Before building our own recitations, we closely studied performances from the Poetry Out Loud National Championships, including the 2025 and 2024 winners, and used the official evaluation criteria to guide our observations. Students quickly noticed that the two performances were strikingly different in tone, pacing, and emotional delivery. We also pushed our analysis further by listening to the performances without watching the video. This helped students realize just how much meaning can be conveyed through the voice alone — through pacing, rhythm, intonation, and emphasis — even without the facial expressions or gestures. As a result, students came to understand that while body language and presence matter, the voice is the first and most important tool in a reciter’s toolbox, carrying the core emotion and meaning of the poem to the audience.

To help students build their own recitations, we used a “layered cake” metaphor. Rather than trying to perfect everything at once, students focused on adding one layer at a time. They began with Layer 1: enunciation and speed, practicing how to speak clearly and at an intentional pace. Next, they added Layer 2: volume and intonation, experimenting with how their voice could reflect the emotion and meaning of the poem. Then came Layer 3: facial expressions, using their eyes and expressions to communicate feeling, followed by Layer 4: body and hand gestures, making purposeful choices about movement and posture. This step-by-step approach helped students build confidence and focus on improving one aspect of performance at a time.

Throughout this process, students engaged in a structured rehearsal routine: marking up their poems with performance cues, practicing independently, and then sharing with partners to receive specific “glows and grows” feedback. This cycle of practice and feedback allowed students to refine their performances and make intentional decisions about how to convey meaning to an audience.

We launched the writing portion of our poetry unit by rethinking what it means to be a “good” writer. Together, we explored Ms. Q’s core idea that poetry is a space for freedom, creativity, and experimentation, where there are no strict rules about what you can or cannot write. Students embraced the idea that poets are allowed to “play in the sandbox,” trying out unexpected ideas, breaking conventions, and discovering their own voice. We also introduced an important mindset shift: writing strong poetry requires writing many imperfect poems first. Students reflected on our class mantra—that all poets write some bad poems, some okay poems, and some great ones—and began to see risk-taking as an essential part of the creative process.

To support this work, students were given a resource that summarizes the language and form tools we studied during the reading portion of the unit. At the start of each writing exercise, they pause to intentionally choose which tools they want to experiment with, whether that’s figurative language, repetition, line breaks, or visual structure. Rather than trying to use everything at once, students are encouraged to be thoughtful about how specific techniques can strengthen the meaning of their poem. So far, each student has experimented with a wide range of tools, with many pushing themselves to try new and unfamiliar approaches.

Students began their poetry writing by creating list poems, which offer an accessible and flexible entry point into free verse writing . A list poem starts with brainstorming—a simple, uncensored list of ideas connected to a topic. Students chose their own topics, ranging from things that drive me crazy to memories I’d forgotten to embarrassing moments or lies I’ve told. This freedom allowed students to write about experiences that felt personal, funny, reflective, or meaningful to them.

From there, students moved beyond just listing and began shaping their writing into a poem. They looked for patterns or connections within their lists, revised to include the most vivid or important details, and experimented with order, sometimes building from small moments to bigger ones, or organizing ideas across time. As they drafted, students also began to think about sound and rhythm, noticing how word choice, repetition, and line breaks could influence how the poem feels when read aloud. Through this process, students learned that even a simple list can become powerful writing when crafted with intention.

For the “New Perspectives” prompt, students were challenged to step outside of their own point of view and write from the perspective of something else. While some students chose to embody weather or animals—imagining what it might feel like to be a snowstorm or a bird—many pushed beyond those examples and experimented with entirely different objects, places, or even abstract ideas. The goal was not just to describe these things, but to inhabit them: to think, feel, and speak as that perspective. If you were a microwave, what would you have to say? This exercise encouraged students to stretch their imagination, develop empathy, and experiment with voice, as they explored how shifting perspective can transform both the meaning and emotional impact of a poem.

Students responded especially enthusiastically to this prompt, and those who had been experiencing writer’s block before suddenly found momentum and voice with this prompt. Building on the previous prompt of perspective-taking, some students even extended that thinking into their “I seem to be… but really I am…” poem, writing from the perspective of an object or animal. This prompt allowed them to explore the contrast between outward appearance and inner reality, leading to poems that were often more introspective, surprising, and emotionally nuanced. For many writers, this prompt unlocked new possibilities, helping them take risks, deepen their ideas, and discover that powerful poetry can emerge when they push beyond the obvious and say something more layered or unexpected.

Students also loved the “I used to… but now…” prompt, which invited them to reflect on how they have grown and changed over time. This structure gave students a clear and meaningful way to compare their past and present selves, leading to poems that ranged from playful and lighthearted to deeply reflective. Many students wrote about shifts in their interests, habits, relationships, or ways of thinking, while others explored more subtle or emotional changes. This prompt helped students see that their own lives are rich material for poetry, and it encouraged them to notice growth, identity, and transformation in ways that felt both personal and powerful.

For this prompt, students wrote directly to a person, object, place, or idea, rather than writing about it. Framed as a kind of poetic “letter,” this exercise encouraged students to explore voice, tone, and emotion in a more direct and intentional way. Some students chose meaningful people in their lives, while others addressed unexpected subjects — like everyday objects or abstract ideas — leading to poems that were often humorous, heartfelt, or surprisingly reflective. This prompt helped students think carefully about audience and purpose, and pushed them to consider what they truly want to say when they have something (or someone) specific in mind.

For this prompt, we took advantage of the emerging spring weather by taking our poetry writing outside to the Outdoor Classroom, giving students the chance to be inspired by nature in real time. Surrounded by a beautiful garden space – with a flowing stream, visiting ducks, and the sounds of wind and wildlife – students spent about 40 minutes observing, listening, and jotting down sensory details. They were encouraged to use all five senses and to pay close attention to both bold and subtle sounds, experimenting with similes and metaphors to capture what they noticed. This experience helped students slow down, tune into their surroundings, and translate real-world observation into vivid, sensory-rich poetry.

For our last poetry writing exercise of the unit, students had a choice between two fun, more "out there" creative prompts: the "Third Eye" prompt, and the "Poetic Compounds" prompt.

For the Third Eye prompt, students were invited to imagine having a magical "third eye" that can see things their normal eyes cannot. This pushed students into more abstract and imaginative thinking, as they brainstormed ideas like seeing the past, the future, hidden parts of the world, or even invisible emotions and memories. The goal was to stretch beyond concrete description and explore wonder, curiosity, and possibility – writing poems that reveal what might exist just beyond the limits of ordinary perception.

For the “Poetic Compounds” prompt, students experimented with combining words in unexpected ways to create vivid, surprising images. Inspired by examples like “a swan of bees” or “a blackboard of moons,” students crafted their own imaginative phrases and built poems around them. This exercise encouraged playful risk-taking with language, helping students see how unusual word pairings can spark entirely new ideas and ways of seeing the world.

When we read poetry, we don’t just read it once—we reread it multiple times, each time putting on a different pair of “reading glasses” to deepen our understanding.

1. Mind Movie: First, we listen and visualize. We notice what images, emotions, and questions come to mind as we hear the poem aloud.

2. The Situation: Next, we figure out what’s going on. Who is speaking? Who are they speaking to? What is the context or setting?

3. Language: Then we zoom in on word choice and figurative language—similes, metaphors, repetition, alliteration, and other craft moves the poet uses.

4. Form (Structure): We examine how the poem is built—line breaks, enjambment, rhythm, repetition, and stanza structure—and consider how these choices shape meaning.

5. Meaning: Finally, we put it all together. We think about symbols, themes, and the poem’s central message, and we connect it to history, other texts, and our own lives.

We opened the unit with a close study of Langston Hughes’s “The Negro Speaks of Rivers." Students began by building historical and literary context before ever reading the poem. First, they conducted brief research on Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance, and we revised the historical term “Negro” so students understood why the word appears in the poem and how language evolves over time. To deepen comprehension of the poem’s allusions, we previewed the Nile, Euphrates, Congo, and Mississippi Rivers, learning about their roles in ancient civilizations and American history —including a teenaged Abraham Lincoln’s 1828 trip to New Orleans, where he witnessed the slave trade for the first time. This background knowledge allowed students to approach the poem with a much richer understanding of its historical scope.

When we read the poem, students first listened to Randolph Smith, the 2020 Maryland Poetry Out Loud Champion, perform it aloud while creating “poetry graffiti” – sketching images, jotting striking phrases, and capturing emotional reactions. Over a few days, we reread the poem many times using our analysis “glasses”: visualizing (“Mind Movie”), examining the situation and speaker, studying Hughes’s language (including personification, similes, and anaphora), analyzing form and repetition, and finally synthesizing meaning. 

Students thought deeply about the symbolism of the rivers and how they might represent ancestry, resilience, identity, connectedness, and collective memory. Many were especially moved by the line, “I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins,” which sparked powerful discussion about history and belonging. To conclude, students wrote letters to Hughes reflecting on what the poem revealed to them, and they listened to Hughes himself describe writing the poem at age 17.

In our study of Gwendolyn Brooks’s “We Real Cool”, we once again began with historical context before analyzing the poem itself. Students read and discussed an article about the 1963 Chicago Public Schools boycott, known as “Freedom Day," and watched the trailer of a documentary on the subject. (Using protest footage that director Gordon Quinn shot as a 21-year-old University of Chicago student, the documentary ties the 1963 Chicago Public School Boycott of segregation to contemporary issues of race, education and youth activism. You can learn more about the documentary here.) 

This helped students understand the unequal and segregated school conditions many Black students faced in Chicago during that era. Learning about overcrowded classrooms, underfunded schools, and the use of “Willis Wagons” helped students imagine the social realities that may have shaped the lives of the teenagers Brooks portrays. (At the end of the analysis, we listened to a clip of Brooks describing the inspiration for this poem. When spotting a group of teenagers at a pool hall during school hours, instead of asking herself "Why aren't they at school?" she asked herself, "I wonder how they feel about themselves?") This background knowledge deepened our understanding of the poem’s tone and the possible motivations behind the choices of the young people in it.

When we turned to the poem, students first listened several times and created “poetry graffiti,” capturing images, emotions, and first impressions. Many noticed the spare structure, the repeated “We,” and the poem’s sharp, rhythmic sound. Using our analysis “glasses,” we examined Brooks’s powerful use of enjambment — how each short line spills into the next without punctuation — and reflected on how this structural choice places emphasis on the verbs that begin each line (“Lurk,” “Strike,” “Sing,” “Thin,” “Jazz,” “Die”). Students also noticed Brooks’s unconventional capitalization of those verbs in the middle of sentences, prompting discussion about how poets can intentionally “break” grammatical rules for artistic effect. Through this close reading, students explored how form, language, and historical context work together to shape meaning – and many are beginning to see that poetry often offers writers even more creative freedom than prose.

In our study of Maya Angelou’s “Harlem Hopscotch," we once again began by building historical context. Students learned about the Great Migration—the movement of about six million Black Americans from the South to cities in the North and West between 1910 and 1970. We explored how this migration helped shape neighborhoods like Harlem, which became a center of Black culture, creativity, and community during the Harlem Renaissance – and continued to evolve in the decades that followed. At the same time, students learned that racism and inequality did not disappear in the North; housing discrimination, overcrowding, and limited job opportunities continued to impact many families. This context helped students better understand the lived experiences that may be reflected in Angelou’s poem.

When we first listened to the poem (recited by Maya Angelou herself!) some students instinctively began to move and sway in their seats as they created their poetry graffiti. This led us to closely study the poem’s rhythm, noticing the alternating stressed and unstressed syllables and how they mimic the hopping pattern of a hopscotch game. Students observed that, compared to the previous poems, Angelou uses much simpler, more conversational language—similar to a chant children might say while playing outside. 

As we analyzed the poem using our “reading glasses,” students explored how the playful structure of hopscotch contrasts with the serious realities described in the poem, including lines about racism (“Since you black, don’t stick around”), financial stress (“Food is gone, the rent is due”), and unemployment. Through this contrast, students developed thoughtful interpretations about resilience, survival, and perspective – especially in the final lines, where the speaker reflects, “They think I lost. I think I won.” We concluded by watching a powerful music video inspired by the poem (see left), which helped students see how poetry can come to life through performance and visual storytelling.

In our study of Lucille Clifton’s poem “blessing the boats,” students explored how poets use form and structure to shape meaning and tone. We began by listening to a moving recording of the poem read aloud by Clifton’s daughter, Sidney Clifton (right), while students created “poetry graffiti” to capture their first impressions, images, and emotional reactions. 

Very quickly, students noticed that Clifton breaks many of the conventional “rules” of writing: the poem contains no capitalization or punctuation, and there is extra spacing between certain phrases near the end. Using our poetry “reading glasses,” we discussed how these stylistic choices might contribute to the poem’s gentle, flowing quality. Several students suggested that the repeated phrase “may you” gives the poem the feeling of a blessing or prayer, while the lack of punctuation creates a sense of continuity and "never-ending-ness," as though the blessing could continue on without end, like waves on the ocean. 

Students’ interpretations deepened as we learned more about the context in which Clifton wrote the poem. We discussed how she composed it later in her life while facing serious illness, and how it was written for college students preparing to move forward into new stages of independence. This context prompted rich conversations about symbolism. Many students wondered whether the “boats” might represent young people setting out into uncertain futures, while the “wind” or guiding forces could symbolize family, community, or inner strength. Through this close reading, students reflected on themes of courage, resilience, hope, and the ways in which language can offer comfort and encouragement. By the end of the week, students were not only analyzing poetic craft more precisely, but also recognizing how poetry can serve as a source of reflection and emotional support during moments of transition and change.

Students had a great deal of energy and enthusiasm while reading poems by Kwame Alexander. For the first time in the unit, they took full ownership of the analysis process by working in small discussion groups, applying their poetry “reading glasses” independently.

Students read 4 short poems from Alexander's novel-in-verse, The Crossover, each showcasing different poetry techniques (see right): 

1. The Show

2. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to

3. pul•chri•tu•di•nous

4. Man to Man

Students were especially intrigued by Alexander’s playful experimentation with form. They noticed his use of changing fonts, stretched-out letters, and words arranged diagonally or vertically on the page. One moment that generated lively discussion was his repeated visual emphasis on the word “alone,” which students felt deepened the emotional impact of the poem by visually reinforcing the idea of isolation. They also observed how one poem’s title was formatted to resemble a dictionary entry, sparking conversation about how poets can borrow conventions from other genres to create meaning.

For students who enjoyed these excerpts, I highly recommend they read the full novel – and after watch the adapted TV show on Disney+ (trailer to the right). 

You and your child can also watch more clips of Alexander discussing his work through this YouTube playlist.

We wrapped up Part 1 of our poetry unit by reading Amanda Gorman’s poem “New Day’s Lyric.” Students watched a video of Gorman performing the poem, which she first shared on Instagram at the end of 2021 to welcome the new year – just months after gaining national attention for her inaugural poem at President Joe Biden’s swearing-in ceremony. Before reading, we reflected together on major events that shaped Americans’ experiences in 2021, touching on the Big Moments of the year including the January 6 Capitol attack, the ongoing pandemic, mass shootings, the guilty verdict in the trial of the officer who murdered George Floyd, the fall of Kabul, and natural disasters across the country. Students recognized that this poem offered a unique opportunity to read poetry connected to historical events they themselves had lived through.

Students then worked in small groups to analyze the poem independently, applying the poetry “reading glasses” they have practiced throughout the unit. Together, we later zoomed in on Gorman’s sophisticated craft moves, including her use of alliteration, anaphora, internal and slant rhymes, and powerful juxtapositions that highlight both hardship and hope. Students discussed how the poem balances honest acknowledgment of struggle with a forward-looking sense of resilience and possibility. To conclude our study, we watched Gorman’s recitation of her famous poem, “The Hill We Climb,” allowing students to compare themes, performance style, and the role poetry can play in responding to pivotal moments in history.