poems, treasured emblems of success, as well as permanent proof of the potential that exists within all our FMS youth. Of course this activity is especially impactful for students with behavioral and learning disabilities, the often-overlooked youth. The NWC is brought in, to conduct this workshop, following our month long unit of poetry in which poetry is explored and practiced. This is a wonderful finale to showcase all they have worked to learn. The performance aspect is empowering and I am absolutely astonished at the growth they show at the end of the experience which highlights these fine human beings that are our students.

This would be the fifth year I have planned and implemented the NWC “Slam Poets” workshop at FMS and will touch/serve over 117 students from my team. With that size group, we need to break into groups that will rotate so that each student can experience five poet’s lesson.