Speakers' Club

Public Speaking for Young People (Grades 4-8)

Barbara Juskow

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN: 9781000503401
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Teaching Arts & Humanities

The ability to give an effective verbal presentation is an important skill that you can teach your students. To be able to give strong, organized oral presentations increases a person's chances of being regarded as knowledgeable, capable, and in command. This complete, developmental program prepares young people to become confident public speakers. It introduces techniques for writing and delivering interesting, animated speeches. General topics include making introductions, quick-pick speeches, writing a speech, and speaking techniques.

Fashioned after Toastmasters, the program includes complete lesson plans, worksheets and information sheets, and evaluation forms. The culminating activity is a program that allows each participant to make an oral presentation. In each lesson, practical ideas introduce and reinforce the need for preparation and attention to detail. The series of lessons begins with fun, low-anxiety activities and ends with a presentation for parents.

Once students become skillful and confident in public speaking, you will find many opportunities for them to use these skills. There are opportunities for oral presentations in all areas of the curriculum. Some activities that would reinforce public speaking skills are oral book reports, reader's theater, discussion groups, oral reports in content areas, poster talks, interviews, demonstrations or explanations of how to do something, brainstorming, debates, plays, teaching a lesson, dramatic or expressive reading, or role-playing.

For more guidance on verbal presentation, see Public Speaking: A Student Guide to Writing and Delivering a Great Speech.

Grades 4-8

Speakers’ Club

Course Overview

DOI: 10.4324/9781003238133-4

By taking part in this unit, you will learn skills and gain the confidence you will need to be a good public speaker. Here is a listing of the activities that are planned and the dates for each activity.

Activity	Due Date	Points possible	Points earned
Self-introduction	________	________	________
Introducing another person 1	________	________	________
Rating Introductions	________	________	________
Writing an Introduction	________	________	________
Introducing another person 2	________	________	________
Oral Book Review	________	________	________
Quick-pick Speech 1	________	________	________
Planning Your Speech	________	________	________
Longer Speech 1	________	________	________
Marked for Eye Contact	________	________	________
Quick-pick Speech 2	________	________	________
Longer Speech 2	________	________	________
Practice Using Your Voice	________	________	________
Planning for Word Power	________	________	________
Quick-pick Speech 3	________	________	________
Longer Speech 3	________	________	________
Putting It All Together	________	________	________
Marked for Body Language	________	________	________
Final Speech	________	________	________
	Total	________________

Planning Successful Introductions

DOI: 10.4324/9781003238133-5

Here is a list of things that you should do before introducing another speaker if you want your introduction to be as informative, intriguing and polished as possible.

• 1. Find out about the person — Talk to the person you are going to introduce. Know how to say the name properly. Repeat it out loud until you have it right. Never fumble with the speaker’s name. It makes you look silly. If it’s a really difficult name, write it down the way it sounds to you.
• 2. Find out about the speech — Ask what the speech is about. If she answers “Dogs,” you’ll have to find out more. Ask what special aspect of dogs she will be speaking about.
• 3. Prepare the audience — Your task now is to prepare the audience; to peak their curiosity without giving the speech away. Do not discuss the speech yourself, even if you happen to know more about it than the speaker. It is not your purpose as an introducer to impress the listeners with your own wit, wisdom or special knowledge of the subject.
• 4. Set the mood — If there are several speakers, your introduction should build a bridge between what has gone before and your speaker’s speech. Decide if your speaker needs a mood of seriousness or a mood of relaxed good humor. The way you look and speak and the tone of your voice will be the audience’s cue to ponder a deep message or to blast off into fun.
• 5. Give speaker’s qualifications Avoid embarrassing the speaker by describing him or her as brilliant, witty or a good speaker. If these things are true, they will be apparent when the speaker speaks. However, it is helpful to inform the audience that the speaker has had education or experience concerning the chosen subject. Let the audience know that the speaker is an expert on the topic.
• 6. Plan ahead — Plan your introduction carefully. Be brief.

Rating Introductions

DOI: 10.4324/9781003238133-6

Here are some sample introductions. How effective are they? Rate them using the following criteria. Record your ratings on the rating score sheet.

Rating Criteria:

1. Made you curious. You would want to listen to this speech.
2. The right length. Not too long nor too short.
3. Set the right tone for the speech, either serious or relaxed.
4. Hinted at the topic but didn’t give it away.
5. Showed the introducer had put some thought into preparing this introduction.

Sample Introductions

1. Good afternoon and welcome to our annual luncheon. My name is Anne Smith and I will be your MC and hostess for the first half of the program. I would like to extend a special welcome to Mr. Bart Cook and to the parents and teachers who were able to make it to this luncheon. Our first speaker on the program, like all the other speakers here today, spends most of her waking hours in school. In fact, you might say that school is children’s work. Please help me welcome Sandra Wilson who will tell us about the importance of education.
2. Our next speaker is interested in sports and he has many heroes in the sports’ field. Today he has chosen to tell us about one of them. Please give a warm welcome to Chris Stone.
3. Most of us spend some portion of our time wondering how things begin, or happen, or end. Our next speaker will address this very topic as she tells us how the world was made. Please give a warm welcome to Jamie Brown.
4. By the time children reach this grade they have become experts on many subjects, especially the topic of the next speaker’s speech. Please help me welcome Jenny Clearwater who will tell us about the responsibility of baby-sitters.
5. We all have our wishes and dreams. Our next speaker is no exception. Please help me welcome Michael Trenholm who will tell you about his dream bike.
6. Our next speaker likes to travel to new places and see new sights. Today he is here to tell us about a fascinating place he has learned about. Please help me welcome Willie Cantskouski.
7. These days we are more aware about the ills and excesses that threaten our lives. Help me give a warm welcome to Sunita Mohammed who will tell us about the dangers of smoking.
8. Our next speaker is a person who has interests that range from the outer reaches of the universe to the inner core of the earth. Please help me give a warm welcome to Ashley Simpson who will take us on a journey of discovery.
9. Our next speaker on the program had some difficulty settling on a topic for his speech. Finally he found one that is exactly right for this occasion. Please help me welcome Ezekiel D’Palo as he tells us all about decision making.
10. Music and music festivals take up a lot of our next speaker’s spare time. She is an accomplished pianist and she knows a lot about many composers. Today she will tell us all about one of them. Please help me welcome Roselle Ng.
11. We all cherish our friends. Life would be a dull, cold place without them. Our next speaker will give us ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Instructor’s Pages
• Student Pages