Building a Speech Rubric

Posted by Douglas Parker Feb 10, 2008

This is a reproducible lesson plan that GATE teachers, and teachers with students prepared for the challenges of public speaking can use as an introduction to learning how to evaluate their speech.

Once you have your five or so "hoops," or criteria, through which the speech must jump, you can then build an assessment rubric, or graphic chart, to help your classmates' evaluate your speeches. To construct your grid, you should draw a rectangle with six columns and seven rows.

Across the top row, write the following from left to right into the six squares:

1 2 3 4 5 6

Below each number in the same boxes from left to right, add the terms:

Rating:, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Basic, Score:

Below Excellent, write: 4 Points

Below Very Good, write: 3 points

Below Good, write: 2 Points

Below Basic, write: 1 Point

(4 points is the highest rating for each criterion and 1 point is the lowest)

Down the left side, write the five criteria starting in row two, square one:

#1 The Speech will Demonstrate __________

#2 The Speech will Demonstrate __________

#3 The Speech will Demonstrate __________

#4 The Speech will Demonstrate __________

#5 The Speech will Demonstrate __________

In the box at row seven, column five write: “Total Score =”

In each of the boxes under the ratings, you should write in the descriptions and observable traits of each criterion at each point level, so that your classmates can use this tool to rate how each criterion is progressing. The students can then assign the point value in the “Score” column that best assesses the progress for each. By adding the scores together and dividing by five, you have an overall numerical performance assessment for seeing how well your speech went, and what needs to improve.