The Power of Poems: Rehearse Verse!

Students across the country participating in the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest are competing in state finals this month, hoping they will make it all the way to the National Finals on April 29th. The competition, a result of a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, and U.S. state arts agencies, encourages the nation's youth to learn about poetry through memorization and recitation. Last year, nearly 325,000 students competed.

According to the Poetry Out Loud website, "This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage."

In Margriet Ruurs' new book, The Power of Poems: Writing Activities that Teach and Inspire (Second Edition), she supports the idea that students memorize poetry as an activity: "Memorizing a poem benefits students in many ways. A poem learned in childhood will stay with them for years to come."

Margriet suggests that students memorize their favorite poems or even poems they have written themselves to memorize. Whether in a classroom, during parents' day, or at a school assembly, students should be encouraged to share their poems with an audience. If a poem by another author is selected, Margriet writes, then be sure to include credit when reciting it.
She continues with activity to introduce the topic: "Start with short poems. I often use my very short poem titled “Phone Poem” (from Virtual Maniac) to encourage young students to memorize a poem:

Phone Poem
Hello?
Oh hi!
I know!
Gotta go,
Goodbye!

Use hand gestures to pick up a phone when the poem starts, put down the phone when it ends. Gradually introduce longer poems and encourage students to learn the lines by heart. Let them recite whenever they want to practice. "

Margriet suggests that the teacher also memorize and recite a poem: "Why not use the occasion to memorize a special poem by previous student, your own favorite childhood poem, or one that you wrote yourself?"

Finally, for a book of a fun poems to share aloud, Margriet recommends I Did It Because, How A Poem Happens, by Loris Lesynski and Michael Martchenko.

For a sneak-peek of The Power of Poems–a resource with this and dozens of ther poetry activities for grades 3-8—visit the Maupin House Publishing website.