Discussion Question number 4 in the original lesson plan provides the following instructions: 

"Read Angelou’s poem “On the Pulse of Morning.” Underline parts which seem to invite emphasis. Think about the voice in which you read the poem. Now listen to the poem read by Angelou at Clinton’s inauguration. Highlight the parts of the poem that Angelou emphasizes. Do they differ from your own? How important is voice when reading poetry? Who is the speaker in “On the Pulse of Morning”? Who is the audience?" [1]

After students have completed this activity, have students explore and select one poem of their choosing to learn and recite. The Poetry Out Loud website provides countless poems for students to select from. As an alternative, teachers can either select poems themselves to provide to students or they can source their poems from another poetry database.

Once students have selected their poem, they should spend the next several classes (or portions of the next several classes) analyzing their poem for content and meaning. Once they understand both the literal and figurative meaning of their poem, they should begin annotating their poem to consider, for example, which words should receive emphasis, where the pauses should occur, what the tone of the speaker should be when reciting the poem, etc. The whole-class exploration of "On the Pulse of Morning" should serve as their guide for this step.

On the due date, student should recite their poems orally in order to demonstrate their understanding of the text and the impact of sound on a poem's meaning. Teachers can determine whether it is appropriate to ask students to memorize or simply read their poems based on instructional needs. 

The Poetry Out Loud website has a variety of instructional resources to assist teachers in providing students with appropriate guidance and scaffolds, and the "Judge's Guide" (found under "Teacher's and Organizers" on the main website) provides guidance on how to score student performances.