Finding my own voice: performing a poem | English | Quizalize & Oak National Academy

Starter quiz

Match each word to its definition ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
- sullen
  
  ⇔
  
  bad-tempered, sulky ✓
- idle
  
  ⇔
  
  not doing anything, lazy ✓
- ignoble
  
  ⇔
  
  unworthy, not honourable ✓
What is true of Maya Angelou? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- She performed a poem for a President. ✓
- Only her poems with refrains are meant to be read aloud.
- She read her work aloud as part of her editing process. ✓
- Her poems are meant to be set to music.
- Performance was important to her work. ✓
Which poem did Maya Angelou write and perform for Bill Clinton? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- 'On Aging'
- 'Woman Work'
- 'Caged Bird'
- 'Equality'
- 'On the Pulse of the Morning' ✓
Match each element of performance to its explanation ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
- body language
  
  ⇔
  
  gestures/ position of your body showing how you feel ✓
- eye contact
  
  ⇔
  
  looking at your audience: individuals or as a group ✓
- pace
  
  ⇔
  
  the speed you speak at different moments in the poem ✓
- volume
  
  ⇔
  
  how loudly you speak at different moments in the poem ✓
- tone
  
  ⇔
  
  the attitude and emotion of your voice at different moments in the poe ✓
When you come across a piece of punctuation like a comma or a full stop when reading a poem aloud, what is the punctuation telling you to do? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- to project your voice
- to pause briefly ✓
- to increase your speed
- to speak more slowly
- to look at your audience
A ______ is a repeated line or set of lines in a poem ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
- 'refrain' ✓

Exit quiz

What is good advice for someone who is preparing to perform a poem? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
- Project your voice. ✓
- Maintain the same tone throughout.
- Look down at the poem throughout.
- Engage the audience with eye contact. ✓
- Use gestures where appropriate. ✓
What does it mean to vary your pace when performing a poem? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
- to speak slowly
- to sometimes speak fast, and sometimes slow ✓
- to be very emotional throughout
- to project your voice
What does it mean to vary your tone when performing a poem? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
- to use gestures and body language
- to sometimes speak fast, and sometimes slow
- to be very emotional throughout
- to alter the attitudes and emotions in your voice ✓
What happened after Maya Angelou performed 'On the Pulse of the Morning' at President Clinton's inauguration? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- She was made Poet Laureate.
- She won the Nobel Prize for literature.
- She won a Grammy. ✓
- She became a famous poet.
Which of these sentences use the word 'idle' correctly? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- I get up at dawn each day because I am idle.
- I idle better than my sister.
- She's very idle and never does any work. ✓
- I'm always idle in the holidays. I need a break! ✓
Which of these sentences use the word ignoble correctly? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- They won the battle, but they used ignoble tactics. ✓
- The most inspiring heroes are always ignoble and strong.
- It was an ignoble Sunday morning: wet and rainy.
- She is an ignoble villain in the story, and I love her story arc! ✓

Worksheet

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

When performing a poem, you should make informed decisions about the pace, volume and tone of your voice.
Your pace, volume and tone could be very different at different moments of a poem.
Experimenting with different ways of saying a poem can be a good way to decide on how you ultimately want to perform it.
You will also want to consider body language and eye contact when performing a poem.
When you don't know a poem by heart, consider how you will maintain a good level of eye contact with your audience.

Common misconception

Performing poetry is just about reading it aloud.

Watching people perform poetry is very popular. The most engaging performers carefully consider how they will say the poem, and how they will engage with their audience.

Keywords

Ignoble - not honourable, unworthy
Tone - the attitude of emotion of your voice - written or verbal
Idle - not doing something, lazy
Experiment - to try something out