I think we all can remember our awkward days of youth, trying to find our voice and where we seem to fit within this massive puzzle we call life.  Well, there's no need for us to leave today's youth or our children in the same predicament. Through a very intriguing and creative performance art we have an opportunity to gift them with a better and much more productive way of traveling their journey of self- expression and awareness.  This gift being offered is via a word based performance art called Spoken Word Poetry. Spoken Word is poetry that focuses on the aesthetics of word play, intonation, and voice inflection. 

The class is broken up into 2 sessions.  
The lessons will include both individual work and a lot of interaction between the instructor and peers in the class.  
The classes teaching style will be a combination of games, video clips, discussion & (some lecture time)

Day 1: Participants will learn what spoken word is and the history behind it. We will compare and contrast between the spoken word poetry and literary poetry. Participants will also have a chance to discuss poets of both eras. 
(Homework: Watch mentioned/discovered spoken word poets/hip-hop artists past or present) 
Participants will begin learning and working on poem structure.  The steps they will take to achieve this objective are defining what is actually important to them and to question what it is that they really want to give voice to. The second step is to brainstorm and journal the first ideas that surface their thoughts. Lastly, they will begin to create phrases/sentences around those brainstormed ideas. 
(Homework: Begin connecting sentences/phrases by priority; such as, what words are important in the poems beginning or the end)
 Participants will now have a good idea of what they are writing about and what they want to convey through spoken word.  This will focus on piecing the sentences/phrases and thoughts together for a cohesive poem.  The participants will also work on editing through peer positive exchanges of each others work. 
(Homework: Practice reading/reciting poem to hear yourself and for memorization)

Day 2: This is the final day of class and by now participants will have a well structured poem and will be ready to recite their poems. Students will be working on what their personal cadence to become more familiarized with their voices and style.  Participants will be working on memorizing their poems. Lastly, participants will have the opportunity to share feedback as to what assisted them during the 2 days and what they will do with what they have learned.  All participants will walk away with a greater sense of self and the knowledge of not only how to write a poem but how to verbally express themselves in a positive more effective manner.