|
1.
Poetry Out
Loud Background
2.
School
Participation
3.
Timeline for
the Program
4.
Materials and
the Website
5.
Poem
Selections
6.
Teacher
Implementation in the Classroom
7.
Recitation
Competitions
8.
Contest Prizes
9.
National
Finals
Poetry Out Loud Background
2010
Poetry Out Loud National Competition Contestants
What is
Poetry Out Loud: National Poetry
Recitation Contest?
Poetry Out Loud
is a national program that
encourages the study of great poetry
by offering educational materials
and a dynamic recitation competition
to high schools across the country.
Poetry Out Loud uses a
pyramid structure. Beginning at the
classroom level, winners will
advance to the school-wide
competition, then to the state
capital competition, and ultimately
to the National Finals in
Washington, DC. More than 100,000
students are expected to take part
in Poetry Out Loud this year.
Who created
Poetry Out Loud?
The National Endowment
for the Arts (NEA) and the
Poetry Foundation
created Poetry Out Loud.
At the state level in New York, The
New york State Alliance for Arts Education
coordinates school participation and the regional
and state events.
Why was Poetry Out Loud
created?
In the recent “Reading at Risk”
survey, the National Endowment for
the Arts documented an increasing
rate of decline in literary reading,
especially among younger readers.
To encourage the nation’s youth to
learn about great poetry, the NEA
and the Poetry Foundation are
jointly supporting Poetry Out
Loud.
Poetry Out Loud
builds on the recent resurgence of
poetry as an oral art form, as
demonstrated by the slam poetry
movement and the immense popularity
of rap music among our youth.
By performing great works of
literature, students can master
public-speaking skills, build
self-confidence, and learn more
about their cultural heritage.
Where does Poetry Out Loud take place?
Poetry Out Loud
takes place in high schools in all 50 states
and the District of Columbia.
Back to the Top
School Participation
What kinds of schools are eligible to
participate in Poetry Out Loud?
Only high schools are eligible, but all kinds
of high schools may take part in the program
– public, private, parochial, independent,
charter, etc. Even students who are homeschooled
may participate. Advanced standing eighth
grade students may also participate.
How many high schools will participate
in my state?
In 2010-2011, 81 high schools and over 18,000
students participated throughout New York
State.
Who will coordinate my school-wide
competition?
A volunteer Lead Teacher will coordinate the
competition in your school. The lead
teacher is a self-selected volunteer.
If you would like to be your school’s
Poetry Out Loud lead teacher, contact
director@nysaae.org.
What is the role of the Lead
Teacher?
The Lead Teacher will:
-
Work closely with the Principal to coordinate
the contest (e.g., select judges for the
school-wide competition, promote the event,
organize the school-wide competition;
organize student travel to regional and
state competitions, etc.)
-
Enlist fellow teachers to participate
-
Distribute Poetry Out Loud
materials to each participating
classroom teacher
-
Provide necessary information
to, and serve as the school
point person for, the State
Coordinator at the New York
State Alliance for Arts
Education
How can I sign up to participate?
Register
Online
NOTE: If you are a returning school you are
required to fill out a registration form.
Once
you submit your online registration form for
your school, you must also submit a completed
"Principal Authorization Form".
This document ensures your school's building
administrators endorsement of implimentation
of the program. A PDF version of the form
is available here.
I am a high school student interested
in the program, how can I participate?
Only
a school may register to participate. If you
are a high school student, ask your English
Language Arts teacher to bring Poetry Out
Loud to your school.
Back to the Top
Timeline for the Program
When can my school sign up to
participate in Poetry Out Loud?
Schools must sign up to participate by October
31, 2011.
When should schools conduct their
school-wide competitions?
Schools may begin their programs as soon as
they complete their registrations and receive
their Teacher Toolkits (each participating
teacher will receive a toolkit). The
Poetry Out Loud anthology and the rules
for the competition are available on the web:
www.poetryoutloud.org.
School champions and runners-up must be identified
and their School Winner Forms must be registered
online by January 13, 2012. Please visit the
Poetry
Out Loud 2011-12 page.
How many students can we send to the
Regional Competition?
Each school may send up to three students.
When will the New York State
Regional Competitions and
National Finals take place?
Regional Competition usually occur during
the month of February. The New York State
Finals will be on Saturday, March 24, 2012,
from 1:00PM-5:00PM
at WAMC's
Linda Theatre in Albany, NY . The
state champion will participate in the National
Finals in Washington, DC on May 13-15, 2012.
Back to the Top
Materials and Website
Will any materials be provided to
support this program in my
classroom?
Poetry Out Loud curriculum materials include print and online poetry anthologies,
a teacher’s guide to help instructors teach
recitation and performance, an audio CD featuring
recitations by distinguished actors and writers,
promotional and media guides, and a comprehensive
website located at
www.poetryoutloud.org.
Curriculum materials are available for download
on the Poetry Out Loud website, which
can also be used by schools not involved in
the official contest.
When will materials be available?
All materials are distributed to each participating
school September-November, both in hard copy
form from the state coordinator and online
for download on the Poetry Out Loud
website (www.poetryoutloud.org).
The Teacher Packet, which includes a
teacher’s guide, audio CDs and the
poetry anthology, will be mailed to
you soon after you register.
Can teachers request additions to the
anthology?
Yes. The NEA and the Poetry
Foundation plan to continually
expand the selection of poems
available on the website. We will
try to satisfy anthology requests
whenever possible, but please
remember that copyright permissions
and other issues must be taken into
consideration. Poems in the public
domain may be easier to include, and
we cannot include poems in
translation. Please note that
student-authored poems will not be
included on the website and cannot
be recited as part of the official
competition.
Back to the Top
Poem Selections
Can students choose poetry outside of
the poems in the anthology?
Poetry Out Loud includes an online anthology of approximately
500 poems. The students may choose from that
site, as well as from the shorter hardcopy
version of approximately 100 poems that has
been compiled for classroom use. Students
must
choose poems from the print or online
versions of the Poetry Out Loud anthology.
Are there any other requirements for
students’ selections?
It is strongly recommended that students who
compete beyond the classroom level select
poems of various style, time period, and
voice. Diversity in the selections will
offer a richer and more complete
performance. For the state and national
competitions, students must select one poem
of 25 lines or shorter and one poem written
before the 20th century. The same poem may
be used to meet both requirements. Lists of
qualified poems are available on the
Poetry Out Loud website.
Students must provide the names of their poems
and the order in which they will be recited
in advance to the contest coordinator. Students
may not change their poem selections or order
once they have been submitted. This
will enable the coordinator to have copies
of the poems collated for the judges and prompter,
and contest evaluation sheets prepared.
How do I notify the State Coordinator
of my school winners’ poem selections?
Please submit your school winner information
online by clicking here.
Please
note: poem selection can be changed once a
School Winner form is submitted.
Deadline: January 13,
2012.
Back to the Top
Teacher Implementation in the
Classroom
How much time will teachers need to
spend implementing Poetry Out
Loud in the classroom?
The entire program (including teaching time,
classroom and school competitions) should
take place September-January 13, 2012. Each
individual teacher might spend from one to
three weeks on Poetry Out Loud, although the
program will not require full class periods
during this time.
NOTE: The Poetry Out Loud program needs to
take place during class-time, and not after-school
as an extra-curricular club.
What students are eligible to
participate in Poetry Out Loud?
High
School Students in grades 9-12, and advanced
standing eighth graders are eligible to participate
in the Poetry Out Loud Program.
Schools may determine which students
participate at the classroom and
school-level Poetry Out Loud
programs, pursuant to local and
state law. Under federal
immigration and tax law,
participation in state-level
contests and the national finals is
restricted to U.S. citizens or
permanent residents. As part of
the routine collection of
biographical information, you will
need to confirm eligibility of your
school champion and runner-up prior
to their participation in the
regional and state competitions.
Is there a creative writing element to
Poetry Out Loud?
The central objective of the program
is to familiarize students with the
best of their literary heritage,
while teaching them important public
speaking skills and recitation.
Poetry Out Loud
is not intended to replace classroom
activities like creative writing; in
fact, the two naturally complement
one another. For that reason, we are
currently creating a number of
optional writing exercises and
lesson plans, which will be
available to teachers on the
website.
Additionally, schools may
plan to send writers into
participating classrooms, both to
coach students in performance
techniques and to offer writing
workshops.
Back to the Top
Recitation Competitions
Is there a minimum and maximum amount
of time that a participant can use
to recite his or her poem?
A sonnet generally takes about a
minute to recite, and we are trying
to keep the maximum time per poem to
around three minutes.
Can embellishment be used to deliver the poems; i.e.
movement (gestures, walking), or
will participants be expected to
stand and deliver the poems in one
place? Can participants add any kind
of sound or musical instruments for
effect?
The recitation of poetry, in this
context, is a bit different than
theatre acting. Poetry recitation is
about the poem, not the performance.
No props, costumes, or music may be
used. Overacting, exaggerated
movements, and odd voices and
accents can be distracting.
However, depending on the poem,
gestures and some movement may be
appropriate.
How long will the contest events run?
A contest event should take less
than two hours; any longer than that
can be difficult for the audience.
There will be detailed instructions
and recommendations in the Teacher’s
Guide on organizing the contests,
depending on the number of
participants.
Will students have amplification as
part of their delivery such as a
wireless or handheld microphone?
Yes. We expect to lightly amplify participants
at the Regional, State, and National Finals
with a stage microphone, so volume will still
be an element of evaluation.
Back to the Top
Contest
Prizes
What are the prize amounts at the
state and national levels?
The winner in New York State will
receive $200 and an
all-expenses-paid trip to
Washington, DC, to compete in the
National Finals. The state winner’s
school will receive a $500 stipend
for the purchase of poetry books. A
runner-up from New York State will
receive $100, with $200 for his or
her school library. The NEA and the
Poetry Foundation will be awarding
$50,000 total in scholarships and
school stipends at the National
Finals.
Who covers the cost of awards and
travel for the participants?
The Poetry Foundation will provide all prizes,
including travel costs to the
National Finals for each state
winner and one adult chaperone.
Participating school in New York
State will be responsible for
covering the travel costs associated
with student participating in the
regional and state-wide
competitions.
Back to the Top
The
National Finals
Where will the National Finals take
place?
The National Finals will be May 13-15, 2012.
The site will have a main stage, full lighting
and sound facilities, and comfortable theatre
seats for the audience.
Will students have amplification as
part of their delivery such as a
wireless or handheld microphone?
Yes.
We expect to lightly amplify
participants at the National Finals
with a stage microphone, so volume
will still be an element of
evaluation.
Will a podium be available on stage
for the students?
Unless a student has special needs or disabilities,
there will not be a podium or other furniture
for his or her use. Recitation will take place
on a stage.
Will an audience be present at the
National Finals, or just the judges?
There will be an audience, including
media, at the National Finals.
Back to the Top
POL
Home
|
