These are just ideas to help you get started. You don’t have to choose from this list! You can pick any school-appropriate speech, poem, or monologue that fits the time limit (about 45–90 seconds) and speaks to you. We encourage you to choose a piece that is inspiring, encouraging or goes along with our school theme "Seeds of Change." Think of these as a helpful starting point to spark your creativity!
“Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” – Maya Angelou
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46473/life-doesnt-frighten-me
“Dreams” – Langston Hughes
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46548/dreams
“My People” – Langston Hughes
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46552/my-people
Excerpt from I Am Every Good Thing – Derrick Barnes
https://read.bookcreator.com/library/-MZsJt1E7I4c8ZxK2fY8/book/8n5F9d7qQO2y9Vf7WQYtLw
Excerpt from The Undefeated – Kwame Alexander
https://youtu.be/HiI0yibREgc?si=XBv2CgGGugxK7ubq
Excerpt from Hair Love – Matthew A. Cherry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNw8V_Fkw28
Excerpt from Mae Among the Stars – Roda Ahmed
https://youtu.be/tuMVjqvIuTI?si=mupva75_DyzXZMNw
“Words Free as Confetti” – Pat Mora
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50726/words-free-as-confetti
Excerpt from Gracias/Thanks – Pat Mora
https://youtu.be/VLURACAKfL8?si=HqFss0o2XygcgjDs
“The Arrow and the Song” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44633/the-arrow-and-the-song
Excerpt from Charlotte’s Web – E.B. White
https://www.readworks.org/article/Charlottes-Web-Excerpt
“Hope” – Langston Hughes
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47534/hope
Excerpt from Amazing Grace – Mary Hoffman
https://www.storynory.com/amazing-grace/
“Brave” – Alice Walker
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48798/brave
Excerpt from The Day You Begin – Jacqueline Woodson
https://youtu.be/KDs5d_qFbEs?si=Dqqn6Q2_Cx6MNS8S
“Still I Rise” (excerpt) – Maya Angelou
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46446/still-i-rise
“Phenomenal Woman” (excerpt) – Maya Angelou
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48985/phenomenal-woman
“I, Too” – Langston Hughes
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47558/i-too
“Harlem” – Langston Hughes
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46548/harlem
Excerpt from Brown Girl Dreaming – Jacqueline Woodson
https://youtu.be/XmCkPcJOoUk?si=sbVEBT2JjCNbxnVl
Excerpt from Hidden Figures (Young Readers) – Margot Lee Shetterly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wfrDhgUMGI
Excerpt from Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down – Andrea Davis Pinkney
https://youtu.be/5pTqmYaaRjY?si=7IH5kr1Dl0zBxMPX
Excerpt from Who Was Harriet Tubman?
https://youtu.be/PhAROp9fXzY?si=yGoGPi6HtYBQCpk2
“If” (excerpt) – Rudyard Kipling
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46473/if---
Excerpt from Number the Stars – Lois Lowry
https://www.readworks.org/article/Number-the-Stars-Excerpt
“Won’t You Celebrate With Me” – Lucille Clifton
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50974/wont-you-celebrate-with-me
Excerpt from Rad American Women A–Z – Kate Schatz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r2n1A0Z8yY
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” (spoken) – James Weldon Johnson
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46549/lift-every-voice-and-sing
Excerpt from March (Young Readers) – John Lewis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xk2W8kK1yI
Excerpt from Brown Girl Dreaming – Jacqueline Woodson
https://youtu.be/XmCkPcJOoUk?si=ePiw5wxdLlQoupY0
“Still I Rise” (excerpt) – Maya Angelou
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46446/still-i-rise
Excerpt from a Martin Luther King Jr. speech (adapted)
https://www.archives.gov/files/press/exhibits/dream-speech.pdf
Excerpt from The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 – Christopher Paul Curtis
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQV17mhzxubhhJvkuwIGFPQqWTcgxH0aA&si=RWCefZrJ-USs5M0-
“Won’t You Celebrate With Me” – Lucille Clifton
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50950/wont-you-celebrate-with-me
Excerpt from Separate Is Never Equal – Duncan Tonatiuh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h2mF4k9WJg
Excerpt from Esperanza Rising – Pam Muñoz Ryan
https://www.readworks.org/article/Esperanza-Rising-Excerpt
Excerpt from The First Rule of Punk – Celia C. Pérez
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2RrA3Z8mE0
“The New Colossus” – Emma Lazarus
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46550/the-new-colossus
Excerpt from Wonder – R.J. Palacio
https://www.readworks.org/article/Wonder-Excerpt
Excerpt from Rad American Women A–Z – Kate Schatz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r2n1A0Z8yY
“If” (excerpt) – Rudyard Kipling
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46473/if---