Invite Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest
Sign-Up Deadline: October 31, 2007
Register your school to participate in Poetry Out Loud! Administered by the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and the New York State Alliance for Arts Education (NYSAAE) and sponsored by Time Warner Cable, Poetry Out Loud provides a new and exciting channel for learning in high school English and Theater classrooms by inviting the dynamic aspects of classic world literature and charismatic public speaking into English and theater classes. Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest was created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation to encourage high school students to read a wide range of literature, building an understanding of texts and the world around them. Poetry Out Loud also helps students to master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage. Moreover, Poetry Out Loud satisfies NCTE English Language Arts Standards.
Upon registration, teachers will receive dynamic teaching tools that will invoke students’ excitement about literature and poetry recitation, including sample lesson plans, audio CDs of poets reciting their own famous works, publicity materials for school competitions, and a DVD of winning student performances from the 2007 Poetry Out Loud National Finals.
Poetry Out Loud uses a pyramid structure that begins in the classroom. Through January 16th, classroom- and school-level competitions will take place across the state. The winners from school-level competitions will advance to regional competitions. From there, winners will go on to compete at the New York State finals, to be held in Albany, NY on March 13th (snow date March 14th).
The state-level winner will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip with a chaperone to Washington, DC to participate in the National Finals in late April 2008. The winner will also receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books for his or her school library. A runner-up will receive $100, with $200 for his or her school library.
If you would like to bring Poetry Out Loud to your high school, please sign up by October 31, 2007. Learn more about Poetry Out Loud by visiting www.nysaae.org/appinfo.htm or contact Lainy Slyder at lainy@nysaae.org for further information.
