Transcript Shakopee Saber Speech Team

Shakopee Saber Speech Team
What is it & how can you be
involved?
What is Speech
 MSHSL Activity where students compete in one of 13 categories.
 Public Address Categories
 One piece for the whole season – 8 min.
 Draw Categories
 Several Pieces/speeches
 Interpretive Categories
 One piece for the whole season – 8 min.
 Discussion
 Competitions
 Invitationals
 Sections
 State
 Lettering
 Points and Behavior Based
 National Forensics League
 Points based national honor society for speech competitors
Public Address Categories:
 All speeches are researched and written by the competitor.
 Informative – an informational speech using visual aids to explain
and teach about a topic of your choice. Structured similarly to a 5
paragraph essay. Visual aids can be 3D manipulatives or Posters.
 Original Oratory – a persuasive speech where you inform the
audience on a debated issue, then lay out a logical and researched
argument for why your opinion is correct.
 Great Speeches – Choose a great speech from history and analyze
the rhetoric of the speech. Use this to teach your audience why the
speech is one that goes down in history as a great one.
Interpretive Categories
 Categories are dependent on the literature type – all pieces/
cuttings last 7-8 min.
 Creative Expression – Any format, must be written by the
competitor.
 Drama – Piece is from a play or screenplay – script format.
 Duo – Any format, two person team.
 Humorous – Any type of literature that is comedic in nature.
 Prose – Short story or novel cutting.
 Poetry – One poem or several that revolve around a theme.
Draw Categories
 Extemporaneous Speaking
 Competitor researches current events – either domestic or international
and writes several speeches on different topics. At tournaments the
student will draw a question relating to current events and has 30
minutes to prepare by tailoring one of their speeches to answering the
question and practicing the wording of their speech.
 Extemporaneous Reading
 Student prepares several predetermined pieces – either prose or poetry –
and at tournaments is given a random cutting from those pieces to
perform. They have 30 minutes to prepare their performance.
 Storytelling
 Student prepares several predetermined folk tales told in their own
words with their own characters etc. At tournaments they are given the
title of a story and have 30 minutes to practice the performance of that
folktale.
Discussion
 Non - performance based
 Students research current events on a predetermined topic. At
competitions they are placed in random groupings of other
competitors and are as a group given a task to discuss and
accomplish.
 This years topic is:

America’s Image Abroad:
 Re-thinking Our Standing as the Only Remaining
Global Superpower
 Preparing for this event includes not only researching the topic
but also learning how to steer group conversations and
influence others in a panel discussion situation.
Competition
 Tournaments:
 Invitationals – Held every Saturday from Mid January until the end of
March. Not required but highly recommended.
 Conference –Missota Conference Tournament will be held in Northfield
on Thursday 2/20/14 after school
 Section – 4/5/14 Mankato West
 State – 4/11&12 Blaine High School
 Each meet consists of 3 rounds where you are randomly grouped
with 6-8 other competitors in your category. You then perform your
piece for these other competitors and a judge.
 The judge evaluates each performance and gives you a rank (1st, 2nd, 3rd
etc.) in the round.
 The round scores are averaged and the top 6 students in each category
are recognized at an awards ceremony at the end of the tournament.
 In addition to being recognized individually, round scores give points to
the team, and the teams earning the most points overall are also
recognized.
Achievement Recognition- besides trophies
 Lettering – SHS awards letters for speech participation. Criteria
include points based on competitive performance and leadership on
the team.
 National Forensics League – a national honor society for speech
competitors
 Each time you compete you earn points based on the ranks you achieved
in your rounds. These points are added together and entered into the NFL
online database. Once you achieve 25 points, you are inducted into the
league as a merit member. With accumulated points, you achieve
different levels (or degrees) within the league.
 Since 1925 - 1.4 million students, with more than 120,000 active
members in more than 3,000 schools. Nation’s oldest and largest forensic
honor society, and is widely regarded as the highest standard of
excellence in secondary school speech and debate.
Benefits to speech competition go far
beyond winning and losing
 Skill Building: Writing, reading, listening, research methods,
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organization, interpretation, critical thinking, analysis, language
usage, public speaking.
Build self esteem and confidence
Learn how to conduct yourself in a professional manner.
Career Preparation and Resume builder for College & Job
applications
Scholarships
Be a part of a Community
Make Friends & Have Fun
Register Online with Activities:
Contact me to let me know that you are
registered for the team.
[email protected]
Attend the Practice Season Kick Off
Workshop
 More information will be coming on this soon. Once you have
registered with activities and contacted me to let me know, you
will be included in our communications.
Thank you! We hope to hear from you soon!