Slam Poetry is a rigorous, literacy-based residency in which students learn to express themselves through poetry and spoken word. A professional poet joins the class to guide students through creative writing exercises that yield inspired, meaningful poems. Throughout this process, students learn to generate ideas through brainstorm and free-write while deepening their understanding of poetic device, technique, and form. Meanwhile, the teacher is a full participant as a writer, producing poetry as a model for students in both the art form and the risk-taking it requires. The residency culminates with a presentation of student work (either an informal poetry reading or a more formal Slam competition), which offers students the opportunity to confidently and effectively perform their piece before an audience of peers.