Oral Interpretation Presentation

Oral Interpretation Presentation

Oral Interpretation is the art of verbally communicating the ideas, feelings, and the mood or tone of a work of literature to one or more people. It is a performance art where the speaker attempts to communicate his or her sense of the meaning and beauty of a work of literature by reading it aloud to an audience.

The performance of the piece of literature is intended to bring the literature to life! Realize then that the performance can only be as good as the literature that is being interpreted.

Choosing material - When you are choosing a piece to perform to the class, you will choose either prose or poetry. Prose includes fiction, nonfiction, or song lyrics. If you select song lyrics or poetry, you will have to choose more than one piece of literature since one will probably not be long enough.

Your manuscript should be typed or printed. You are not to take the book up front with you. You may wish to double or triple space the document so that it will be easier to read. You may also wish to make marks to indicate emphasis, pauses,or changes in rate of speech or volume. Your papers should not be stapled together. They should either be bound in a folder (preferably black) or loose leaf sheets. Be sure to number them so you do not read them out of order mistakenly.

Introduction

The introduction must include:

1. your reasons for choosing the particular selection you are presenting.

2. the name of the author and the title of the selection.

3. (if you are doing an excerpt of a longer work), a review of the action that precedes the portion you will be reading would be helpful to the audience.

4. the important features of the setting.

BE BRIEF! Cover these points and move on. The most important part of the presentation is the oral interpretation of the selection itself. Introduce it and get to it!!

Delivery

Practice! Practice! Practice!!

You are required to make eye contact with your audience while you are reading. Be familiar enough with the selection that you are able to do this comfortably!

You have two choices.

Option #1 –

Select poetry, song lyrics, or other written material that expresses a theme or creates a mood or feeling. You may have to combine a few works in order to make the performance long enough, and the selected materials must be on a related topic or theme. It should have an introduction, body, and bring the piece to a conclusion. It should not just stop in the middle of the writing once you’ve reached your time limit.

Time Limit – Your presentation must be 3 - 5 minutes in length. You will have to edit your presentation so that it fits the time requirement. Reading one poem or lyric will not be long enough.

Option #2 –

Select a children’s story or other short story with at least three characters. It is even better if the story has sound effects as part of the text. Become the characters through voice changes and/or mannerisms. I will be listening for your voice changes for each character. You will not be using a book or showing the pictures. Type the manuscript so you can speak fluently.

Time Limit – Your presentation must be 3 – 5 minutes. This means you may have to “tell us” part of the story and then read an excerpt.

You will be graded on:

Your choice of selections

Your introduction and making the transition smoothly from the introduction to the

actual reading

Your use of the manuscript and being able to make eye contact while reading

Voice quality and variations / using inflection to show emotion

Pronunciation, rate, and volume,

And TIME – time is worth 20 points. It is all or nothing! Practice until your timing is perfect!!!