Speech

Students write and perform their own 10-minute piece of original writing (although 20% of the material may come from other sources). The mood of the writing may be serious or humorous. Students perform the same selection at every tournament.

Student read aloud various 7-minute selections from a book of either poetry or prose (your choice) interpreting the reading in such a way as to add meaning and interest. Students are given a list of story selections and poems at the start of the season that will be used at all competitions. Each tournament will require the reading of 3-4 of those stories or compilations of poems. 18-19 selections: Prose A Sound of Thunder and Other Stories by Ray Bradbury Poetry The Seashell Anthology of Great Poetry

Students build research files on current events and then deliver 7-minute speeches based on questions related to national or international politics (your choice). At each tournament, students will draw questions of national or international interest, and will then have 30 minutes to formulate their response using the research files they have created. Each round of competition will draw from new questions.

Students choose a speech that was delivered by someone else and analyze why the speech is considered to be 'great'. The 10-minute performance will include portions of the original great speech interspersed with the student's research and analysis of the speech. Students will perform the same selection at every tournament during the season.