The program is designed for teachers and schools to conduct the classroom and school level program on their own using the Poetry Out Loud website and program materials provided.

All schools/home school associations will follow the same contest structure described in the Teacher’s Guide for POL 2011-2012. All poems selected must be found in the approved Poetry Out Loud anthologies, available both online and in print in the Teacher's Guide. Since NJPOL has an additional contest level, the regional competitions, please make special note of the number and types of poems students must prepare at that level:

Classroom Level: Students prepare at least one poem. Classroom winners will proceed to compete in school-wide competition.

School Level: Students must prepare two poems. School-wide winners will proceed to compete in a regional competition.

Regional Level: Students must prepare three poems: at least one poem must have been written before the 20th Century and at least one of the three poems must also be 25 lines or shorter. Two regional winners will proceed to compete in the State Finals.

State Final: Students must prepare three poems as in the Regional Level: Winners from each of the Regional Contests will go on  to compete for the title of New Jersey State Champion on March 21, 2012 at The College of New Jersey. The state champion will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC to compete for the national championship. The state winner's school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. A state runner-up will receive $100, with $200 for his or her school library.

The National Finals will take place May 13-15, 2012, in Washington, D.C.

The regions are:

REGION 1: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties

REGION 2: Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Somerset Counties

REGION 3: Bergen, Hudson, and Passaic Counties

REGION 4: Essex, Hunterdon, Morris, Sussex, Union, and Warren Counties

Get to know your regional partners here >>

NCTE STANDARDS: Poetry Out Loud satisfies most of the NCTE English Language Arts Standards. In addition to memorizing and performing great poems, students will have the opportunity to discuss poetry and—if the teacher wishes to use the optional lesson plans on the website—to write poetry of their own.

NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards: Poetry Out Loud satisfies most of the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards in Language Literacy and many in the Visual and Performing Arts:

New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards >>

Click here for a printer-friendly version (PDF) >>

Stay connected with the national Poetry Out Loud program: