A study examined the question of what sequence patterns, if any, of covering oral interpretation topics emerge from forensic coaching sessions. To answer the question it was first necessary to analyze the process used by the coaches. Process was defined as the action of passing through continuing development from a beginning to a contemplated end.…

If forensic oral interpretation selections are to communicate to audiences, forensics educators must first help their students discover the messages that exist within texts and are communicated through programming and performance. The concepts of relevancy, significance, and depth of insight provide a general background for which aesthetic…

This article describes Readers Theater (a form of group storytelling in which two or more readers present a piece of literature by reading aloud from hand-held scripts) and advocates its use in the classroom. The paper's seven sections are as follows: (1) What is Readers Theater; (2) Readers Theater and Its Conventions (discussing scripts,…

Based on the idea that creative writing in the classroom need not begin with writing as the first step in the composing process, this guide suggests an oral approach to creative writing. The guide describes the "Telling to Write" process which begins with a structured exploration, continues with a series of story-related activities…

A compilation of statements of the judging philosophies of the judges for the 1987 National Debate Tournament, this booklet presents the views of 132 college level coaches from institutions all across the country. The areas examined in the standard judge philosophy form include (1) personal preferences in regard to a decision making paradigm; (2)…

In the process of perfecting oral performances of selected scenes from Eudora Welty's "The Optimist's Daughter," it is important to study point of view and character as they pertain to the play. Four aspects should be considered to understand the point of view: (1) the character's story, (2) the position from which the narrator speaks,…

Oral interpretation allows audiences to make aesthetic, rather than moral, decisions about lesbian literature. To perform lesbian literature, the interpreter should be aware of lesbian literary criticism. Three theories of lesbian criticism form part of a lesbian literary canon: (1) revision (rereading existing texts from a feminist perspective,…

Prepared and designed to provide general information in the administration of speech activities in the Nebraska schools, this manual offers rules and regulations for speech events, high school debate, and one act plays. The section on speech events includes information about general regulations, the scope of competition, district contests, the…

A statistical report. (CH)

The successful oral reading of poetry requires that oral interpreters conduct phenomenological investigations of the first lines of the poems, not merely to make these lines happen properly but to suggest what has preceded the first line. Individual word meanings in the opening lines of a poem establish "structures of intentionality"--the…

For many reasons, oral histories should commend themselves to classroom teachers. Sensitively edited, they are eminently readable because of their intimacy, their authenticity, and their varied presentation of human life. As with other books, especially novels written in the first person and autobiographies, oral histories can provide students…

Directors of plays can make rehearsals interpretively productive, but they must first reject directorial approaches such as beginning rehearsals without analyzing the script, projecting images of the play as it is read, and using the script merely to summarize meanings, static themes, morals, and nothing more. Making rehearsals interpretively…

This curriculum guide describes an advanced course for speech classes in the oral interpretation of literature. It is meant to follow the first course, which introduced the subject and gave some fundamentals and practice in oral reading. The student is expected to meet the following objectives in the course: (1) demonstrate ability in using his…

The interrelationship of performers, text, and audience in reader's theater may be better understood through philosopher Martin Buber's key concepts of polarity, dialogue, and inclusion. These concepts operate within four polar tensions identified by Buber: that between the performer and the character represented; that between the performer and…

Defines metaphorical staging as group interpretation that gives a ritual or symbolic stage form to literature and illustrates this concept by describing the staging of D. H. Lawrence's story "The Horse Dealer's Daughter". (MH)