Home | Our Schools | Jr./Sr. High School | Jr./Sr. High School Counseling | Curriculum Guide | English Courses | Public Speaking

Public Speaking

This course prepares students for a variety of academic and other situations that require formal  presentations. Students will learn how to research, outline and deliver short, informal presentations, as well as longer speeches. This course will give students the opportunity to develop and strengthen skills in preparing and presenting public oral presentations in a variety of situations. It should also sharpen their skills in critical listening. Speaking clearly and comfortably in public is a valuable and often essential skill to possess. This course aims to provide students with a basic background in public speaking, as well as practical experience with the basic types of speeches. Although performing can be frightening or frustrating for many students, the rewards for acquiring public speaking skills are many. Through feedback from the instructor and classmates, students will gain insight into the tactics that work for and against a speaker. Issues and current events relative to the course will be addressed.

Required text

None. All materials will be provided by the teacher.

Required supplies

  • One composition notebook
  • Pencil and pen with black or blue ink
  • One package of sticky notes
  • 3-by-5 index cards
  • College-ruled paper
  • Highlighters

Course format and procedures

The course meets daily for 42 minutes, and students are expected to make full use of class time. Participation is a must!​ This class is highly interactive. Students will learn not only from lectures but also from discussions and presentations. Assignments should be done before class so students can make intelligent contributions. Students are expected to participate and share their work with their peers and, on occasion, with a larger community audience.

Grading procedures:

Evaluation will be based on students demonstrating an understanding of course content through class participation and oral presentations.

  • Speeches: 50%
  • Participation/classwork: 50%.

Student and parent resources:

Student Resources:

  • After school help is available Monday through Friday and during first and sixth periods by prior arrangement.
  • Google Classroom

Parent Resources:

  • Email is the best way to reach the instructor, who will respond within 24 hours.
  • Parent Portal
  • Parent University, which provides information about students’ grades, as well as resources that parents can use at home to help

Course Outline (tentative)

Unit 1: Building Confidence/Impromptu Speeches (Weeks 1-10)

  • Unit I develops students’ abilities to be comfortable performing in front of each other. Students will do a series of impromptu speeches as well as participate in group and paired activities to help with team building and in gaining personal confidence.

Unit 2: Bag Speech/Demonstration Speech (Weeks 10-20)

Bag Speech of Introduction​ (Power Point) (3-5 minutes)

The purpose of this speech is for students to present themselves to classmates. Since it is virtually impossible to inform the class about one’s entire life in just 3-4 minutes, students are encouraged to provide a collaged bag that correlates with the pre-determined themes that each side represents. This speech is graded but it is used mostly as an introduction to formal speeches and a guide on how to utilize a visual aid.

Bag Speech/Visual Aid Presentation Objective:

  • Objective:​ This assignment is designed to allow students to introduce themselves to the class. Students must also successfully create a collage bag as a visual presentation. Extemporaneous delivery is required for this speech. This presentation counts as a homework assignment as well as a speech.
  • Procedures​: Each student must prepare a 3-5 minute speech using their collage bag. Each side of the bag will be predetermined as a way for them to share information about themselves to the class. This information may include information on likes/dislikes, hobbies, family, career goals, etc.
    • Step 1:​ Students gather materials on their interests.
    • Step 2​: Create Bag Presentation.
    • Step 3​: Practice delivering presentation.
    • Step 4:​ Deliver speech to the class on the assigned date.
    • Other important criteria:​
      • The presentation must be longer than 3 minutes and less than 5 minutes.
      • The presentation must be delivered extemporaneously (Refer to course notes for specifics).
      • Students must demonstrate an understanding of PVLEGS.

Demonstration/How-To Speech (5-6 minutes)

This speech allows you to offer valuable information to your audience by demonstrating a process; you will explain how something is done/made/works. Use at least one visual aid.

Unit 3: Informative Speech- Speech Explanation (Weeks 20-26)

Select an original concept, policy, idea, person, location or event of interest and inform the audience about it. (How-to speeches are not acceptable.) Prepare a minimum of two visual aids to accompany the presentation (see guidelines in  notes). Additionally, cite a minimum of three outside references in the presentation.

  • Objective​: The purpose of this assignment is to effectively research, organize and deliver an informative speech to the audience. Prepared delivery is required for this speech. In an informative speech, the speaker is acting as a teacher by relating content to the audience in an objective manner.
  • Procedures​: Prepare a speech 5-6 minutes long on a topic of the student’s choosing. All topics must be approved by the instructor. A detailed preparation outline, audience analysis and reference list with a minimum of three sources must be submitted to the instructor on speech day.
    • Step 1:​ Choose an academically challenging topic. Refer to the course notes on topic selection. All topics must be approved by the instructor.
    • Step 2​: Begin research trying to answer a specific question about the topic. Students should keep in mind they need a minimum of three sources for full credit on the speech. A note on sources: Students may use electronic sources but should avoid web-based sources. Use sources that, although available online, also exist in some kind of print form (i.e., no Wikipedia!) A search engine is not a source.
    • Step 3:​ Formulate a specific purpose statement and central idea.
    • Step 4​: Prepare a detailed outline of the speech. Be sure to include a thorough description of the topic in the introduction.
    • Step 5​: Write an audience analysis and compile a reference list.
    • Step 6:​ Practice, practice, practice!
    • Step 7​: Deliver speech to the class on the assigned date.
    • Other Important Criteria​:
      • Informative Speech #1 has a time limit of 6 minutes and must be completed somewhere between 5 and 6 minutes in order to receive full credit.
      • The speech must be well prepared.
      • Reading the speech will result in a low grade.
      • Use gender appropriate language.
      • Remember to refer to sources during the speech.
      • The grading sheet for this speech can be provided ahead of time.

Unit 4: Persuasive Speech- Speech to Move to Action (Weeks 26-31)

Select a specific ideology, cause or organization (or something else – be creative) and use supportive materials to persuade the audience to act in the name of this “cause.” The speech should: 1) establish there is indeed a problem; and 2) offer the audience a course of action they can take to alter or resolve the issue. Students must support their claims with a minimum of five references and at least three visual aids. Further, they should be prepared to defend their argument against claims asserted by audience members.

  • Objective:​ The purpose of this assignment is to effectively research, organize and deliver a persuasive speech to an audience. Prepared delivery is required for this speech. In a persuasive speech, the speaker is acting as an advocate to bring about change in the attitudes, beliefs or behaviors of the target audience. Utilizing persuasive techniques such as emotional appeal, argument repetition and credible evidence are encouraged. A visual aid is required for this speech.
  • Procedures​: Students should prepare a 7-8 minute speech on a topic of their choosing. All topics must be approved by the instructor. A detailed preparation outline, audience analysis and reference list with a minimum of five sources must be submitted to the instructor on speech day.
    • Step 1:​ Choose an academically challenging topic. Refer to the course notes on topic selection. All topics must be approved by the instructor.
    • Step 2​: Begin the research trying to answer a specific question about the topic. Keep in mind the need for a minimum of three sources for full credit on the speech. A note on sources: Students may use electronic sources but should avoid web-based sources. Use sources that, although available online, also exist in some kind of print form (i.e., no Wikipedia!) A search engine is not a source.
    • Step 3​: Formulate a specific purpose statement and central idea.
    • Step 4​: Prepare a detailed outline of the speech. Be sure to include a thorough description of the topic in the introduction.
    • Step 5​: Write an audience analysis and compile a reference list.
    • Step 6:​ Create a visual aid. Two to three Power Point slides may be used for this presentation as a visual aid. Other visual aids such as posters, graphs, photos, etc., may also be used.
    • Step 7​: Practice, practice, practice!
    • Step 8:​ Deliver the speech to the class on the assigned date.
    • Other important criteria:
      • This persuasive speech has a time limit of 8 minutes and must be completed somewhere between 7 and 8 minutes in order to receive full credit.
      • The speech must be well-prepared. Reading the speech will result in a low grade.
      • Use gender appropriate language.
      • Remember to refer to sources during the speech.
      • Refer to a visual aid during the speech.
      • The grading sheet for this speech will be given ahead of time.

Unit 5: Group Final Presentation-PBL (Weeks 31-38)

  • Objective:​ The purpose of this assignment is to study the process of social interaction by creating and delivering an oral group presentation. The presentation needs to be a group effort. Do not deliver four separate speeches. A well-prepared delivery is required for this presentation. Students may choose an informative or persuasive topic.
  • Procedures​: Students are to prepare a 40- 45 minute group presentation on a topic of their choosing. All topics must be approved by the instructor. One detailed preparation outline, one audience analysis and one reference list with a minimum of three sources per person must be submitted to the instructor on speech day. The presentation should be creative and include materials such as visual aids, video clips or role-playing to keep audience attention.
    • Step 1:​ Choose an academically challenging topic. Refer to the course notes on topic selection. All topics must be approved by the instructor.
    • Step 2:​ Begin research trying to answer a specific question about the topic. Keep in mind a minimum of three sources per person is required for full credit on the speech. A note on sources: Students may use electronic sources but should avoid web-based sources. Use sources that, although available online, also exist in some kind of print form (i.e., no Wikipedia!) A search engine is not a source.
    • Step 3:​ Formulate a specific purpose statement and central idea.
    • Step 4:​ Prepare one detailed outline of the peech. Be sure to include a thorough description of the topic in the introduction.
    • Step 5​: Write one audience analysis and compile one reference list.
    • Step 6​: Gather visual aid materials.
    • Step 7​: Practice together as a group before the presentation.
    • Step 8​: Deliver group presentation to the class on the assigned date.
    • Other important criteria:
      • The group presentation must be completed between 24 and 45 minutes in order to receive full credit.
      • The speech must be delivered extemporaneously. Reading the speech will result in a low grade.
      • Use gender appropriate language.
      • Remember to refer to sources during the speech.
      • The grading sheet for this speech will be given ahead of time.
      • Video clips may not exceed 5 minutes of the presentation.

Note: The content of this syllabus is subject to change in accordance with the needs of the class and/or instructor.