For Teachers: Frequently Asked Questions

How can I get my class or school involved in Poetry Out Loud?
Poetry Out Loud is being administered by the official state arts agency in each state. Check with your state’s Poetry Out Loud coordinator, listed under State Contacts, to find out if your school is eligible to participate in this year's program.

We provide all the necessary materials for Poetry Out Loud on this website. If your school is not in a participating region this year, please feel free to use the online materials to run your own, unofficial program and contest.

How do I get started?
Teachers participating in the official contest will receive a free packet of materials from their state arts agency. This teacher toolkit includes the Teacher’s Guide, the Performing Poetry audio guide CD, the Best Performances DVD, two copies of the printed anthology, and posters for the classroom. Additional resources are available online.

Prepare by reading through the Teacher’s Guide, which will explain how to run a Poetry Out Loud contest in your classroom.

Can students choose poetry outside of the poems in the anthology?
No. This website includes an online anthology of more than 600 poems that will continue to expand. The students must choose from that selection, or from the hardcopy Poetry Out Loud Anthology that will be distributed to schools participating in the official contests. If a poem appears in the hard copy of the anthology but cannot be found in the online anthology, it is still eligible for competition.

How much time will each teacher spend implementing Poetry Out Loud in his or her classroom?
The official Poetry Out Loud program will be implemented in schools in fall and early winter. Each teacher might spend two to three weeks on Poetry Out Loud, and the program will not require full class periods during that time. There are, however, myriad opportunities to expand the program in your classroom, making Poetry Out Loud part of a larger poetry curriculum.

Is there a creative writing element to Poetry Out Loud?
The central objective of the program is to familiarize students with the best of their literary heritage, while teaching them important public speaking skills. Poetry Out Loud is not intended to replace classroom activities like creative writing; in fact, the two naturally complement each other. For that reason, we have created a number of optional writing activities and lesson plans for teachers.

If students with disabilities wish to participate in the contest, can any accommodations be made for judging them?
Yes, guidelines on how students with disabilities can participate can be found on the Students with Disabilities page.

Are there any restrictions on who may participate?
No student may be excluded from participation in this program on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, or national origin. Schools may determine eligibility for classroom- and school-level Poetry Out Loud programs pursuant to local and state law. Under federal law, participation in state competitions and the National Finals is restricted to U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Foreign exchange students and other visitors are not eligible to compete for titles or official prizes at the state and national level, unless they are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. A National Champion is not eligible to compete in future years.

What are the prize amounts at the state and national levels?
The following awards are offered for the official contests identified and conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts and the government state arts agencies during the winter and spring. The prizes do not apply to other contests.

Each winner at the state level will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC, to compete in the National Finals. The state winner's school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. A runner-up in each state will receive $100, with $200 for his or her school library. Some states may offer additional prizes. We will award $50,000 total in awards and school stipends at the National Finals, with a $20,000 award for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion.

Awards will be made in the form of lump sum cash payouts, reportable to the IRS. Tax liabilities are the sole responsibility of the winners and their families.

Why has a poem been removed from the online anthology?
Poems that are particularly popular or ones that have been used frequently in national competition are retired for a few years to refresh the anthology selections. This way, the Poetry Out Loud program can highlight new poems for students and their audiences. Judges also appreciate hearing new performances. All poems appearing from the start of the school year online and those in the print anthology are eligible for competition this year.

We hope you'll find it rewarding to discover a new poem to recite and share with others.