2. Poetry recitation is more than choosing the shortest, easiest poem just so you can get the assignment over with. Poetry recitation is more than regurgitating words quickly before forget them forever. Poetry recitation is more than a monotone mumbling in front of an audience. Poetry Recitation

3. Poetry recitation is finding a poem that speaks to you in some way. Poetry recitation is about committing to memory a message you want to embrace and remember for years to come. Poetry recitation is about embracing an artistic form of expression in order to affirm that you are a thinking, feeling, contributing member of society. Poetry Recitation

4. "Brown Penny" in Must Love Dogs Poetry Outloud: National Recitation Contest Clint Smith: TED TALK The art of recitation

5. Find a poem on either Poets.org, Poetry180, or PoetryOutLoud.org. Requirements: at least 20 lines long/published poem school appropriate content completely memorized hard copy for Dr. Dreyer (so I can follow along) recited with appropriate inflection, tone, pace, and volume (learn the phrases based on the placement of punctuation, not just the end of each line) NO SONG LYRICS ASSIGNMENT

6. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE reciting the poem repeatedly at home before reciting it to the class. Initially, after you’ve memorized it, it will sound choppy. This choppiness will go away with practice. Eventually you’ll find a rhythm to the poem and the flow of the lines—then you’ll become more comfortable with it. This is what you want. Your goal is to tell a story through your recitation of the poem. NOTE: This assignment will be your final set of points in the Speaking and Listening Category of the gradebook—do not put this off until the last minute. Practice.

8. SCORING GUIDE Appropriate interpretation of poem’s meaning: EXC AVG NI ____ / 10 Emotion/enthusiasm/ inflection Gestures Phrasing (punctuation/line structure) General Requirements: EXC AVG NI ____ / 10 Title and author Proper pronunciations Eye contact Rate Appropriate complexity (no “Lazy Jane”) CUES: 01-2 (-1) 3-5 (-2)6-8 (-3) 9+ (-4) Extra lines = ______________ TOTAL _______ / 20