High school teachers: add Poetry Out Loud to your must-do list
Register by Nov. 1!
Back to school time means gearing up for another year of Poetry Out Loud, a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering a dynamic recitation competition. Students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage while gaining an appreciation of poetry.
Poetry Out Loud is open to students enrolled in grades 9 through 12 in public, private and parochial schools. The program is designed to fit into a teacher’s busy schedule. The program can take place over two to three weeks, according to each teacher’s interest and does not require full class periods. Teachers can work Poetry Out Loud into existing poetry units as the program satisfies most of the NCTE English/Language Arts Standards, as well as many of the state standards. The free teacher toolkit is filled with curriculum materials to teach poetry recitation and run classroom competitions.
Classroom winners advance to a school-wide competition, then to regional and state competitions and ultimately to the national finals. South Carolina regional competitions will be held in Blythewood and Spartanburg on January 25, 2014, and in Charleston on January 26, 2014. Nine regional finalists will compete in the state finals in Columbia on March 15, 2014. The national finals will be held April 29-30, 2014, in Washington, DC. The state winner receives $200, plus $500 for his or her school library, and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington to compete for the national championship and a $20,000 scholarship. The state first runner-up receives $100, plus $200 for his or her school library.
Last year more than 4,000 S.C. students participated, with Katherine Murchison of Charleston being crowned state winner and advancing to nationals. This year, more than 375,000 students are expected to take part nationwide.
Nov. 1 is the deadline to register for the 2013-2014 school year. For more information or to register, visit the Poetry Out Loud web page, email Frances Kablick Keel or call the South Carolina Arts Commission, (803) 734-8696.
The South Carolina Arts Commission is pleased to partner with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation to bring Poetry Out Loud to high schools across South Carolina for a ninth year.
Poetry Out Loud journey inspires Charleston County student
Poetry Out Loud state champion Katherine Murchison reflects on her experience and competing at the national contest.
On March 16, the South Carolina Arts Commission announced that I was the South Carolina state champion for the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest.
The next month, I advanced to the Poetry Out Loud National Finals, which took place from April 29-30 in Washington, D.C., to compete with 53 other representatives for a chance to win a $20,000 scholarship. Nation-wide, more than 4,000 students began the competition, and 53 remained.
I competed with nine regional finalists at the Columbia Museum of Art for my position. We all recited two poems we had memorized for months through school-wide and regional contests. Three students, including myself, were named state finalists and recited a third poem in order to determine the winner.
Here, Justin Fox, a Spartanburg High School senior, was named state runner-up and Kynnedi McManus, a Strom Thurmond High School senior from Edgefield County came in third.
As the state champion, I received $200 and an all-expenses paid trip for me and a chaperone to compete in the national finals.
The Charleston County School of the Arts, the high school I attend, received a $500 stipend to purchase poetry books.
More importantly however, throughout this entire process I have been exposed to a multitude of poets and passionate literary students just like me.
Read the rest of Katherine's report.
Via: Moultrie News
Charleston student named state Poetry Out Loud champion
Congratulations to Katherine Murchison, a junior at Charleston County School of the Arts, who was named South Carolina champion for the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest on March 16. Murchison now advances to the Poetry Out Loud National Finals to represent South Carolina and take her shot at a $20,000 scholarship. The national finals take place April 29-30 in Washington, D.C.
As the state champion, Murchison receives $200 and an all-expense paid trip to compete in the national finals. The Charleston County School of the Arts library also receives a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books.
Murchison was one of nine regional finalists who competed at the Columbia Museum of Art during state finals. Each recited two poems they had memorized and perfected during school-wide and regional competitions that took place throughout the state from October to January, when more than 4,000 students began the competition.
Justin Fox, (pictured below right) a senior at Spartanburg High School, was named state runner-up. He receives $100, and his school library receives a $200 poetry book stipend.
Read more about the Poetry Out Loud state finals.
