|
Back to
ELA Files
Speaking
It's interesting, but not surprising, that the 2007
South Carolina Academic Standards for English Language
Arts (English 2 and 4 at least) contain nothing in
regard to speaking. North Carolina's standards are
only a little more inclusive. In 1996, when I was studying the
implementation of New Zealand's National English
Curriculum, speaking was a strand with just as much
weight as reading and writing, as well as listening and
viewing for that matter. Does that show we Americans
don't want our children saying much? As members of
a democracy, we know it is doubly important that
students learn to articulate and contribute their
thoughts and opinions to the social whole. To be
voiceless is to be powerless. I suspect our
country's obsession with multiple-choice testing has
much to do with it. Legislative mandates like NCLB have
effectively narrowed the English Language Arts
curriculum to reading and writing, strands that are
mostly easily (if not effectively) evaluated.
Though
I too have been affected by the overemphasis on reading
and writing, my students were lucky. First, I came
to the classroom having experienced New Zealand's more
comprehensive and balanced view of English.
Second, I came of age as a teacher at Piedmont Open
Middle, where public speaking was one of the academic
performance indicators we emphasized in order to set our open magnet program apart from
other middle schools in the district. Because of
this, I built public speaking requirements into my
activities and assessments, and of course, into my
instruction.
|
Mini-lessons
Morrison's Public Speaking Guidelines
For a Winning Argument...
Assessment
Take a look at some of the task/assessment
sheets to the right to find other rubrics I have
tried.
Informal Oral Presentation
Rubric
|
Speaking about Reading
Court Case
I have used this as
a final assessment of two units. The first
was with my eighth graders after a unit about
Native American stereotypes (see
witness list). After a culminating
trip to Cherokee NC (see
prep guide), they debated whether it is
right to use stereotypes for economic gain.
I also used it with my seniors at the end of a
unit I call "Monsters Within." The central
text is Lord of the Flies and students
debated whether or not Jack is responsible for
the death of Piggy in the novel (see
witness list). I suggest having a good
reflection/discussion about the role of good
public speaking and oral argument after the
trial is complete.
Teacher Guidelines
Blank
Role Transparency
Court Brief (prepared pre-trial)
Trial Reflection (completed post-trial)
Poem
Presentation (POMS, 2006-07)
Outer Banks
Presentation (POMS)
The OBX
Presentation Task became an eighth grade
tradition, along with the 3-night, 4-day trip to
the Outer Banks NC around which the task is
designed. Our students came to the eighth
grade already excited about doing this
presentation. It could be worked either
before the trip to prepare students for the
sights or after the trip, so students could use
the journal and class work they completed while
on the trip to put together their presentations.
Task/Assessment Sheet
Labor Practices
Comparison (POMS, 2000-01)
This is a
cross-curricular task I designed for use with my
Social Studies teammate, Mr. Williams, to
differentiate for his highest level students
during their unit on the Industrial Revolution.
Task/Assessment Sheet
Editor Feedback Letter and Rubric
Evaluation
Rubrics
with audience comment
sheet
Value of a Journey Task (POMS 1997-98)
|
Back to
ELA Files
|
