Public Speaking for Kids

Take my word for it; if your children plan to attend college, be sure they have some experience with public speaking before they go. Colleges often require a speech course for the majority of their majors. Although my children seem natural and relaxed when conversing with adults, they can become nervous in front of an audience. One of my daughters has an extremely soft voice that just will not project (it's funny to hear her try to yell!). Bottom line - do something to give your children the experience they will need. This unit covers not only the writing and presentation of a speech, but all the things to consider besides; appearance, facial expressions, eye contact, body language, using your voice correctly, and many more. The student listens to and evaluates other speeches, attending to particular details. A "Putting It Into Practice" section includes information and practice for a variety of other specific speaking forms like choral speaking, oral description, debate, radio shows, campaign presentations, and others. It also contains some cut-out topic cards for extemporaneous speaking. The last section of the book requires the student to develop talks about interesting places in their community (a sort of guided tour around town) as a culminating activity to the unit. Student worksheets are reproducible for your students' use.