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Teaching Tools | Resources for Teachers from Scholastic

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- step-by-step speech writing help

Learning how to write a speech needn't be a nail biting experience!

Unsure? Don't be.

You may have lived with the idea you were never good with words for a long time.

Or perhaps writing speeches at school brought you out in cold sweats but this is different.

Learning to write a speech is straight forward when you learn to write out loud.

And that's what you are going to do now: step by step.

To learn quickly, go slow

If this is your first speech, take all the time you need. There are 7 steps, each building on the next. Walk, rather than run, your way through all of them. Don't be tempted to rush. Familiarize yourself with the ideas. Try them out.

I know there are well-advertized short cuts and promises of 'write a speech in 5 minutes' but in reality they only truly work for somebody who already has the basic foundations of speech writing in place.

These 7 steps are the backbone of sound speech preparation. Learn them well at the outset and yes, given more experience and practice you could flick something together quickly. Like any skill, the more it's used the easier it gets. In the meantime ...

If you've done your background preparation you're set to go.

To begin you need your speech overview or outline

Before you go any further you need to know:

WHO you are writing your speech for (the audience)

WHAT your speech is going to be about (its topic)
- the main points ranked in order of importance with supporting research

HOW long it needs to be eg. 3 minutes, 5 minutes...

Having an overview or outline will reduce the time and possible stress involved in writing and preparing your speech. Believe me, they work!

Get yourself a blank speech outline template to complete

Click the link to find out more about preparing a speech outline. You'll also find a downloadable, printable blank speech outline template. (Very useful!)

How to Write a Speech: Construction

The basic speech format is simple. It consists of three parts:

1. an opening or introduction

2. the body where the bulk of the information is given

3. and an ending (or summary).

Think of it as a sandwich. The opening and ending are the slices of bread holding the filling (body) together.

You can build yourself a simple sandwich with one filling or you can go gourmet and add up to three or even five. The choice is yours.

But whatever you choose to serve, as a good cook, you need to consider who is going to eat it! And that's your audience.

So with them in mind, let's prepare the filling first.

How to Write a Speech: Step 1 - Audience

Begin with the most important idea/point on your outline.

Consider HOW you can explain (show, tell) that to your audience in the most effective way for them to easily understand it. A good speech is never written from the speaker's point of view.

(If you need to know more about why check out this page on building rapport.)

Writing from the audience's point of view

To help you write from an audience point of view, identify either a real person or the type of person who is most likely to be listening to you.

Make sure you select someone who represents the "majority". That is they are neither struggling to comprehend you at the bottom of your scale or light-years ahead at the top.

Now imagine they are sitting next to you eagerly waiting to hear what you're going to say. Give them a name, for example, Joe, to help make them real.

Ask yourself

:

How do I need to tailor my information to meet Joe's needs?
For example, do you tell personal stories illustrating your main points?
This is a very powerful technique. You can find out more about storytelling in speeches here.

What type or level of language is right for Joe as well as my topic?

How to Write a Speech: Step 2 - Writing as you speak

Writing oral language

Write down what you'd say as if you were talking directly to them.

If it helps, say everything out loud before you write and/or use a recorder.
After you've finished, take notes.

You do not have to write absolutely everything you're going to say down* but you do need to write the sequence of ideas to ensure they are logical and easily followed.

Remember too, to explain or illustrate your point with examples from your research.

(*Tip: If this is your first speech the safety net of having everything written down could be just what you need. It's easier to recover from a patch of jitters when you have a full set of notes than if you have either none or a bare outline. Your call!)

How to Write a Speech: Step 3 - Checking

Rework "Step Two" (your first main point) until you've made yourself clear.

Do not assume because you know what you're talking about the person (Joe) you've chosen to represent your audience will too. Joe is not a mind-reader.

Checking what you've got

Check the "tone" of your language.
Is it right for the occasion, subject matter and your audience?

Check the length of your sentences.
If they're too long or complicated you risk losing your listeners.

Have you chosen words everybody will understand?
There are 5 cent words and $5.00 words. Why use a $5.00 one when a 5 cent one tells it better?
Example: He "spat" = 5 cents. He "expectorated" = $5.00
Check for jargon too. These are industry, activity or group exclusive words. If you're an outsider you won't know them and that's alienating.

Read what you've written out loud.
If it flows naturally continue the process with your next main idea. If it doesn't, rework.

Remember you are writing "oral language".
You are writing as if you were explaining, telling or showing something to someone. It doesn't have to be perfect sentences. We don't talk like that.
We use whole sentences and part ones, and we mix them up with asides or appeals e.g. "Did you get that? Of course you did. Right...Let's move it along. I was saying ..."

And now repeat the process

Repeat the "How to Write a Speech Steps One, Two & Three" for the remainder of your main ideas.

Because you've done the first block carefully, the rest should come fairly easily.

How to Write a Speech: Step 4 - Linking or Transitions

Is your speech being evaluated?
Find out exactly what aspects you're being assessed on using this standard speech evaluation form

Between each of your main ideas you need to provide a pathway. This links them for your listeners. The clearer the path, the easier it is to make the transition from one idea to the next.

If your speech contains more than three main ideas and each is building on the last, then consider using a "catch-up" or summary as part of your transitions.

Link/transition examples

A link can be as simple as:

"We've explored one scenario for the ending of Block Buster 111, but let's consider another. This time..."

What follows this link is the introduction of Main Idea Two.

Here's summarizing link or transition example:
"We've ended Blockbuster 111 four ways so far. Everybody died, 1. Everybody died BUT their ghosts remained, 2. One villain died. His partner reformed and after a fight-out with the hero, they both strode off into the sunset, 3. 4,The hero dies in a major battle but is reborn sometime in the future. And now what about one more? What if nobody died? The fifth possibility..."
Go back through your main ideas checking the links. Remember Joe as you go. Try each transition or link out loud and listen to yourself. Write them down when they are clear and concise.

How to Write a Speech: Step 5 - The Ending

The ideal ending is highly memorable. You want it to live on in the minds of your listeners long after your speech is finished. Often it combines a call to action with a summary of major points.

Example endings

Example 1:
The desired outcome of a speech persuading people to vote for you in an upcoming election is that they get out there on voting day and do so. You can help that outcome along by calling them to register their support by signing a prepared pledge statement as they leave.

Example 2:
The desired outcome is increased sales figures. The call to action is made urgent with the introduction of time specific incentives.
"You have three weeks from the time you leave this hall to make that dream family holiday in New Zealand yours. Can you do it? Will you do it? The kids will love it. Your wife will love it. Do it now!"
How to figure out the right call to action

A clue for working out what the most appropriate call to action might be, is to go back to the original purpose for giving the speech.

Was it to motivate or inspire?

Was it to persuade to a particular point of view?

Was it to share specialist information?

Was it to celebrate a person, a place, time or event?

Ask yourself what you want people to do as a result of having listened to your speech.

For more about ending speeches

Visit this page for more about how to end a speech effectively. You'll find two additional types of endings with examples.

Write and test

Write your ending and test it out loud.

How to Write a Speech: Step 6 - The Introduction

Once you've got the filling (main ideas) the linking and the ending in place, it's time to focus on the introduction.

The introduction comes last as it's the most important part of your speech. This is the bit that either has people sitting up alert or slumped and waiting for you to end.

What makes a great opening?

Ideally you want an opening that makes listening to you the only thing the 'Joes' in the audience want to do. You want them to forget they're hungry or that their chair is hard or that their bills need paying.

The answer is to capture their interest straight away. You do this with a "hook".

Hooks to catch your audience's attention

Hooks come in as many forms as there are speeches and audiences. Your task is work out what the specific hook is to catch your audience.

Go back to the purpose. Why are you giving this speech? Once you have your answer, consider your call to action. What do you want the audience to do as a result of listening to you? Next think about the imaginary or real person you wrote for when you were focusing on your main ideas.

Choosing the best hook

Ask yourself, if I were him/her what would appeal?

Is it humor?

Would shock tactics work?

Is it formality or informality?

Is it an outline of what you're going to cover, including the call to action?

Or is it a mix of all these elements?

A hook example

Here's an example from a fictional political speech. The speaker is lobbying for votes. His audience are predominately workers whose future's are not secure.

"How's your imagination this morning? Good? ( Pause for response from audience) Great, I'm glad. Because we're going to put it to work starting right now. I want you to see your future. What does it look like? Are you happy? Is everything as you want it to be? No? Let's change that. We could do it. And we could do it today. At the end of this speech you're going to be given the opportunity to change your world, for a better one ... No, I'm not a magician or a simpleton with big ideas and precious little commonsense. I'm an ordinary man, just like you. But I have a plan to share!"

And then our speaker is off into his main points supported by examples. The end, which he has already foreshadowed in his opening, is the call to vote for him.

Prepare several hooks

Experiment with several openings until you've found the one that serves your audience, subject matter and purpose best.

Writing your speech is very nearly done. There's just one more step to go!

How to Write a Speech: Step 7 - Checking

This step pulls everything together.

Check once, check twice, check three times & then once more

Go through your speech carefully.

On the first read through check you've got your main points in their correct order with supporting material plus an effective introduction and ending.

On the second read through check the linking passages or transitions making sure they are clear and easily followed.

On the third reading check your sentence structure, language use and tone.

Check the timing

Now go though once more.

This time read it aloud slowly and time yourself.

If it's too long make the necessary cuts. Start by looking at your examples rather than the main ideas themselves. If you've used several to illustrate one, cut the least important out. Also look to see if you've repeated yourself unnecessarily or gone off track. If it's not relevant, cut it.

Repeat the process, condensing until your speech fits just under the time allowance.

Rehearsing your speech

And NOW you are finished with "how to write a speech", and are ready for REHEARSAL.

Please don't be tempted to skip this step. The "not-so-secret" secret of successful speeches combines good writing with practice, practice and then practicing some more.

Follow the link and you'll find rehearsal techniques and suggestions to boost your speech delivery from ordinary to extraordinary.

As an interesting extra read this excellent article by professional key-note speaker, Avish Parashar. He's called it: 'Walk Your Talk'.

In it he explains what happened to him when he forgot to apply the good advice on how to write a speech he readily dishes out to others at his seminars. He was preparing a major speech and knew the 'x' factor was missing. You'll find it illuminating. Read here how he solved his problem.

Are you preparing a motivational speech?

If so professional motivational speaker Kevin Biggar talks about how he prepares in a special interview. He set a record rowing the Atlantic, has walked to the South Pole and these days uses his experiences to inspire others. As Kevin says, there is life beyond the couch!

The Quick How to Write a Speech Checklist

Your speech OUTLINE with your main ideas ranked in the order you're going to present them.
(If you haven't done one complete this 4 step sample speech outline. It will make the writing process much easier.)

Your RESEARCH

You also need to know WHO you're speaking to, the PURPOSE of the speech and HOW long you're speaking for

Basic speech construction

1. an opening or introduction

2. the body where you present your main ideas

3. an ending

How to write the speech

Write your main ideas out incorporating your examples and research

Link them together making sure each flows in a smooth, logical progression

Write your ending, summarizing your main ideas briefly and end with a call for action

Write your introduction considering the 'hook' you're going to use to get your audience listening

An often quoted saying to explain the process is:
Tell them what you're going to tell them (Introduction)
Tell them (Body of your speech - the main ideas plus examples)
Tell them what you told them (The ending)

Listed on: Grateful thanks to Dmegs Web Directory
Margan Zajdowicz for use of her 'creativity' image.

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How to Write a Speech - step by step help

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Learning how to write a speech needn't be a nail biting experience! Unsure? Don't be. You may have lived with the idea you were never good with words for a long time. Or perhaps writing speeches at school brought you out in cold sweats but this is different.

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How to write a speech taken from Six Minute Speech Writing

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Blockbuster Video (in the UK) held a series of polls in late 2003 with its customers to determine theTop 20 Best Film Speeches and Monologues in cinematic history (their selections are all included here). Although there were some excellent choices in their poll, the results almost completely ignored early films, and entirely disregarded films with speeches made by female characters.

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A mix of web apps that can help you make presentations that are fun, eye catching, and engaging (great for students too)!

In this month's free online workshop, we're learning about the wonderful variety of free digital presentation tools available on the Internet today, and ways we might use them in our classroom. For the last assignment, I want to let participants select from a list of applications we haven't tried yet. I've been searching out new ones, as well as revisiting tools I've used before or known about, and I've listed a handful here.

This interactive image is an example of a Glogster "poster" I tossed together in about 25 minutes, without any previous knowledge of using the tool. Note the different functionality for video and images - click an image to see it zoom and straighten for a better view, and the videos clips actually play!

I have no doubt that many educators might enjoy some of these tools, so I am sharing them here, and asking for readers feedback on these and other apps. Not only can tools like these offer a fun approach to presenting educational content, they can also be used by students for assignments and creating their own digital content.

SlideShare: A very popular tool for sharing Powerpoint presentations and more, online, or embed them in your blog or website.

ZohoShow: Kind of similar to Powerpoint, but free, and online.

: This link will take you right to Glogster's Basic (free) plan for Educators.

Fotobabble: Create talking photos with Fotobabble! I haven't tried this yet, but I here's an example of a Fotobabble talking photo by"Becky4477″ - looks like a simple tool for adding as voice-over to pictures (they have a free iPhone app too).

Prezi: With Prezi, you create graphical presentations that you can easily zoom in and out of, to "get the big picture", or "drill into the details".

: The idea behind Voki is to use a talking avatar to make your presentation. Click here to read a post about Voki that includes a video demonstration of the creation of a Voki avatar.

: I had a lot of fun creating this music video with the help of Vuvox last year, and selected it as the first app we covered in the workshop. You can add text, pics, and embedded "hot links", over a bed of music, to make your scrolling presentation.[SADLY, VUVOX IS NO MORE ... THEY SHUT DOWN SERVICES IN LATE 2013 - Ed.]

OneTrueMedia: We took this one for a try this week - definitely easier to use than Vuvox (but I was also a little dissapointed by some of the limitations in the free version).

If there are other free digital presentation tools that you like to use, please comment and let us know about them!

Related Posts (if the above topic is of interest, you might want to check these out):
3 Quick Lesson Plan Ideas That Utilize Technology
2 Great Online Presentation Tools for E-Learning
Voki Is A Fun, Free Animated Avatar Application That's Easy To Use In The Classroom

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8 Great Free Digital Presentation Tools For Teachers To Try This Summer

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In this month's free online workshop, we're learning about the wonderful variety of free digital presentation tools available on the Internet today, and ways we might use them in our classroom. For the last assignment, I want to let participants select from a list of applications we haven't tried yet.

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Flipgrid Ideas: 17 Ways To Infuse Flipgrid | The Infused Classroom

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Are you looking for Flipgrid ideas for your classroom? Have you caught # FlipGridFever yet? If not, its time you did! There are so many levels of student thinking it can uncover. At first view - it is a video response platform - but it is so much more, so layered, and so effective in helping teachers capture rich information about student learning and growth.

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I don't know about you, but I've had some serious woes when it comes to teaching my students to edit their writing. Many, many times I've had a student tell me that their draft is done and that they've looked it over for mistakes. Then, when I look over it, I find countless capitalization, spelling, and punctuation errors! I've found this to be true even for students who have been taught those skills for several years in a row.

It's hard for young writers to see mistakes in their writing, even when those mistakes may be obvious to us. Teaching students to edit not only involves teaching them capitalization, punctuation, and spelling rules, but also giving them strategies to help them "see" errors.

As I promised in last week's post on teaching revising, today I'll be discussing strategies for teaching editing. I hope you'll walk away with at least one new idea to try out in your classroom!

1. Teach editing in context, rather than through isolated grammar exercises.

Were you forced to diagram sentences in school? I was. Truthfully, I never figured out how to do it very well, but somehow I've managed to become a passable writer (I think, anyway...you tell me :)).

Clearly, there's a disconnect between isolated grammar exercises and using proper grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling in the context of real writing. And I've seen this disconnect firsthand with my students.

A couple of years ago, when I was teaching second grade, I had two students who LOVED fixing incorrect sentences. We hardly ever did sentence fixing, but when we did, they were jumping out of their seats to show me mistakes!

Ironically, those two students were the same ones who were consistently forgetting to capitalize "I," the first word in a sentence, and include periods in their writing. And since they were in second grade, they'd been taught those skills for almost 3 years at that point.

The bottom line is (and this is backed by research), editing needs to be taught in the context of real writing, not through disconnected grammar drills. Grammar drills are not only boring for many students, but they do not result in students using writing conventions correctly in their own writing.

So what do you do instead? Teach editing skills in context. And show students examples of correct use of conventions, rather than incorrect sentences. After all, we want them to imitate correct writing!

Let's imagine that you want to teach your first grade students how to use commas in a list.

This skill fits perfectly into a how-to writing unit, so you plan to teach it during that unit.

To get started, you select a published, how-to mentor text that has a list of supplies the reader will need. (Example: To build a kite, you will need tissue paper, string, glue, scissors, and 4 straws.)

Read the mentor texts to your students in its entirety, and discuss the ideas with your students. You want the focus of the first read to be comprehension.

Then, later that day or on another day, bring the text back and show students how the author uses commas in a lis t. Use a document camera to enlarge the text so that students can see it clearly. Discuss the effect that the use of commas has on us, the readers (i.e., we can clearly see each item and understand what is needed for building a kit).

Next, engage in some guided practice with students. This could take the form of them helping you write a list of supplies for a how-to book you are modeling for them. If you use my K-2 Revising and Editing toolkit, you will have kid-friendly how-to texts that you can use for exactly this purpose.

Last, have students try this skill out in their own writing. Have them take a finished or partially completed piece of how-to writing and add a list of supplies (with commas).

Pretty simple, right? Use real texts and have students use the concept in their own, real writing. This strategy makes editing skills "stick" for students.

Of course, not all of your students will have mastered using commas after this lesson! You'll probably have to repeat this a couple of times with different texts and different genres of writing.

And there'd certainly be nothing wrong with having them do a few comma-inserting exercises to follow up on that skill ( my writing units do just that, in fact). Just make sure to prioritize showing students correct usage in real mentor texts, and then having them apply those skills to their own writing.

2. Provide students with clear criteria to use when evaluating their writing.

If we want our students to go back and fix mistakes in their work, we have to clearly tell them what mistakes they need to look for!

The Common Core language standards are a great resources for finding out which editing skills students need to know in each grade level (keep in mind that they are cumulative, so you will likely need to review skills taught in grade levels below yours).

Once you are clear on what you want your students to be able to do, you can create rubrics and checklists to support them with editing. My K-2 Revising and Editing Toolkit has rubrics and checklists that are just for editing, as well as rubrics and checklists that integrate both revising and editing.

As I mentioned in last week's post, it's super important to spend time teaching each part of a rubric to students. Do lots of modeling and thinking aloud, so that they really learn how to use the rubric as a tool. You can cut apart the strips of the rubric to really break it down and make it "digestible" for young students.

In addition to using rubrics and checklists, another great way to provide students with clear criteria is through an editing flip book.

The purpose of this flip book is to give students a reference tool that encourages them to edit one piece of work multiple times.

Here's how it works:

Under each flap, guide them through writing the rules that they've learned in each area (C = capitalization, O = organization - handwriting and paragraphing, not content, P = punctuation, and S = spelling)

Have students keep the completed flip books in their writing folders. If you teach a new skill, have them add it under the corresponding flap.

When students are ready to edit a piece of writing, have them go through the flip book, one flap at a time. They should review what's under one flap, and then read through their work one time, looking ONLY for that type of mistake.

When students are finished, they should have read through their piece of writing FOUR times, looking for a different type of error each time (this helps them focus and find more mistakes overall).

Rubrics, checklists, and flip books all serve to provide clear criteria to our students, so they always know what they are expected to look for when editing their work.

3. Model, model, and model some more.

Students need to see you edit your writing and hear you think aloud as you edit. You can do this when you're doing any type of shared writing throughout the day - it doesn't have to take place during writing time!

My K-2 Revising and Editing Toolkit has kid-friendly mentor texts that you can use for this purpose. You can use the "correct" version of a text to go through and highlight correct punctuation and capitalization in the text.

You can also use the incorrect versions of the text (also provided) to model how you fix mistakes in the work (although again, I recommend placing emphasis on correct usage).

4. Have students get help from their peers.

I would bet that when you are writing something important, you like to have a friend look it over for mistakes. Right? Well, the same thing applies to our kiddos!

In last week's post, I talked about setting up a revising and editing table for your classroom. Please head over to that post to read more about how it works.

Basically, the revising and editing table is something you set up in your classroom during writing workshop time. It's a place where students go to get help with revising and editing their work. The best part is that you don't have to be providing that help! Once you teach the students how to use it and work together effectively, the table runs by itself.

When it comes to having students work on editing at the table, small sticky notes are a great tool. I never have students write directly on their friend's paper - that would not be showing respect to the writer. I also never have students make changes while they are sitting at the table, because that just takes up too much time.

Instead, what I have students do is write down notes about missing capital letters, missing periods, misspelled words, etc. on those small sticky notes. They can place the note directly on their paper and then go back and fix up their work at their seats.

Using a revising and editing table in my classroom made a HUGE difference for my students - they were much more likely to find and correct mistakes in their work! I really encourage you to try one out in your own classroom ( my K-2 Revising and Editing Toolkit has detailed instructions and lessons that you can use to introduce the table).

5. Use visuals as editing reminders.

My last strategy for teaching editing is one that applies to teaching almost any skill...using visuals! Kids forget things easily, but if we support them with visual tools, they will be more likely to use the skills we teach them.

The photo below shows a small binder ring with editing strategy cards. If there are 2-3 strategies you want students to really focus on, you can create these strategy card rings (differentiate as necessary), and give them to students to use during writing time.

A fun, visual way to recognize students for using good editing skills is to use Conventions Cards. These are simple cards that recognize students for using capital letters correctly, good handwriting, proper spelling, etc.

First, copy the cards onto colored paper. Explain what they are, and get students excited about them.

Then, while students are writing, walk around the room silently. Notice which students are using conventions correctly, and slide one of the cards onto their desks.

Not only does this acknowledge students who are doing good editing work, but it also encourages students around them to "clean up" their own work. Kids love getting these cards!!

To download the cards for free, click on the image below. My Toolkit also has additional options for Conventions Cards.

Conclusions

Phew, this was a long post! Thanks for sticking with me! To summarize, you can teach students to edit by:

Using published mentor texts as exemplars and having students try out writing conventions in their own writing (instead of using only grammar drills)

Providing students with clear criteria for editing

Doing lots of modeling and think-alouds

Having students engage in peer editing, and

Providing visuals to support students with their editing

Is there anything that you would add to this list? Please comment below! Or if you're already using my toolkit, let me know how it's going!

Happy teaching!

Resources

Graham, S., MacArthur, C. A., & Fitzgerald, J. (Eds.). (2007). Best Practices in Writing Instruction. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Morrow, L. M., & Gambrell, L. B. (Eds.). (2011). Best Practices in Literacy Instruction (4th ed.). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards. Washington, DC: Authors.

Ruday, S. (2013). Five Recommendations for Teaching Common Core Grammar to Elementary Students. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.

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5 Effective Strategies for Teaching K-2 Students to Edit Their Writing - Learning at the Primary Pond

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I don't know about you, but I've had some serious woes when it comes to teaching my students to edit their writing. Many, many times I've had a student tell me that their draft is done and that they've looked it over for mistakes.

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Peer Edit With Perfection: Effective Strategies

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Do students' eyes glaze over when they try to edit their own writing? Give them a fresh perspective with peer editing. Students are introduced to a three-step strategy for peer editing, providing (1) compliments, (2) suggestions, and (3) corrections in response to a sample of student writing.

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Discussion and Supporting Materials

Thought starters

1. Why does Ms. Brewer give students the option of using sentence frames?

2. How can you create a sentence frame that encourages varied responses?

3. What makes sentence frames an effective strategy for English Language Learners?

School Details

Stevenson Elementary School
14220 Ne 8th St
Bellevue WA 98007

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Teachers

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Using Sentence Frames to Jumpstart Writing

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To help her students get writing, fifth grade teacher Stacy Brewer gives her class sentence frames. The sentence frames help students start writing by providing them with a structure to work with. Stacy describes how this strategy is particularly helpful for English Language Learners because it provides them with language and makes writing less intimidating.

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Thought starters

1. What teaching techniques does Ms. Sackman use to engage her English Language Learners?

2. Why does Ms. Sackman use the writing manipulative in this lesson?

3. How does this lesson add to your understanding of teaching the Common Core to English Language Learners?

School Details

Westridge Middle School
3800 West Oak Ridge Road
Orlando FL 32809

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The Writing Recipe: Essay Structure for ELLs

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English Language Learners in Ms. Sackman's 8th grade class practice adapting a writing prompt into an essay introduction. As part of their introduction, they identify three main arguments, which will become the topics of their body paragraphs. Students write their introductions on large index cards to help them visualize the various parts of a multi-paragraph essay.

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Speeches For Kids - Inspirational speeches for kids from the world's top leaders, business tycoons and politicians for kids including Mahatma Gandhi, Steve Jobs, Swami Vivekananda and other top leaders.

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Of the countless ways to begin your speech, I am going to detail the three types of openings that the most compelling TED speakers use to engage their audiences. Remember that the first ten or twenty seconds of your speech is the peak of your audience's engagement level. It is not going to get any better as one by one your listeners will get distracted by their mental grocery lists or the next day's outfit. Hook them fast with benefits by giving them an implicit or explicit reason to pay close attention.
Opening #1: The Personal Story
The most consistently successful opening is the personal story. Here is what you need to know. First, your personal story should really be personal. Tell your own story and share your observations. It is a good idea to make others the heroes in your stories. Second, make sure your story is directly relevant to your core message. If your goal is to inspire people to volunteer their time to feed the homeless, a cute story about how your dog can bark 'I love you' just does not belong. Third, fourth, and fifth, make your story highly emotional, highly sensory, and rich in dialogue. The story should be so specific that your audience is able to relive it with you. And sixth, start your story somewhere in the middle so that you immediate prompt your audience to wonder who, what, where, whey, why, or how.

In his TEDTalk, author and success expert Richard St. John demonstrated the power of using a personal story for his opening:
This is really a two hour presentation I give to high school students, cut down to three minutes. And it all started one day on a plane, on my way to TED, seven years ago. And in the seat next to me was a high school student, a teenager, and she came from a really poor family. And she wanted to make something of her life, and she asked me a simple little question. She said, "What leads to success?" And I felt really badly, because I couldn't give her a good answer. So I get off the plane, and I come to TED. And I think, jeez, I'm in the middle of a room of successful people! So why don't I ask them what helped them succeed, and pass it on to kids?
Did you visualize yourself on the plane? Did you turn your head and eavesdrop when the teenage girl, who came from a poor family, asked Richard for the secret of success? Could you feel Richard's disappointment about not having a good answer and his zeal to be ready to help kids in the future? Moreover, and more selfishly, are you now intensely curious what Richard St. John found to be the key to success? To find out, you will have to watch his talk on TED.com; I cannot spoil all the fun. But, at least you now know Richard's secret to capturing his audience with a personal story opening.
Opening #2: The Powerful Question
If you go the powerful question route, I recommend that you use "why" questions and "how" questions. "Why" questions are by far the most enticing since they tap into our natural curiosity to understand the world around us. Once we know why things happen, then we want to know how to make good things happen and how to prevent bad things from happening. If the "why" is implied or well understood, then you can open with a "how" question.

Simon Sinek demonstrated the most effective powerful question opening of any TEDTalk that I have encountered. Here is how he began a talk that ultimately provided people with a how-to framework for being an inspiring leader or an effective corporation:
How do you explain when things don't go as we assume? Or better, how do you explain when others are able to achieve things that seem to defy all of the assumptions? For example: Why is Apple so innovative? Year after year, after year, after year, they're more innovative than all their competition. And yet, they're just a computer company. They're just like everyone else. They have the same access to the same talent, the same agencies, the same consultants, the same media. Then why is it that they seem to have something different? Why is it that Martin Luther King led the Civil Rights Movement? He wasn't the only man who suffered in a pre-civil rights America. And he certainly wasn't the only great orator of the day. Why him? And why is it that the Wright brothers were able to figure out control-powered, manned flight when there were certainly other teams who were better qualified, better funded, and they didn't achieve powered man flight, and the Wright brothers beat them to it. There's something else at play here.
A single opening question is sufficient. But, Mr. Sinek instead chose to bombard his audience with a string of "why" questions. This approach, an extended "why-tease", is extremely effective but most be done carefully. To successfully string multiple questions together in an opening, they must all have the same answer. Simon even mixed how and why questions together, a bit like playing with matches and dynamite; however, both types of questions were rooted in the same underlying reason. I would just leave you confused if I opened a speech with "Why is it that the sky is blue? And why is it that that a rolling stone gathers no moss? And why is it that elephants are afraid of mice?"
Opening #3: The Shocking Statement
Though shocking statements most frequently rely on statistics, they can also express strong opinions that challenge conventional wisdom. The important thing is that your point must trigger a range of audience emotions. If you share a "what", then people will have a burning need to fill in the gaps on why, how, when, and where. In his TED2010 talk, celebrity chef and child nutrition advocate Jamie Oliver used exactly this recipe in his opening. Listen to how he started:

Sadly, in the next eighteen minutes when I do our chat, four Americans that are alive will be dead from the food that they eat. My name is Jamie Oliver. I am thirty four years old. I am from Essex in England and for the last seven years I have worked fairly tirelessly to save lives in my own way. I am not a doctor; I'm a chef. I don't have expensive equipment, or medicine. I use information and education. I profoundly believe that the power of food has a primal place in our homes that binds us to the best bits of life.

Chef Oliver captured his audience by sharing what is happening - people are dropping like flies from the food they eat. And, they are not half way around the world in a developing country; they are in the same modern nation as his audience. You should have little doubt that most of the audience is wondering if they will survive lunch! Such is the power of a shocking statistic that is deeply and personally relevant to the audience. Remember the magic four needs: physical health and safety; love and belonging; desire and self-interest; hope in a brighter future. Jamie went primal, life and death, and had his audience waiting with bated breath to find out why this is happening and to learn how to stay alive.
Try It Out!
Your opening should have caused your audience to consider the benefits of your talk in an implicit way. Rather than starting your speeches with a whimper such as "Hello ladies and gentlemen..." or "In the next 45 minutes, I am going to share with you...", start your next talk with a bang. You can do that by telling a personal story, asking a powerful question, or sharing a shocking statistic. Just make sure that your opening completely supports the primary theme or objective of your speech.

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public speaking tips presentation skills opening introduction

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Of the countless ways to begin your speech, I am going to detail the three types of openings that the most compelling TED speakers use to engage their audiences. Remember that the first ten or twenty seconds of your speech is the peak of your audience's engagement level.

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Examining Elements of Persuasive Speeches

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Teaching argumentative and persuasive speeches begins with brainstorming and writing. Watch as Ms. Manley gets her middle school class started down the path towards a persuasive speech. Covers Common Core Standards for ELA.

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Every day or so, someone finds this website through searching some variation of "big ideas in the Common Core Speaking and Listening standards."

The problem is, an answer to that question isn't currently easy to find on Teaching the Core!

In order to try providing a better resource for that search, as well as for the sake of increasing my own understanding, here are 9 big ideas that I draw from the CCSS Speaking and Listening anchor standards.

First of all, I'd like to share my insanely complex methods for creating this post.

Intense, right?

Now to the big ideas.

I love that we're talking about the Speaking and Listening standards rather than just the speaking standards.
It is absolutely freaking certain that if you don't know how to listen, you don't really know how to speak, and you are not optimally prepared for college or career. (Click to Tweet a shorter version of this impressively emphatic statement.)
To you, this might be unforgivably obvious; but, alas, I have spent too many years enabling my shy students to remain in their shells and not insisting that they let me draw them way out.

This last year, I didn't coddle my shy freshmen, and rather than shrivel up and die, they actually flourished, and by the end of the year many of them expressed sincere appreciation.

If you've been doing think-pair-share in your classes, you've got this covered. Pair shares are so old school but so darn money. Having students talk in pairs is a great way to let your students process and to let you walk around and check for understanding.

The key for success here is "structured" - groups should know how effective group talking looks, and they should be given regular feedback on how they're doing.

Hold debates. Assign speeches. Use the index card trick. Whatever you do, just make sure that every kid is getting regular chances to talk to the whole class. The safer you make the classroom and the more regular you make these opportunities, the more efficacious shy kids tend to become.

A mega idea in the Speaking and Listening anchor standards is that college and career ready (CCR) people are productive members of conversations.
Keyword: productive.
Show them how to add accurate and relevant info when they converse. The last thing you want is for them to become like Judy Grimes:

Okay, that video might be irrelevant. I couldn't help it.

One major flaw of most class discussions I've led is this: students are all talking to me and ignoring each other. What the CCSS (and real life) call for is students actually talking with and responding to their peers.

Basically, the vision of the CCSS is that students can talk about ideas - at home, in school, in math, in science, in history, or wherever.

I'm not sure what, exactly, the CCSS are getting at here. Using Skype or some other kind of video chatting? Listening to people talk on YouTube and creating videos in response?
What do you think? Are these big ideas worth pursuing? Do the Speaking and Listening anchor standards make "sense" to you? Are they called for? Get into the conversation below.

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9 Big Ideas within the Speaking and Listening Standards - Dave Stuart Jr.

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Every day or so, someone finds this website through searching some variation of "big ideas in the Common Core Speaking and Listening standards." The problem is, an answer to that question isn't currently easy to find on Teaching the Core! In order to try providing a better resource for that search, as well as for ...

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Speaking and Listening (Elementary) Videos

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399 Videos for Speaking and Listening (Elementary). Free Videos, Quizzes, Assessments, Homework Assignments, from the Worlds Largest K-12 Library.

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During writing sessions in my Grade Two classroom I constantly reinforce the importance of editing work to my students. My students are expected to check over every piece of writing they complete before showing me at correction time. I developed this routine for the following reasons:

They are taking responsibility for their learning and showing initiative to produce their best work possible.

When I do look at the students' writing, it is a true indication of their abilities and skills as they have actually corrected any errors they could detect. Any errors that are not identified by the students demonstrates that they have a weakness in that area (eg. full stops or particular spelling words).

It teaches and reinforces the basics of grammar and spelling.

They may choose to improve their writing by adding more information if they are not completely satisfied with their initial attempts.

It will hopefully making editing an "automatic" part of their writing, particularly as they head into higher grade levels and the expectations increase.

It makes my job of correcting their work a lot easier if they have already made some alterations!

When I discuss the editing process with my students there are several main questions I encourage them to ask themselves...

Does my writing make sense?

Have I used full stops and capital letters correctly?

Do I need to add any other forms of punctuation to my writing?

Are the high frequency words spelled correctly?

Is my handwriting neat and are the letters of the correct size and shape?

I developed an editing checklist for my students to refer to during our "editing time". I made copies for every student and they can access the checklist at any time. I have found this to be a very useful tool as it enables the students to complete the editing process using a step-by-step method. Breaking down the task of editing into manageable tasks produces better results and the students are clear of the expectations. They are also encouraged to help each other and read over one another's work to assist with the editing process.

My editing checklist

Another editing process you could use is the CUPS method (capital letters, understanding, punctuation, spelling) . It adopts similar ideas to assist students with the editing process. My teaching partner Kathleen McGeady provided me with this poster.

Leave a comment - How do you teach editing skills to your students?

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Teaching editing skills to young students

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During writing sessions in my Grade Two classroom I constantly reinforce the importance of editing work to my students. My students are expected to check over every piece of writing they complete before showing me at correction time. I developed this routine for the following reasons: They are taking responsibility for their learning and showing initiative to produce their best work possible.

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Download the plug-in tools you need to use our games and tools, or check to see if you've got the latest version.

Looking for ways to engage your students in online literacy learning? Find more interactive tools that help them accomplish a variety of goals-from organizing their thoughts to learning about language.

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ABOUT THIS INTERACTIVE

This hierarchical outlining tool allows students to organize up to five levels of information for reading and writing activities. During or after reading, the Notetaker can be used to compile and organize reading notes, research, and related ideas. During the writing process, students can use the tool to organize their information and plan texts in the prewriting stage and to review and structure their ideas during writing and revision. Students can choose the format that the outline will use (e.g., bullets, Roman numerals, letters) as well as enter up to five levels of information. The Notetaker includes a tutorial, which demonstrates how to use the tool, as well as a Notes area where students can track information that does not fit into the outline. The Notetaker creates an HTML file of students' outlines, which can be printed or saved and edited later in any HTML editor.

Related Classroom & Professional Development Resources
Oral Presentation Rubric back to top Teaching With Blogs
This rubric is designed to be used for any oral presentation. Students are scored in three categories—delivery, content, and audience awareness.
Teaching With Podcasts
This Strategy Guide describes the processes involved in composing blogs in the classroom, the process of writing regular posts, or entries, that are published online.
Write Alouds
This Strategy Guide describes the processes involved in composing and producing audio files that are published online as podcasts.
Power Notes
This strategy guide explains how to use write-aloud (also known as modeled writing) to teach effective writing strategies and improve students' independent writing ability.

The strategy examined in this Strategy Guide teaches students an outlining technique to help them differentiate between main ideas and details in their reading and writing.

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Download the plug-in tools you need to use our games and tools, or check to see if you've got the latest version. Looking for ways to engage your students in online literacy learning? Find more interactive tools that help them accomplish a variety of goals-from organizing their thoughts to learning about language.

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20 Of The Best Tools For Creativity In The Classroom

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Because students necessarily create things with digital tools and images, the resulting creative expression is inherently student-centered.

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This post first appeared on Free Technology for Teachers.

Computers, and the digital tools on those computers, brought video editing to the classroom years ago. As those tools became easier to use, more and more students were given opportunities to share and demonstrate knowledge using video. iPad continues to transform the process by integrating the key elements of digital storytelling - capturing photos, videos, and audio - all in one mobile device. Through apps, iPad provides a variety of options for how to compose or combine those key elements to create an effective demonstration of learning.

Digital Storytelling is a powerful tool in the classroom. It is engaging for students and teachers of all grade levels and can be used across the curriculum. Most of all, digital storytelling gives students a voice and a way of communicating information in an authentic manner. One of the great things about digital stories is that there are no "cookie cutter" answers. Each student creates a unique piece that demonstrates their understanding. Digital storytelling on iPad can empower, motivate and engage students, helping them to make deep connections to learning.

So, grab your iPad and check out some of the best free apps for digital storytelling:

With Tellagami, students can create quick animations that liberate them from the physical world and remove concerns about appearance and general physics. Tellagami allows them to create an avatar and custom background, as well as to have the avatar speak with the student's voice or via text-to-speech. Students can place their avatars in all sorts of interesting places like a plant cell or next to George Washington. They can have their avatar sit on a library book shelf or stand on the ocean floor. You can read more about Tellagami in a previous post on FreeTech4Teachers.

Videolicious allows students to shoot, do short quick edits in a matter of minutes, and easily share their videos. The app is being used by reporters from newspapers, like the Washington Post, to have their reporters capture and report news quickly. Students can use this app like the experts, quickly and easily creating videos.

ScreenChomp is an awesome way to use screencasting for storytelling with our youngest learners. Just put up a picture and have your student talk about it, draw on top of it, and record. This app allows for authentic communication of learning as students are able to show process and understanding.

Animoto has been around a long time on the computer. The app is even more powerful because of how quickly and easily images and sound can be strung together, helping. Additionally, this app helps students understand the power of images, requiring them to think critically about the images they choose and what information, tone and emotions are conveyed by those images. Captioning and choice of music add to the impact of each student's work.

If you hand an iPad to a student with Puppet Pals on it, just be prepared for a little fun. This highly engaging app allows you to move "puppets" and record your voice to create a story. It's fantastic for all sorts of things such as public service announcement, telling a story from different characters' points of view, and sharing information. There is a paid version which gives you more characters and more options, but even the free version allows for a great deal of flexibility and an authentic expression of writing.

Digital stories help students to become creators of content for the Internet, not just consumers. They give students a voice and allow them to express themselves at a higher lever. iPad takes digital storytelling to a new level by making the process easier and mobile. When paired with great apps, digital storytelling is the perfect tool to unleash student creativity.

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5 Fantastic Apps for Digital Storytelling on iPad - From Samantha Morra on Free Technology for Teachers - EdTechTeacher

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This post first appeared on Free Technology for Teachers. Computers, and the digital tools on those computers, brought video editing to the classroom years ago. As those tools became easier to use, more and more students were given opportunities to share and ... Read more