In-School Programs
Bringing programs inside the schools eliminates many of the barriers students and their families face when it comes to accessing enrichment programming.
From the Aiken Writers Room to Readers Theater performances to the Poet Trees, WordPlay brings project-based reading, writing and storytelling workshops into classrooms, with partnerships between trained teaching artists and classroom teachers to complement curriculum with the arts.
ARTS INTEGRATION
Poet Tree (4 sessions):
WordPlay Teaching Artists work with your students to craft individual poems, while a visual artist installs a sculptural tree in a designated spot of your choice. The class then installs the poems from the beautiful Poet Tree with students. The wonderful thing about Poet Tree is that you have a beautiful finished project, made by your students that they can see for as long as you choose to keep it up, and they get to take their very own poems home with them after you dismantle the tree!
Reader's Theatre (6 sessions):
Wordplay provides a dramatic script, informed by a piece of literature chosen in partnership with your classroom teachers. A trained teaching artist meets with your students for 5 sessions to refine and learn the script. The 6th session culminates in the performance of the chosen piece. Together, the students and teaching artists learn the key elements of Readers Theatre using creative, project-based learning while building social emotional skills, community, and setting goals together as a class. Wordplay Readers Theatre workshops integrate reading, writing, speaking, and listening with engagement of all students. ALL students learn to find their voices and grow in self-confidence and self-awareness. This workshop provides opportunities for cooperative learning and student empowerment through practicing literacy and presentation skills.
Artist-In-Residencies (6-12 weeks):
We have three Artist-in-Residency programs.
I AM Residency: In this residency, your students work with quotes, writing prompts, portrait poems, and the I AM poem! There will be opportunities to share, and your students will be invited to take part in a “call out” circle, where they will hear how their pieces spoke to their classmates. This residency focuses heavily on poetry, sharing, and revision.
Playwriting Residency: This 8-12 week residency can be crafted to fit your timeline and can be molded to fit the needs and desires of your classroom teachers/students. In the playwriting residency, students will write a 10-minute play, while serving as readers for each other's plays. Each week will include writing exercises, (revolving around script writing and character) as well as readings of plays in progress.
Ala Carte Residencies: We work with classroom teachers to determine an artistic discipline to support classroom curricula. Next, we pair a WordPlay Teaching Artist specializing in this discipline to plan and deliver a 6 week experience for students. Disciplines include: creative writing, poetry, theatre, movement/dance, and visual arts.
After School WordPlay Clubs:
Our clubs serve partner organizations and schools by offering after-school engagement programs. These programs are delivered in 6-week increments, for 1 hour each session, and can support 12 students per Teaching Artist.
WRITERS' ROOM AT AIKEN HIGH SCHOOL
The WordPlay Writers' Room launched in a former teacher's lounge inside Aiken New Tech High School in 2017. A hub for programs both during and after school, the Writers' Room provides equitable access for all students in the school to creative programs, as well as consistent opportunities to collaborate with school staff. Each week, WordPlay staff lead the 7th and 8th grade Humanities classes for creative writing experiences with historical context; several classes of Aiken's international students visit the Writers' Room weekly to engage in writing for social action; and WordUP, our longest-running teen program (begun in 2012), meets weekly after school for a deep dive into social justice, current events, news literacy and multi-genre writing experiences.
Special thanks to our school partners:
Aiken High School
Chase Elementary School
College Hill Fundamental Academy
Dater High School
Ethel M. Taylor Academy
Fairview Clifton German School
Gelnn O Swing
Hartwell Elementart
John G. Carlisle Elementary
Kilgour Elementary
Oyler School
Roberts Academy
Rockdale Academy
Roll Hill Academy
Sayler Park Elementary
Shroder High School
School for Creative and Performing Arts
and all of our other Cincinnati Public School partners!
Our In-School programming is made possible thanks to funding from:
