Schools all over Kern County participate in the Oral Language Festival, a competitive event where students perform interpretations of a piece of literature in front of an audience. Literature selections must be published works that are available to all students. Pieces from organizational newsletters, the Internet, and regional newspapers are not acceptable. Overall, most published works are appropriate Oral Language texts and you can choose any book you like! Pieces must be in 3-5 minutes in length, so you may edit the piece to an appropriate length. Since new titles are continuously available, any picture book found in the Children’s area is a good place to start. Pieces should be appropriate for age, event, and presentation to a community audience. Be sure to check out YouTube for videos of past Oral Language winners!
- Serious Solo
- Humorous Solo
- Serious Duo – 2 students
- Humorous Duo – 2 students
- Verse Choir – 3 to 6 students
- Impromptu Speech
Book Name | Author |
---|---|
Little Match Girl | Andersen, H.C. |
In the Ghetto: Teens Who Survived the Ghettos of the Holocaust | Ayer, Eleanor H. |
Great Slave Narratives | Bontemps, Arna |
A Day’s Work | Bunting, Eve |
Fly Away Home | Bunting, Eve |
The Wall | Bunting, Eve |
The Fall of Freddie the Leaf | Buscaglia, Leo |
Competition Monologues II | Various |
The Rough Face Girl | Martin, Rafe |
The Highwayman | Noyes, Alfred |
The Giving Tree | Silverstein, Shel |
Casey at the Bat | Thayer, Ernest L |
Our Town | Wilder, Thornton |
The Polar Express | Van Allsburg, Chris |
Name | Author |
---|---|
Thirty Famous One Act Plays | Bennett, Cerf |
50/50 Monologues for Student Actors | Depner, Mary |
Winning Monologues for Young Actors | Kehret, Peg |
Books available in our catalog • Ages 9-13