Oral Interpretation of Literature

Students in Oral Interpretation are members of Westlake’s Speech & Debate team. Oral Interpretation 1 is an introductory course, with an emphasis on learning basic public speaking, speech structure, and the competitive speech activity. Students will spend the year acting out excerpts from existing scripts or literature of interest, or crafting persuasive speech they write on their own on any topic.  Students are required to attend at least one tournament per grading cycle which earns an automatic 100 for the final semester exam grade. Students who do not attend the required tournaments will be given a written final semester exam. Additionally, team participation dues will be assessed in order to cover the cost of tournament entry fees, judging fees, hired consult fees, and necessary materials ($300 per semester). Students must also adhere to the WHS Speech & Debate Handbook, which students and parents must sign prior to attending a tournament.