Programs & Workshops
Residencies
Spark House Teaching Artists partner with a classroom teacher and work closely with a consistent group of students throughout the duration of a residency project. Through a series of intensive poetry and performance workshops, students develop critical thinking skills, strengthen literary terms and techniques, and practice public speaking.
Teaching Artists collaborate with educators to explore innovate ways to integrate creativity into the every-day classroom, often customizing material to complement school’s pre-existing curriculum.
Residencies conclude in a live culminating event and/or published anthology celebrating and showcasing student works.
STRUCTURE
Residences typically consist of 12 – 16 weekly or biweekly workshops with each workshop running the duration of one class-period. Residencies are often paired with a specific subject and/or teacher and can be shaped to meet the specific needs of school site.
Professional Development
Spark House offers Professional Development workshops to educators interested in implementing arts-based activities to improve classroom instruction, enhance subject material, and increase student engagement with pre-existing curriculums. Professional Development workshops are designed to enhance student achievement by providing educators with opportunities to grow professionally and expand their toolbox of engagement strategies.
Areas of focus include but are not limited to: strength based practices, cultivating safe spaces, navigating trauma, relentless engagement, and honoring multiple intelligences. All Professional Developments include activities for educators to use after the residency with recommended materials left for continued follow-up.
Live Performances
Bring the world of literary arts and entertainment to your school by inviting a Spark House poet to host a special live performance for your students.
Spark House poets are internationally acclaimed artists performing at some of the largest entertainment venues around the globe. These exciting, interactive performances are highly engaging and ideal for exposing large groups of students to the ways in which professional poets often use words as tools of resistance, activism, and empowerment.
STRUCTURE
Performances take place assembly-style during a single school day or afternoon and are immediately followed by a workshop or master class.
