Wyoming Arts Council

Registration Open for Wyoming’s Poetry Out Loud


The Wyoming Arts Council invites interested 9th-12th grade teachers and students to take part in Poetry Out Loud (POL), the national recitation and memorization contest sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.

Finalists in Wyoming’s 2017 Poetry Out Loud state finals prepare to compete.

Designed specifically for students in grades 9-12 attending public, private or home schools, POL is a fun way to teach and learn language arts standards through poetry.

POL builds on the resurgence of poetry as an oral art form, encouraging the nation’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. Students can work on mastering comprehension, public speaking, acting, performance, drama and English skills while building self-confidence and internalizing our rich literary heritage.

Teachers can learn full program details and register at wyomingartscouncil.org/wac- program/poetryoutloud.

Registered schools will receive a free multi-media toolkit, which includes a teacher’s guide complete with lesson plans, guidance on classroom contests, evaluation criteria, posters, and a customizable contest announcement poster.

POL begins in the classroom, with participating teachers using the POL teacher toolkit to teach poetry performance and run classroom competitions. Following a pyramid structure, classroom winners advance to a school-wide competition, then to the state competition, with the state winner awarded an all-expense-paid trip to the national competition in Washington, D.C., April 23-25.

In addition to the wonderful learning experience this program offers, students have the opportunity to win cash prizes and money for their school library to purchase poetry books.

Schools interested in participating in Wyoming’s Poetry Out Loud competition, can obtain further information or a packet of printed program materials by contacting Tara Pappas at tara.pappas@wyo.gov, 307-777-7109.

The registration deadline for participation in Wyoming’s Poetry Out Loud is December 22, 2017.


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