Step Seven: Audience/ Task Appropriate

Turn this skill into a fun game to help students practice making audience/ task appropriate.

Create two grab bags: one bag should contain random topics to which the student or group of students can speak; in the other bag, place common speaking situations in which the students may confront in their lives.

Students or groups will pick one item from each back and create mini-speeches for the class to practice being appropriate and minding speaking/ listening norms.

If you have other ideas as to how to learn and practice this skill, leave a message in the comment box below. 

Step Six: Digital Media

All good presentations require a visual element.  In the new Common Core Standards, students are required to successful manipulate technology or appropriate media tools.  Below is a list of free online presentation tools to assist students in creating tech-savvy presentations.

Prezi

A virtual mind map that moves along student-determined paths of text, images, and movies.

Prezi

Blogger

Students can create an interactive workshop to assist in their presentation by using text, pages, movies, images, and attachments of all varieties. Students must have a Google account.

Blogger

Yodio

A presentation maker that allows students to use their cell phones to record their voices and upload images to make a movie.  The site requires an email account.

Yodio

Pearl Trees

This site allows students to create virtual mind maps.

Pearl Trees

Step FIve: Logical Coherence

The Next Generation Common Core Standards also call for a logical coherence that allows the reader/ listener to be able to thoughtfully follow and process the information being provided; therefore, information/ presentation needs to be appropriate to the audience and message.

Students should record their presentation in order to take the speech through rounds of editing and revisions; they can listen to their presentation as well as their peers to make improvements and suggests.

Students can record their own presentations on the computer by going to 'Start,' seeking 'All Programs,' 'Accessories,' and then 'Sound Recorder.'  Record, save, replay.

Step Four: Researching and Evaluating Sources

When speaking to another student or a larger crowd, we need to make sure our students know how to assess the validity of their comments; therefore, when teaching the research process (thesis, evidence/ support, coherence), we must also teach how to assess sources.

Below is a exemplar handout that can be used assess sources (primary, secondary, and websites).  If there are other strategies that you use that are as effective, please leave a message below in the comment boxes.

Assessing Sources

Step Three: Being Prepared to Listen

Not only is establishing speaking norms critical to a discussion or speech, listening norms and practices are equally critical.  What is the point in a grand speaking opportunity if no one is listening?

As a class, discuss practices of good listeners.  What do they do?  What do they look like? What behaviors do they exemplify?  Create an Ideal Listener (large man outline poster) for students to post these qualities using post-it notes.

During a speech, presentation, and/ or discussion, students may find parallel notes or Cornell Notes useful in order to keep track of information and their opinions/ reaction to the material mentioned.  Below is an attached template for parallel notes.

Parallel Notes Template

Cornell Notes Template

Step Two: Being Prepared to Speak

Before your students even approach the front of the classroom to give their first go at public speaking, they need to understand speaking norms or commonly accepted practices.

Speaking norms should be partly determined by the students via class discussion; post agreed-upon norms in the class for the students to see.  Conduct class discussions where students practice class norms such as Socratic Seminars.  (Socratic Seminars are good situations to demonstrate appropriate questioning and responding practices.)

Socratic Seminar Rules and Questioning

Next, provide students with a critique/ evaluation (rubric) with space to add the class-created  norms.   You may decide to add the class norms to the attached document. Below is a template for a check-list.

Speech Evaluation

In order to practice identifying and critiquing using the check-list, use the following videos linked below.  In order to be successful with this process, review the checklist then watch the video once without making note.  Then, watch the video again making notes on the check-list.

INSERT VIDEOS

Helpful Resources/ Ideas:
1-Attached below are rubrics made by WVDE to assess different types of speaking situations.  Review these and adapt them to your assignment and classroom.

Speaking Rubric: Argumentative
Speaking Rubric: Informative
Speaking Rubric: Narrative


2- For the kids to understand and play with the speaking norms, create a game where the students create spoofs of a particular norm in order to demonstrate what not to do during a speaking situation.  This is a fun activity that will engage the students, but help them further understand the importance of speaking norms

Step One: A Quick Question to Start