Speech Contest Grades 3 & 4


posted by on Monday, January 11th, 2010

The annual OLPH Speech Contest is approaching. All students must participate in this annual event. Four grade level winners will compete in the finals. These winners will be invited to an evening performance on Thursday, March 4th, 2010. Titles of selections and a copy of the work are due to the teacher by January 15th, 2010. See guidelines below.

Poetry/ Tall Tales/Comical Selection - For example: Ogden Nash, Shel Silverstein, Paul Bunyan, Washington Irving

  • Students are to select a poem or tall tale from a renowned author that is at or above their grade level.  Work may not come from a Golden /story-type book.
  • Students must commit the piece to memory.
  • The selection must be pre-approved by the teacher for appropriate difficulty level.  If a piece is deemed to be too easy by the teacher, a new work must be selected.
  • Presentations must be 2-4 minutes in length and criteria must be met to receive an English grade and in order to participate in the final judging.
  • Simple gestures or props/costumes should be used when giving presentations.
  • The same selection may not be used by more than one person per grade.  First to submit their selection is the student chosen to do the selection.

Students may not use the same selection from previous years.  The homeroom teacher must approve all selections no later than January 15th, 2010

The following categories are considered when judging each student’s selection:

  • Memorization
  • Volume (Voice Projection)
  • Enunciation, Articulation, Pitch
  • Pronunciation of all words correctly
  • Pace (Speed of delivery-too fast, too slow)
  • Eye contact
  • Artistic Impression/Use of gesture/ expression
  • Ability to convey the author’s message
  • Difficulty of Selection Chosen
  • Timing – There will be a ¼ point deducted for every 15 seconds under time.

Any selection that does not meet the time requirement will not qualify for prizes. The selections are scored as follows:

  • Excellent – 5 Points
  • Very Good – 4 Points
  • Good – 3 Points
  • Fair – 2 Points
  • Poor – 1 Point

Participation

Participation is mandatory for all students in Grades K-8.  Classroom presentations of their speeches will be an important part of the third trimester English / language grade.

Classroom Competition

Students will present their selections on February 18th, 19th, 22nd and 23rd in their classrooms.

Four students in each grade with the highest score will compete with the other winners within their category on Thursday, February 25th, 2010.

Awards

Within each category, the following awards will be given:

  • First Place Medallion Second Place Medallion
  • Third Place Medallion Fourth Place Ribbon
  • Honorable Mention Ribbon will be given to those not chosen for the above categories.

These winners will be invited to an evening performance on Thursday, March 4th, 2010.