How to Go Organize a Poetry Contest for Children

A poetry contest is a great way to involve children in literature and get them excited about reading and writing. By organizing simple rules, contacting schools or summer reading programs, you can find children who might be interested in entering the contest. The main key is letting everybody know what a great job they did even if they didn't win. Poetry contests are great for schools to hold or even libraries. Follow the tips below to organize a poetry contest for children in your area.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Written rules for the contest
• Participation from area newspapers
• Participation from area schools or libraries
• Interested children to enter
• Ribbons
• Certificates

1. Decide on which age groups you would like to attract for the poetry contest. The best grades to choose would be kids who have learned how to write or spell for a few years. A great age group to try would be grades 4-6th, and perhaps junior high as well.
2. Write down and form a group of rules for the poetry contest. Figure out how many lines the poem will be and the theme that the children will be writing on. You could decide on a different theme for each age group. Some ideas could be favorite animals, holidays, summer memories, even school days.
3. Contact area newspapers to see if they would agree to publish the winner(s) poems in local newspapers. Purchase ribbons for the winners, and create certificates on the computer for all of those who participate in the contest.
4. Call and meet with area schools to see if they would be interested in having children participate in the poetry contest. Speak with the teachers in the selected grades that you would like participants from and get their opinions. Also speak with librarians during the summer time and try to get children from the summer reading programs as well. Put announcements in local newspapers letting everybody know about the poetry contest. Spread the word to any of your friends or family who have children in your selected age groups as well.
5. Collect entries from children who enter the poetry contest. Ask other teachers, librarians, and college students to help judge the entries. Vote on the winners of the contest. Hold a banquet at a community center or school for all of the participants and winners of the poetry contest. Ask the children if they would like to read their poems at the banquet. Present awards and certificates to the children and publish winners and runner-ups in the newspaper.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't be surprised if you don't get a lot of entries during the first contest. It will take some time to build interest and get noticed. After word has gotten around and more have become familiar with the contest, you will get more entries as you have the contest more often.