Senior Speeches- guidelines, songs and rubric

On the day of your speech, come to class dressed already and set up your speech as fast as possible. If you spend too much time getting ready, your speech will be deducted points.

The piece itself.

• You must find a piece of BRITISH poetry/ literature/ music. It can be from any genre/ era ranging from Anglo-Saxon times to present. Examples include Shakespeare, Donne, Chaucer, and other modern writers and singers such as Coldplay, Robert Plant, Paul McCartney, Black Sabbath (Ozzy) and Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones.
• Must recite 10 lines minimum. 
• Recite the work, it does not have to be memorized, but should be read carefully, precisely, clearly, loud enough for the whole class to hear. There should be no hesitations or hang-ups on words.
• Explain the significance of the piece.
• Explain how it relates to the world you live in.
• Why did you choose this piece?
• Explain the author’s biography.
• Discuss its place in history, why is this historically significant?
• Prepare a power point or some other visual so you can explain the piece and the class can follow along while seeing visuals, etc. Include the recital as part of the slides.
• Speaking time should be 3-5 minutes or more. NO MORE THAN 8 MINUTES! Anything less and grades fall accordingly, for example, a 2 1/2-minute speech, even if excellent, will max. out at a C. Anything less than 2 minutes is an instant re-do.
• Keep the entire piece on one small index card.

The actual speech

• Cue cards can be used, but definitely not heavily relied upon. The less you use cue cards, the better your grade will be.
• Delivery should be fluent, without hesitations. Avoid “ummmmm…”, “uhhhhhh..”, “like…”, “you know…”, and “you know what I’m sayin’?”
• Entire speech should be well organized.
• Eye contact is a must; don’t stare at the floor, ceiling, walls, LOOK at your classmates, ALL of them. Don’t devote time to staring at one portion of the class only.
• Use appropriate high-end vocabulary; avoid slang and cussing, obviously.
• There should be an introduction and conclusion present
• Avoid speaking excessively fast, or slow. Do not speak in a monotone voice and put your classmates to sleep. (Use vocal variety)
• Walk around as you’re discussing the piece; move around smoothly to integrate movement into your speech.
• You should be dressed appropriately on the day you present:
• For girls: a nice dress with appropriate shoes, business suit, or skirt with blouse. No jeans, jean skirts, t-shirts, shorts, sneakers should be worn.
• For the guys: Nice pants, long-sleeve button-up shirt, tie, dark shoes, not black skate shoes. No jacket required, unless you insist on wearing one.

No: t-shirts, shorts, flip-flops, sneakers, PQ gangsta’-thug attire, so sorry!

·         U2 (Sunday Bloody Sunday) (Pride-In the name of Love, Mothers of the Disappeared)

• Black Sabbath (or Ozzy by himself) War Pigs
• Iron Maiden 2 Minutes to Midnight, Run for Hills, The Trooper, Aces High, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Alexander the Great, Paschendale
• Pink Floyd (The Dogs of War) (Final Cut) (Waiting for the Worms) (Another Brick in the Wall)
• Led Zeppelin When the Levee Breaks, Immigrant Song
• The Beatles (Back in USSR, Blackbird, Revolution)
• John Lennon (Merry Christmas- War is Over, Imagine)
• Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody and Faust) White Man, Bicycle
• Rolling Stones (Gimme Shelter, No Sympathy for the Devil)
• The Who
• Sex Pistols – God Save the Queen
• The Specials Ghost Town, Free Nelson Mandela
• Special AKA- Free Nelson Mandela
• Dizzy Rascal (Bri’ish rap)
• The Clash (London Calling, Spanish Bombs, English Civil War)
• The Addicts
• The Animals
• Oasis   (sissies) Wonder wall
• The Police Russians, They Dance Alone
• The Kinks
• Radiohead
• Coldplay  Speed of Sound, Viva La Vida,
• Franz Ferdinand (with songs about the real Franz, of course) Take Me Out, All for You
• Genesis
• Judas Priest (interesting history)
• Billy Idol
• The Business
• Darkness
• Elton John (Lady Diana tribute)
• Sub-Humans
• Def Leppard (drummer’s only got one arm!)
• Duran Duran (Sissy stuff)
• Culture Club
• Motorhead
• Spice Girls
• S Club 7
• The Zombies
• David Bowie (1984 in Diamond Dogs album)
• Eurhythmics (also made a 1984 album)
• ELO (Electric Light Orchestra)
• Boomtown Rats (I don’t like Mondays)
• Jesus Jones
• Bad Manners (Inner London Violence)
• Clockwork Orange
• The Cranberries (Zombie)
• Lily Allen
• Paul Hardcastle- 19
• Bloc Party – Hunting for Witches, Helicopter
• Flogging Molly – Drunken Lullabies
• UFO- Lights Out
• Steel Pulse-Wild Goose Chase