Name: ______Date: ______
Book Talk
After completing a novel you have chosen to read, you will have the opportunity to introduce your class to the novel. Keep in mind that most students choose novels based on recommendations from their classmates. You can help your friends by suggesting a good book for them. Use the outline below to help you organize your speech. Review the Speech Preparation Guide when you rehearse your speech. Use the Book Talk Rubric to determine what you will need to do to earn the grade you wish to achieve. Please remember that you and your classmates will be listening to over 20 book talks. How will you make yours interesting? How will you stand out? Your speech can be no more than 2 minutes and you may use any visual aids that you would like to incorporate into your speech.
Book Talk Outline
1. Introduction
a. Name of book:
b. Author:
c. Genre:
2. Why I Chose This Book
a. Reason 1:
b. Reason 2:
3. Basic Summary of the first half of the book (Be sure to use a creative cliff hanger to hook your audience!)
4. What kind of thinking did you have to do while reading this book? Connecting, inferring, predicting, etc.
a. Kinds of thinking:
b. Was that good or bad?
c. What might have been better?
5. Personal Opinion
a. Pros:
b. Cons:
6. Conclusion
a. Was it a good choice?
b. Would you recommend it and to whom?
Name: ______Date: ______
Speech Preparation Guide
When you are preparing for a speech, there are a number of different things to consider. The outline below will help you prepare for any speech.
I. PURPOSE AND AUDIENCE
A. Where is the speech given?
B. When is the speech given?
C. Who is the audience?
D. What is the speaker trying to accomplish?
II. CONTENT AND TONE
A. What are the important points that must be made?
B. What information must the audience be given?
C. What attitude does the speech convey?
III. STRUCTURE
A. Does the speech have a clear beginning, middle, and end?
B. Does the speech contain repetition?
1. If so, what is the effect of the repetition?
2. If not, where are there places where repetition would be useful?
C. What type of vocabulary is appropriate for this speech?
IV. DELIVERY
A. What is the first impression that the speaker wishes to create?
B. How are the dress and appearance of the speaker appropriate to the speech?
C. Volume
1. Can the speaker be heard?
2. Do changes in volume add to the effectiveness of the speech?
D. Inflection
1. Does the pitch of the speaker’s voice vary, or is it a monotone?
2. When the pitch changes, does the inflection add to the effectiveness of the
speech?
E. Pace
1. How fast does the presenter speak? Where, when, and why does the
presenter change his or her speed?
2. When does the presenter pause in the speech? Why?
F. Articulation
1. Does the speaker pronounce each word clearly?
2. Does the speaker avoid the use of slang?
3. Does the speaker avoid hesitations and fillers? (Um, Well, Like, etc.)
G. Body Language
1. Does the speaker stand up straight but maintain a relaxed posture?
2. Do movements add to the meaning of the speech?
3. Does the speaker establish eye contact?
4. Is the speaker too dependent on the text?
H. Visuals
1. What kind of visuals, if any, does the speaker use?
2. Are visuals large enough and clear enough to be seen easily?
3. Are visuals placed so that they can be seen?
4. Does the audience have enough time to understand the visuals?
5. Does the content of the visuals aid understanding of the speech?
BOOK TALK RUBRIC
/10
/9 8
/7 6
/5
Introduction______ / Speech hook is very interesting or catchy. / Speech hook is mildly interesting. / Speech hook lacks interest. / No attempt was made to catch the listener’s attention.
Plot Summary
______
/ Reviewer does a good job of leaving the reader in suspense about conflict resolutions while painting a clear, interesting portrait of the novel’s story. / Reviewer offers a little too much plot summary, but paints a fair picture of what the novel is about OR does not give quite enough information about the story. / Reviewer offers way too much plot summary, leaving the reader little reason to read the novel OR reviewer gives so little information that the listener is somewhat confused. / Reviewer’s explanation of the story is very confusing to the listener.Opinion / Commentary ______
/ Reviewer offers his or her opinion on many of the book’s aspects. Reviewer also gives a recommendation to readers. / Reviewer offers his or her opinion on some of the book’s aspects. Reviewer also gives a recommendation to readers. / Reviewer offers his or her opinion on very little of the book’s aspects. Reviewer also gives a recommendation to readers. / Review consists of plot summary and offers no opinion of or commentary on the novel.Explanation of Reading Strategies Used
______ / Reviewer is able to correctly identify and explain the reading strategies needed while reading the chosen novel. / Reviewer is able to correctly identify and explain at least 1 reading strategy needed while reading the chosen novel. / Reviewer is able to correctly identify the reading strategies used, but does not explain them well. / Reviewer is unable to correctly identify the reading strategies used.
Presentation
_____ / Eye Contact
_____ / Natural, comfortable eye contact with entire audience / Clear effort made to provide eye contact with audience / Some eye contact / Little or no eye contact
Volume/Clarity
______ / Volume and inflection used to interest audience / Consistent and appropriate volume maintained throughout speech / Some difficulty in understanding due to volume or clarity / Lack of volume or clarity made speech difficult to understand
Language
______
/ Writer’s word and phrase choice is impressive, and the sentence structure is complex and well varied. / Writer’s word choice is average, and the sentence structure is somewhat complex and varied. / Writer’s word and phrase choice is below average, and sentences are mostly simple. / Writer’s word choice is weak, and sentence structure is simple.Name: ______Date: ______