The New Hampshire American Legion Junior Oratorical Contest
The purpose of the NH American Legion Junior Oratorical Contest is to allow students in grades 6 through 8 an opportunity to develop knowledge
and understanding of the Constitution of the United States.
It also serves as a steppingstone to The American Legion National High School Oratorical Contest and develop at a young age the ability to
address an audience.
The American Legion National High School Oratorical Contest awards over $1000 in scholarships at the State level competition and State level winners go
on to the National competition where over $18,000 in scholarship monies are awarded.
ELIGIBILITY:
All students in state of NH accredited schools or approved home study students in grades 6 through 8 shall be eligible through their assigned school and district.
AWARDS:
First Place: $1000 Savings Bond
Second Place: $800 Savings Bond
Third Place: $600 Savings Bond
Fourth Place: $400 Savings Bond
Fifth Place: $200 Savings Bond
CONTEST FORMAT:
The contest shall be conducted in two (2) phases.
1. PREPARED ORATION
The subject of the Prepared Oration must be on some phase of the Constitution of the United States and will be from 3 to 5 minutes in duration.
A penalty of 1 point shall be assessed for each minute or fraction thereof over or under the allotted time.
These orations shall be drafted in advance and students will be allowed to use 3X5 cards FOR REFERENCE ONLY. Reading the oration is NOT allowed.
No amplification will be used.
2. ASSIGNED TOPIC
Contestants will be asked to speak for 2 to 3 minutes on a topic relating to the Constitution of the United States. A penalty of 1 point shall be assessed
for each minute or fraction thereof over or under the allotted time.
A total of 3 topics will be made available to contestants prior to the contest and one of these topics will be selected at random at the site of the contest.
Contestants will be given a 5 minute period to prepare these deliveries and may use 3X5 cards FOR REFERENCE ONLY.
(See Assigned Topics.)
JUDGING:
Contestants will be judged on:
Ü Originality
Ü Skill in selecting examples
Ü How well they know the topic
Ü Voice and diction
Ü Style of word arrangement
Ü Body action
JUDGES:
Qualified judges will be selected by the NH American Legion Junior Oratorical Committee for the state contest.
Please promote this program at your school, and contact the American Legion Department of New Hampshire, if you have any questions or need help in any way. We are here to assist you. This experience should prove to be both valuable and rewarding to the students and teachers involved. We appreciate your support.
The American Legion
Department of NH
25 Capitol Street Room 431
Concord, NH 03301-6317
603-271-2211
www.nhlegion.org
NOTE
All participating schools shall select one or two finalists
to represent their school in the NH American Legion Junior
Oratorical District Contest, and will be provided with the judging format.