Short Fiction Oral Commentary
Purpose:
The purpose of this assignment is to prepare you for the type of oral presentation
which you will be expected to complete in the IB English courses. The presentations
will begin on Thursday, April 3rd. Everyone must be ready to be called upon to present
on this date.
Instructions:
Choose one of the pieces of short fiction that your group read from the list below:
From Sightlines:
 “The Bicycle” (Jillian Horton) – p. 32 (group one)
 “The Ninny” (Anton Chekhov) – p. 43 (group one)
 “Borders” (Thomas King) – p. 79 (group two)
 “A Secret Lost in the Water” (Roch Carrier) – p. 104 (group two)
 “Lysandra’s Poem” (Budge Wilson) – p. 125 (group three)
 “A Man Who Had No Eyes” (MacKinlay Kantor) – p. 328 (group three)
 “Long Walk to Forever” (Kurt Vonnegut) – p. 143 (group four)
 “The Possibility of Evil” (Shirley Jackson) – p. 249 (group four)
 “A Rupee Earned” (I. F. Bulatkin) – p. 275 (group five)
 “Earthquake” (Jack Hodgins) – p. 350 (group five)
 “To Everything There Is a Season” (Alistair MacLeod) – p. 300 (group six)
 “The Tunnel” (Sarah Ellis) – p. 369 (group six)
Choose an excerpt of 20-30 lines in length which has particular significance to the
story.
Oral Commentary Guidelines:
The oral commentary should be 2-4 minutes in length.
The oral commentary should include the following:
 Recitation of the excerpt (you may have the text in front of you to refer to if
necessary, but you should not need to read the entire text).
 Establishment of the context of the excerpt within the story. Note: this is the
only point at which you should refer to the rest of the story – your commentary
should focus primarily on the excerpt.
 Commentary on the specific aspects of the excerpt as they relate to:
o theme or purpose
o structure
o characteristics of short fiction (point of view, character development,
setting, conflict, resolution)
o technique/stylistic features (metaphor or symbolism, flashback,
foreshadowing, dialogue, word choice, voice)
o how identity and culture are revealed in the excerpt (focusing on the
identity and culture of the characters).
Learning Goals:
SCO 2 – By the end of grade 10, students will be expected to produce an oral
presentation advocating for an idea or a cause.
SCO 4 – By the end of grade 10, students will be expected to evaluate purpose,
structure and characteristics of a variety of texts (fiction, non-fiction, drama,
poetry, and media texts).
SCO 5 – By the end of grade 10, students will be expected to examine the effectiveness
of literary devices within literature, media, and various forms of representing
(simile, metaphor, alliteration, personification, flashback, foreshadowing).
SCO 6 – By the end of grade 10, students will be expected to evaluate how identity and
culture are portrayed in a variety of texts.