Iowa Forensics League
Events
All events covered also run through the National Junior Forensic League, a national organization designed to provide some cohesive structure around the country and allow students to compete at a national tournament each summer. More information can be found at the National Forensic League website, a direct link is provided in the individual Resource sections of the guide.
For those interested, here is a direct link to how Speech and Debate meets Common Core standards:
http://www.nationalforensicleague.org/aspx/nav.aspx?navid=207&pnavid=194
The National Forensic League has a section dedicated to how all the activities listed relate to the Common Core and you may find the information useful for justify your pursuit of speech and debate activities in your classroom.
For the purposes of this guide, I will focus on 3 main events. I will provide a brief description of each, with a step-by-step guide on how to teach/coach the event to follow in the In-Class Teaching Guide.
This event focuses primarily on current events. Students interesting in listening/watching the news, reading about what is going on in the world or just those who have a desire to learn would be a great fit for Extemporaneous Speaking. In this event, students will answer a question about current events. Students are then given 30 minutes to prepare a speech to answer the question. Finally, students present their speech in front of a judge. Extemporaneous Speaking is an intense event, but also teaches critical thinking and analytical skills.
This event is a one-on-one debate, which examines a value resolution. In other words, it looks at a specific topic and asks the student to consider why the topic is correct or incorrect. Students explore the issue on multiple levels – looking at definitions, the underlying reasons why we believe something is important, and then connect it all together with evidence to prove your points. The event is for those who like a technical style of debate, with quick thinking and analysis of how things connect in the round.
This event is a two-on-two team debate, which evaluates a position posed by the resolution. In other words, the debate will focus on a specific topic and ask the team to decide if the topic is correct or incorrect. Public Forum Debate differs from Lincoln-Douglas Debate on a few levels. First, it’s a team event – you need a partner. Second, the structure of the debate is similar, but your target audience is a bit different – you are supposed to try and convince a non-specialist or “citizen judge” you are right. So, the event is less technical in nature.
As time progresses, the guide will be updated with additional events, including:
Interpretation (covering 3 different events: Dramatic, Duo, and Humorous Interpretation)
This category includes Dramatic Interpretation (DI), Duo Interpretation (Duo), and Humorous Interpretation (HI). For each, the student (or students) take a selection…which can be from a book, play, story, etc – anything published…and “act out” the selection. They can “cut” the selection however they want (beginning, middle, and end…whatever makes coherent sense in the end) and the goal is an 8-10 minute piece that is entertaining. From DI, the pieces are usually serious in tone, mostly from one character’s point of view. For HI, the pieces are supposed to be funny, with students typically acting out multiple characters with lots of action and/or movement. For Duo, its 2-people acting a scene out…it could be dramatic or humorous. No props or costumes are allowed.
Policy Debate
This event is a two-on-two debate, which examines a given topic. This style of debate is the oldest and one that continues on into high school and even collegiate debate. The style of debate is the most complex, with various areas of analysis within the structure of the debate.
Oral Interpretation
Oral Interpretation (also known as Prose and Poetry) is an event where students take pieces of prose (stories, books, etc) and pieces of poetry and put them together based on a specific theme. This event is not officially sponsored by the National Junior Forensic League, but is a popular event for people to “double-enter” in, since this is the one event where you get to use your script in your hand.
Original Oratory
This is a piece the students wrote themselves, utilizing some evidence to back up their points. Think of it as a persuasive speech, since they are typically trying to get you to change a belief you have or get you to do something for a cause. The goal is an intelligent conversation-piece on a world issue that is interesting, thought-provoking, and well written.
Student Congress
This is an event where students act as if they are representatives of congress. Students write bills/resolutions beforehand and are given time to research. Then, students go through a congress session, where people debate both sides of the bills and ultimately vote them into law.
All of the events listed are also available at the high school level, so getting students in on any of these events would be a great way to build up a high school program in the future. By starting early, students can get a firm grasp of the fundamentals of speech and debate.