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Year 8

Finding my own voice: performing a poem

I can consider different aspects of performance and apply them to a performance of my own.

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New
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Year 8

Finding my own voice: performing a poem

I can consider different aspects of performance and apply them to a performance of my own.

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These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

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

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.


To help you plan your year 8 english lesson on: Finding my own voice: performing a poem, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

The timings and set up of the classroom will be key to this practical lesson. Consider how you want to listen to/ see pupils' performances - it is unlikely you will be able to hear them all individually. Consider how long you want to give pupils to practice in LC1 and LC2's practice task.
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Teacher tip
equipment-required

Equipment

If pupils perform an Angelou poem, they may need 'Phenomenal Woman', 'Woman Work', 'Still I Rise', 'On Aging', 'Caged Bird', 'Equality', 'Life Doesn't Frighten Me', or 'On the Pulse of the Morning'.

content-guidance

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
  • Depiction or discussion of sexual content
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision required

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match each word to its definition ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
Correct Answer:sullen,bad-tempered, sulky
tick

bad-tempered, sulky

Correct Answer:idle,not doing anything, lazy
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not doing anything, lazy

Correct Answer:ignoble,unworthy, not honourable
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unworthy, not honourable

Q2.
What is true of Maya Angelou? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
Correct answer: She performed a poem for a President.
Only her poems with refrains are meant to be read aloud.
Correct answer: She read her work aloud as part of her editing process.
Her poems are meant to be set to music.
Correct answer: Performance was important to her work.
Q3.
Which poem did Maya Angelou write and perform for Bill Clinton? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
'On Aging'
'Woman Work'
'Caged Bird'
'Equality'
Correct answer: 'On the Pulse of the Morning'
Q4.
Match each element of performance to its explanation ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
Correct Answer:body language ,gestures/ position of your body showing how you feel
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gestures/ position of your body showing how you feel

Correct Answer:eye contact ,looking at your audience: individuals or as a group
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looking at your audience: individuals or as a group

Correct Answer:pace,the speed you speak at different moments in the poem
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the speed you speak at different moments in the poem

Correct Answer:volume,how loudly you speak at different moments in the poem
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how loudly you speak at different moments in the poem

Correct Answer:tone,the attitude and emotion of your voice at different moments in the poe
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the attitude and emotion of your voice at different moments in the poe

Q5.
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
Correct answer: to pause briefly
to increase your speed
to speak more slowly
to look at your audience
Q6.
A is a repeated line or set of lines in a poem ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
Correct Answer: refrain

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is good advice for someone who is preparing to perform a poem? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
Correct answer: Project your voice.
Maintain the same tone throughout.
Look down at the poem throughout.
Correct answer: Engage the audience with eye contact.
Correct answer: Use gestures where appropriate.
Q2.
What does it mean to vary your pace when performing a poem? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
to speak slowly
Correct answer: to sometimes speak fast, and sometimes slow
to be very emotional throughout
to project your voice
Q3.
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
Correct answer: to alter the attitudes and emotions in your voice
Q4.
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.
Correct answer: She won a Grammy.
She became a famous poet.
Q5.
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.
Correct answer: She's very idle and never does any work.
Correct answer: I'm always idle in the holidays. I need a break!
Q6.
Which of these sentences use the word ignoble correctly? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
Correct answer: 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.
Correct answer: She is an ignoble villain in the story, and I love her story arc!