Speech

2012-2013
Full Year Course
7th-12th grade
1 English Credit for 9th-12th grade students
Tuesday

Course Tutor:
Katie Schmidt
kschmidt.teenworks@gmail.com

Course Description:
This class is designed to help the students learn basic public speaking skills and overcome the fear of speaking in front of a group. This will be done through different of types of public speaking. Each student will prepare three speeches from the announced events and compete in two tournaments in the spring. 

Course Notes:

  • Interpretation Events: To prepare for this event each student searches for a suitable piece of literature from a play, prose, or poetry. The student researches and analyzes it and then chooses a portion of it to develop into a unique performance, communicating with the audience both verbally and physically.  It is memorized and thoroughly rehearsed for an animated presentation that creatively expresses the intellectual, emotional, and artistic aspects of the literature.
  • Original Oratory Event: This requires the student to write his own speech using one of the Right to Life topics.  This speech will be used in the Right to Life Oratory contest.
  • Impromptu and Extemporaneous Speech Events: This is an exercise in giving a speech with limited amount of preparation time. Students need knowledge of current events and ability to get this information.
  • We also include an Apologetics Event.

Course Requirements:

  • Each student must compete in two Michigan Homeschool Communicators for Christ (HCC) speech tournaments, one in March and the other in May. HCC competitions will be held at the Teenworks building.
  • Students must attend a Right to Life Oratory Contest held in the spring.  Each student is responsible to sign up for this.
  • Student must agree to stay in the class the entire year.
  • Student must be between the ages of 12-18.
  • Each student must provide an adult judge for each tournament
  • Parents must be available to volunteer for the tournaments.
  • Homeschool Communicators for Christ requires students to be 51% homeschooled in order to participate in the tournaments.
  • Please do not sign up for this class if you are not going to complete the entire class.

Course Fees:
Tournament Fees: Approximately $8 per event for each tournament.  Total cost of both tournaments is approximately $48, depending on the number of events in which the student participates.

* Please note: These tournaments are required.  They will be held at the Teenworks building.

Required Texts:
Lend Me Your Ear: Great Speeches in History by William Safire, ed., Updated and Expanded Edition, 2004.

Required Supplies:
Three ring binder (two inch)