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Public Speaking Activities

5 fun speech games to build skills and confidence.

By:  Susan Dugdale  | Last modified: 10-26-2023

There are five public speaking activities on this page, along with numerous spinoffs.

Their principal purpose is to develop speech fluency and confidence through fun!

You'll find they are easily adaptable to groups of all ages and skill levels: from newcomers to advanced.

I've used them all and know they work. People become so enjoyably engrossed in them, they forget to be fearful!

1. Interview Introductions

Interview Introductions are a great way to break the ice with a new group of people. The exercise has them finding out about each other and then introducing the person they interviewed to the whole group.

As it's a lot less threatening or scary to talk about someone else rather than yourself, you'll find people respond really positively as they're generally eager to represent the person they interviewed well.

Instructions

• Divide your group into pairs.
• Each person interviews the other in turn. The information gained forms the basis of a brief introduction speech they'll give to the whole group when the interviewing process is complete.
• Ask them to find out their partner's name, where they live/work, what hobbies they have, what their favorite book, film, song...is, what they're most proud of (an achievement perhaps), what they hope for from the class, something funny that happened in their childhood, where they go for holidays, what they think about the latest local issue ... Obviously they can't expect to cover all of that in detail inside the brief time they spend talking with each other. One or two interesting points is enough!
• Establish a time limit for the interviews. I've found 10 minutes works well. Keep track of the time and call change at the halfway point, 5 minutes, to ensure both people get an opportunity to be interviewed and to interview.  
• When the group comes back together the introductions begin: "This is Mary from Taupo. When she's not working for the Social Welfare Department as a community social worker she's collecting stamps. She says part of their charm is that they don't answer back and are quiet!"

2. Image Starters

Picture prompts or image starters are great for sparking  imaginative storytelling and conversations.

Either use my ready-made printable file of 40 picture prompts , (which you can find out more about by clicking the link), or gather up a collection of your own to use.

You'll need interesting images/photos from magazines or newspapers - enough for everybody to have one each and then a few spare.

Place them face down and have everybody pick one.

Using the image as a prompt, what can they share about it? 

Questions to get started are:

• Where is this photo/image from? (And the answer doesn't have to be true - merely plausible! Encourage imaginative creativity.)
• What's happening in this photo/picture?
• What feelings does the image evoke?
• Is there a season or time associated with it?
• What happened after or before the photo was taken?

5 activities using image starters

If you'd like specific instructions for five different activities based around images you'll find them here: picture prompts for impromptu speeches . 

They range from introductory 'show and tell', like the starter questions above, to more advanced. There are solo as well as group activities.

3. For and Against

'For and Against' encourages flexibility: the ability to see a topic from opposing sides.

A speaker has 30 seconds to talk 'for' a topic and then another 30 seconds to speak 'against' it.

Prepare and print out a selection of controversial speech topics. You'll need one per person.

Put the topics into a non-see through bag. Have each speaker select their topic when it's their turn to speak.

Ideally what's wanted is at least two or three good points supporting both sides: for and against.

Time the speech. Call start, the half way point and, stop.

Sample topics:

• money is the root of all evil
• a country gets the government it deserves
• ' green ' politics are just the current fashion
• pets in apartments should be banned
• marriage is essentially a business contract
• 'Religion is the opiate of the masses' : Karl Marx
• poverty is a state of mind
• euthanasia is unjustifiable
• global warming is media hype
• cloning animals should be banned
• animal testing is immoral

For variation split your group into pairs and extend the time limit to 1 - 2 minutes. One person takes the 'for' position, and other takes the 'against'.  

More 1 minute speech practice

For 150 1 minute speech topics with 3 example speech outlines following the PREP (Point, Reason, Example, Point) format, the full text of three speeches plus audio, visit:  1 minute speech topics .

Get instant organizers for impromptu speeches

For more on structuring impromptu speeches quickly and effectively go to impromptu speaking templates . You'll find 7 useful speech outline organizers explained (including PREP), alongside suggestions to banish impromptu speaking blues. 

4. The Object of my Affection

Gather up a collection of small objects, enough for one per speaker. For example: a vintage toy car, a can of sardines, a hair ribbon, an old black and white photographic portrait, a pair of baby shoes .... 

Put all of them into a non-see through bag.

Each speaker puts their hand into the bag and pulls out an object. Whatever they get forms the basis of their 1 - 2 minute speech.

Ideas to help the speakers get started:

• This ... { insert the name of whatever it is the speaker has in their hand } saved my life. It happened like this...
• Whenever I see a ...{ insert the name of whatever it is the speaker has in their hand } it reminds me of the time I...
• I collect ...{i nsert the name of whatever it is the speaker has in their hand } and this one is the prize of my collection. It used to belong to ...

5. Conducted Speech

This is a group public speaking activity. It is noisy, effective and outrageously good fun! 

Select a tongue twister from this page of  diction exercises  eg. " Sister Susie sat on the seashore sewing shirts for soldiers ".

Divide your class into groups of four. Three in each group will be the speakers and the fourth, the conductor.

The speakers repeat the tongue twister responding to the conductor's direction. He/she can make them go faster or slower, louder or quieter. The conductor could even decide to make it a round by staggering when each person begins! 

The goal of the exercise is to practice articulation coupled with vocal variety ie. speech rate and volume.

It also teaches cooperation and focus, or concentration. Let your mind wander, and it's game over! You've lost it, not only for yourself but your group as well.

Swap the conductor role around to give everybody a turn.

Once everybody is familiar with the activity, give the groups turns at demonstrating their prowess to the whole class. They'll love seeing and hearing each other perform. ☺

If you liked these speech activities ...

You'll love my ebook!

28  public speaking games  (with many more variations and extensions), full instructions, PLUS printable topic, tongue twister, poem and image sheets.

A complete  one-stop-select-print-go  public speaking resource for busy people.

Find out more >>

For more freebie public speaking activities:

• 10 activities for public speaking - a collection of tried and tested speech class activities for middle school upwards
• Another 7 fun-filled public speaking games for groups
• Improv games - a collection of 5 excellent drama games for groups
• Public speaking exercises - these focus on the individual speaker- how to breathe well, stand, use eye contact effectively...

What's the difference between these freebie activities and your ebook?

My ebook contains the best of all the games from these pages and then some more strictly Susan specials, PLUS detailed instructions on how to use them.

You'll find out how to select games for a class, introduce them for maximum effect, integrate them into your lesson plans, and so on.

It also has all the topics, tongue twisters, images etc you need to play available as printables.

It's a one-stop, time saving resource that you'll return to time, and time again. Why not check it out?

Your students will thank you for it!

• Return to the top of the public speaking activities page

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School Speech Topics: 200+ Unique Ideas

Delivering a speech is an essential part of every student’s curriculum. It requires confidence to articulate your thoughts and represent them in front of the entire school. It is a beautiful way to interact with your audience, engage with them, and add to their knowledge. This scholarly exercise helps students showcase their critical thinking, soft skills, creative writing, knowledge, viewpoints, and public speaking skills, which allows them to boost their confidence and stand out from the crowd.

The initial step of crafting a speech requires a unique school speech topic. Before starting the business of writing, students must consider their school speech topics. One should decide on their speech topics and get to the writing part as early as possible. But, sometimes, even after brainstorming for hours, students still need help deciding what topic to choose. Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered!

No more stomach-churning and anxiety-inducing thoughts about what topic to choose; our experts have compiled a list of excellent school speech topics. You can use these speech topics to frame an incredible piece of writing.

Table of Contents

Three Pillars of Any Speech

No matter what kind of speech you’re delivering, in all speeches, especially academic speeches, there are always three significant components. These include logic (logos), ethics (ethos), and emotions (pathos).

• Logic (Logos):-  “Logos” refers to the logical reasoning in your speech. A single link must connect all the pieces of your arguments and statements. Thus, from the introduction to the conclusion, draft logical, meaningful, and reasonable points to give substance to your opinions.
• Ethics (Ethos):  The second aspect, emotions, or ethos, signifies your ethics, morality, and believability as a speaker. Increasing your credibility will help persuade your professors or readers to accept your arguments and consider the necessary actions.
• Emotions (pathos):  Emotions play a significant role in convincing someone. It is likely the most crucial aspect of your academic speech. Emotions pique people’s interest, which motivates them to listen to your arguments and consider taking the recommended actions.

Thus, to present a unique, intriguing academic speech, students must ensure that their speeches successfully comply with all these three pillars of speech.

How to Research Speech Ideas for School

There are some fundamental suggestions that you need to follow for selecting your speech topics. These suggestions will help you navigate through the selection process. These include:

• Research and narrow down crucial topics   that would perfectly fit into a coherent speech topic. Ensure that the selected topic is suitable to enhance your abilities and interact with your audience.
• The next step is to identify your targeted audience .  Knowing your audience’s demographics will enable you to choose a subject that will capture the audience’s   attention from the start. Ensure to be more aligned with the audience’s   general areas of interest.
• Ensure that your selected topic is not leading your audience in distinct directions where they will find it hard to follow your speech flow.
• When you’ve selected your educational speech topics, follow the answers to these 5 Ws to ensure you’re on the right track:
• Who is affected by your topic or problem?
• Why is this subject significant? What drives the exploration of it?
• What regions of the world does the topic affect, or where is it located?
• When and how was/is this subject discussed? Is time a crucial component?
• What is the most crucial argument or point of view?
• The next step is to understand your audience.   Knowing your audience’s demographics will enable you to choose a subject that will capture attention from the start and be more in line with general areas of interest.
• Keep things interesting for yourself and your audience.   Speeches can be tedious. Choose a creative, exciting topic to keep your audience engaged throughout the presentation.

200+ Captivating School Speech Topics

Writing a speech requires coming up with a brilliant topic and then articulating your thoughts and knowledge in a systematic and disciplined manner. Either teacher assigns students their topics for speeches, or students might have the opportunity to select for themselves.

Below is a list of 200+ great speech topics for high school students that can help you draft a powerful speech.

Speech Topics for High School Students

For high school students, the scope of research extends to another level. They can do research on anything and anyone they want. There are numerous topics for speeches that could be interesting to you. Look through the list of topics below to see if you can find something that interests you.

• The 1917 Spanish flu
• The opioid outbreak in the United States
• Ignorance is bliss
• The Salem witch trials
• Cruelty in animal testing laboratories
• How do books make a difference?
• Fashion in Victorian Britain
• Modern politics, culture, and society
• Racial discrimination in the workforce
• The power of satire in comedy
• Censorship issues in the film industry
• Classical mythology in popular cultures
• Superhero culture in society
• Body donation for medical science: why and why not?
• Depletion of the ozone layer
• What is the reason for deforestation in developing countries?
• Waste management from a global perspective
• Water-saving agriculture in China: an overview
• Why do endangered species matter?

Read Also – Top 100 Position Paper Topics

Persuasive Speech Ideas for Students

Persuasive speech is crafted to persuade individuals to believe in something or do something irrespective of their traditional beliefs. It is the type of speech that revolves around everything, whether it’s arguing about politics or talking about a balanced diet.Below are some engaging, persuasive speech topics for students. Use this list to get inspired and craft a fantastic speech:

• Impact of marketing on individuals and their perception
• Effect of peer pressure on students’ mental health
• Are zoos ethical? Why animals should not be kept in zoos
• Strategies involving students’ interest in learning
• Critical global issues: what is the biggest threat to the world?
• The past, present, and future of recycling
• Conservation of oil and natural gas
• Understanding the importance of water reservations
• Why is global warming still a threat to human health?
• Advertising standards: advertising should be more regulated.
• Why has Indonesia banned palm oil exports?
• How can television once again be instructive and beneficial?
• The truth about political correctness: the two-fold connection of liberalism
• Euthanizing stray animals: is it ethical?
• How our differences make us unique
• The importance of delegation
• Technology dependency among teenagers
• Benefits of conserved oil
• Search engine technologies are replacing traditional research methods.
• Is graffiti art or vandalism?

Informative Speech Ideas for School Students

An informative speech is a type of speech that is crafted by centralizing people, events, places, news, things, or processes. This speech is entirely and exclusively focused on facts.

Thus, in simple words, an informative speech imparts knowledge to the audience regarding a particular subject. If you’re thinking of drafting an informative speech, then here are some topic suggestions you can consider:

• The importance of the arts for students
• The life cycle dynamics of ocean animals
• Customer satisfaction surveys in the business world
• A prohibition on advertisements that depict violence, ragging, or body shaming to gain TRPs.
• Relationship between religion and Education
• IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
• Why one shouldn’t be afraid of their competitors
• The psychology of colors: the effects of colors on behavior
• Self-tanner has real-world adverse effects.
• Antipodes map: tunnel to the other side of the world
• Overweight and obesity
• Owning a pet: things to know
• Could fining parents cut childhood obesity?
• Ancient and Asiatic horse breeds
• The history and present of the ivory trade
• Causes of deforestation in developing countries
• Causes and effects of overpopulation
• medical dangers of consuming nicotine
• Sexual prejudice in sports

Read Also – Top 100 +Group Discussion Topics

Arts & Culture Speech Topics for High School Students

Here we’ve compiled a catalog of some outstanding arts and culture speech topics to help you frame a memorable speech:

• Culture and nationalism
• The importance of multicultural Education
• Graffiti should be considered an art.
• Preserving traditional games as cultural treasures
• Classic literature readings versus modern e-books
• Art and music therapy
• The economics of art museums
• The importance of music and the arts for young minds
• The E-Library Culture

Incredible School Speech Topics for English & Classical Literature

If you’re a literature student or are keen to study literature or English, then you can look at these below-given school speech topics connected with English and literature.

• Keats, the man, medicine, and poetry
• Women writers who shaped American literature in the twentieth century
• Resolving writer’s block
• Shakespeare’s role in shaping the modern language
• Evaluating Ernest Hemingway’s narratives for promoting toxic masculinity
• The history of book bans in the United States
• Symbolism in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird
• Which current literature will endure as classical literature in the future?
• Pride and prejudice: the limits of societies
• Understanding Virginia Woolf as a feminist
• Contemporary movies that depict works of classic literature
• The role of Lady Macbeth in the downfall of Macbeth
• contribution of women in shaping early American literature
• Romanticism in the 18th-century British literature
• The status of women in 20th-century English society
• Male dominancy in the texts of early British literature
• An examination of the “I Have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Understanding power and identity in Gothic literature
• Agatha Christie as the first lady of crime
• The post-romantic and Victorian eras

Read Also – 100+ Anthropology Research Paper Topics

School Speech Topics Regarding Current Affairs and Social Issues

Finding exciting topics regarding current affairs or social issues is pretty straightforward. Crafting a speech around current and social events will have an exceptionally significant impact on your audience. Carefully analyze each topic in the following list:

• White nationalism
• What lessons have we learned from the pandemic?
• The Occupy Wall Street movement
• Afghani women under Taliban rule
• Modern protest culture
• Israel-Palestine relations
• Ukraine and Russia are at war.
• Liberalism vs socialism
• The Me Too movement
• Role of the UN in protecting human rights
• “Viral” culture in today’s society
• Black Lives Do Matter.
• Anti-hijab protests in Iran
• Human rights as a western construct
• A Green New Deal
• Tortured justice: no pain, no gain?
• Syrian civil war
• Global human trafficking: a 2022 report
• Generational divisions between Baby Boomers, Millennials, and Generation Z
• DACA: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

Politics, Law, and Business Related School Speeches Ideas

Writing a speech regarding politics, law, or business can be complicated. Despite their interest in these subjects, students chose them as speech topics. While watching current events or the news can be advantageous, you can also analyze the below-given list for some inspiration:

• Marketing niches: is it beneficial for your business?
• The role of elections in a democracy
• Understanding the influence of social media on shaping political campaigns
• Political ideologies that shook the world
• Analyzing the government’s role in combating the environment
• The future of small businesses
• Business performance management
• Unorthodox business ideas
• Anti-trust policies and provisions
• Juvenile Delinquency Prevention
• America is not a democracy.
• An overview of activity-based management in businesses
• Gender-based discrimination in the workplace
• Youth and politics: youth participation in changing the world
• The business world has forgotten competitive marketing skills.
• Democracy vs communalism
• Image of “Justice” in Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment
• Modelling the impact of AI on the global economy
• Emerging issues in the private panel institutions

Speech Topic Suggestions on Psychology

Today, psychology is a highly contentious issue. Many students are interested in learning more about psychological issues. Therefore, consider creating your speech around psychology. Check out our collection of topics!

• Mental health issues and war veterans
• Why does human multitasking fail?
• Drug Addiction Hypnotherapy
• The impact of media and peers on eating disorders among children
• impact of social media on our mental health
• The psychology behind cults
• Sigmund Freud’s Theories: Simply Psychology
• Social determinants of mental health
• The psychology of sleep paralysis
• Cognitive approaches to insomnia
• Abnormal psychology
• The psychology of dreams and nightmares
• The psychological essence of child geniuses and prodigies
• Early identification of autism disorders
• The consequences of childhood bullying on mental health and low self-esteem
• The relationship between physical and mental illness
• The formation of memories in the human brain
• Emotional reaction to music: how does music evoke emotions?
• The psychology of money

School Speech Topics Based On Technology

Being science students, nobody knows this better than you; those technological speech topics can never be dull or tedious. This field is undoubtedly the most complex or challenging, but what can be fun if there’s no challenge? So, here are some fascinating technology-related speech topics for high school students:

• It is preferable to have printed images than to retain electronic copies on a computer.
• The significance of regularly creating backups of your computer files
• Search engines are replacing libraries.
• Future Space Science and Exploration: A Historical Overview
• A Scientific and Ethical View on Human Cloning’s Developments
• What Is the Future of Artificial Intelligence?
• Increase in robotics
• How can we continue to profit from the internet?
• The Effects and Consequences of Bio-warfare
• The future of humankind and its technological impact
• The significance of being alert to internet fraud
• Phones make it difficult for us to communicate with one another.
• Why free internet music should be available.
• The role of technology in shaping our lives
• The future of AI watches
• How are evolving technologies harming human lives?

Topics for Scientific Studies Speeches

Are you searching for compelling subject matter for your speech? You’ll need to choose the proper topic carefully because this is one of the most challenging disciplines of study. Here are a few suggestions.

• What Is a Computer Virus?
• What Is the Influence of Social Media on Us?
• Discover Interesting Facts About the Human Brain
• How does the human brain work?
• Drug testing shouldn’t be done on animals.
• How can geniuses be produced?
• How can rainforests be preserved for future generations?
• The contribution of Newton to science
• The historical scientist with the most impact
• How are search engines operated?
• How do modern technologies change our lives?
• Why shouldn’t whales be used as a food source?
• The AI of tomorrow observes

Environmental Education Speech Topics

Despite only minor Ozone Layer loss, we still have a long way to go to protect our environment. If you are into environmentalism, then these given environmental speech topics can help you craft a memorable speech about enhancing the ecological system. Carefully analyze the following intriguing environmental speech ideas for college students:

• How to Create a World That Runs on Alternative Energy Sources
• What Can We Do to Prevent Animal Abuse?
• What human behaviors cause landslides?
• There is no longer a lot of fish in the seas and oceans. Why?
• Effects of a Growing Population
• Why Do Farmers Use Organic Fertilizers?
• Are Our Tropical Rain Forests Dying?
• The benefits of using reusable bags every day
• Whether Pluto should be classified as a planet
• Advantages of requiring recycling for everyone
• Should the US government increase its funding for space initiatives?
• What are the primary risks posed by oil spills in the ocean?
• Is it crucial to be informed about what’s going on in space?
• Importance of environmental cleanliness

In addition to research and diligent work, brilliant work is essential to prepare an educational speech. Please remember that this is not a research paper but only a speech. Prepare accordingly. Research credible sources, but don’t go overboard. Know when to stop researching and get back to writing.

Speech isn’t just about your writing skills; it also involves your communication skills. Don’t leave it to the last minute; start practicing your speech delivery as soon as you finish writing. Using words is simple if you are precise and confident in your presentation of your work. Be intellectual, passionate, and enthusiastic, and your audience will applaud you appropriately.

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Home » Blog » General » A Comprehensive Guide to High School Speech Curriculum

A Comprehensive Guide to High School Speech Curriculum

Welcome to my blog post on high school speech curriculum! In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the importance of speech curriculum in high school and provide an overview of key components, benefits, implementation strategies, and available resources. Whether you are a teacher, parent, or student, this guide will provide valuable insights to help you understand and prioritize speech education in high school.

Understanding High School Speech Curriculum

Before we delve into the benefits and implementation of high school speech curriculum, let’s first understand what it entails. High school speech curriculum refers to a structured set of activities, lessons, and assessments designed to develop and enhance students’ speech and language skills. It encompasses various components that address different aspects of communication. Let’s take a closer look at these key components:

1. Speech and Language Development

Speech and language development is a fundamental aspect of high school speech curriculum. It focuses on improving students’ ability to express themselves clearly and understand others effectively. This component includes activities that target vocabulary development, sentence structure, grammar, and comprehension skills.

2. Articulation and Phonology

Articulation and phonology are crucial components of high school speech curriculum, as they address difficulties in producing speech sounds accurately. Students with articulation and phonological disorders may struggle with pronouncing certain sounds or may exhibit patterns of sound errors. The curriculum includes activities and exercises to help students improve their speech sound production.

3. Fluency and Stuttering

Fluency and stuttering are areas of focus in high school speech curriculum for students who struggle with interruptions in their speech flow. This component aims to help students develop strategies to manage and reduce stuttering, improve speech fluency, and enhance overall communication skills.

4. Voice and Resonance

Voice and resonance refer to the quality, pitch, and volume of one’s voice. High school speech curriculum addresses voice disorders and helps students develop healthy vocal habits. It includes activities that promote proper breath support, vocal hygiene, and vocal projection.

5. Pragmatic Language Skills

Pragmatic language skills are essential for effective social communication. High school speech curriculum focuses on developing students’ ability to use language appropriately in different social contexts. It includes activities that target skills such as turn-taking, maintaining eye contact, understanding nonverbal cues, and engaging in conversations.

Benefits of High School Speech Curriculum

Now that we have a better understanding of high school speech curriculum, let’s explore the benefits it offers to students:

1. Academic Benefits

High school speech curriculum provides several academic benefits that can positively impact students’ overall educational experience:

• Improved communication skills: By developing strong communication skills, students can effectively express their thoughts and ideas, both orally and in writing.
• Enhanced critical thinking and problem-solving abilities: Speech curriculum encourages students to think critically, analyze information, and present logical arguments.
• Increased confidence and self-esteem: As students improve their communication skills, they gain confidence in their abilities, which can positively impact their academic performance.

2. Social and Emotional Benefits

High school speech curriculum also offers significant social and emotional benefits:

• Effective communication in personal relationships: Strong communication skills foster healthy relationships with family, friends, and romantic partners.
• Improved social interactions and peer relationships: By developing pragmatic language skills, students can navigate social situations more effectively and build positive relationships with their peers.
• Reduced anxiety and stress related to public speaking: Speech curriculum helps students develop confidence in public speaking, reducing anxiety and stress associated with presentations and public speaking engagements.

Implementing a Comprehensive High School Speech Curriculum

Implementing a comprehensive high school speech curriculum requires collaboration, assessment, and evidence-based practices. Here are some key steps to consider:

A. Collaboration with School Staff and Administrators

Collaboration with school staff and administrators is crucial for successful implementation. Engage in discussions with relevant stakeholders to gain support and ensure alignment with the school’s goals and curriculum.

B. Identifying and Assessing Students’ Speech and Language Needs

Identify students who may benefit from speech curriculum by conducting screenings or assessments. Collaborate with speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to determine students’ specific needs and develop appropriate intervention plans.

C. Individualized Education Program (IEP) and Speech Therapy Goals

For students with identified speech and language needs, develop Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) that outline specific goals and interventions. Collaborate with SLPs to ensure that therapy goals align with the high school speech curriculum.

D. Incorporating Evidence-Based Practices and Strategies

Ensure that the high school speech curriculum incorporates evidence-based practices and strategies. Stay updated with current research and best practices in the field of speech-language pathology to provide students with the most effective interventions.

E. Monitoring Progress and Adjusting Curriculum as Needed

Regularly monitor students’ progress and make adjustments to the curriculum as needed. Collect data, conduct periodic assessments, and collaborate with SLPs to ensure that students are making progress towards their speech and language goals.

Resources and Support for High School Speech Curriculum

Implementing a high school speech curriculum can be made easier with the help of various resources and support systems:

A. Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) and Their Role

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) play a vital role in supporting high school speech curriculum. Collaborate with SLPs to assess students, develop intervention plans, and provide ongoing support and guidance.

B. Professional Organizations and Associations

Professional organizations and associations, such as the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), provide valuable resources, research, and professional development opportunities for educators and SLPs. Explore their websites and publications for guidance and support.

C. Online Resources and Educational Websites

There are numerous online resources and educational websites that offer materials, activities, and lesson plans for high school speech curriculum. Websites like EverydaySpeech provide comprehensive speech and language resources that can be integrated into the curriculum.

D. Parent Involvement and Support

Involve parents in the high school speech curriculum by providing them with information, resources, and strategies to support their child’s speech and language development at home. Encourage open communication and collaboration between parents, educators, and SLPs.

High school speech curriculum plays a vital role in developing students’ communication skills, boosting academic performance, and enhancing social and emotional well-being. By prioritizing speech education, we can empower students to become effective communicators and confident individuals. I encourage you to explore and implement a comprehensive high school speech curriculum to unlock the full potential of your students.

Start your EverydaySpeech free trial today and access a wide range of resources and materials to support your high school speech curriculum. Together, let’s make speech education a priority!

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Public Speaking Unit

Looking for a public speaking bundle ? I can provide you with an overall picture of how to teach public speaking. 

EDIT: This blog post about a public speaking curriculum has turned into a monster post! It is easily three times as long as my normal blog posts. That’s ok because I know how intimidated I was when I taught speech the first time. All of the lessons and activities mentioned below are in my Public Speaking Bundle . BUT?! I think you could still use these ideas as a springboard into speech if you aren’t looking to buy a bundle. 

I get lots of emails. Most emails pertain to grammar. The second most emails? Public speaking. Teaching public speaking is challenging. 

I have taught public speaking; I teach in Illinois and hold a teaching endorsement in speech. Additionally, I have coached a speech team and substitute-taught public speaking. I understand the challenges and rewards. 

Students have ambivalent feelings about public speaking. They understand the power of speeches, but they are nervous as can be. Our goal as teachers is to harness that range of feelings and get students speaking comfortably in front of crowds. That is my overarching goal as I organize and create these activities.

A few notes about this blog post:

• This public speaking outline took me years to develop, and I still add pieces every semester that I teach. The order and the activities have reasons for placement, and I’ll explain those as we continue. For your needs and students, you may wish to rearrange these procedures. Please! Personalize as necessary! I purposefully left room for teacher personalization.
• ALL of these activities are in my Public Speaking Bundle —BUT!—if you aren’t looking to purchase anything, I hope you can still use this outline to get started, to know what to expect with a public speaking course.
• When I mention a “Discussion Starter,” I am referencing an activity in the bundle. The topic is a recurring question students have, so you should be aware that students will need that information.
• The “weeks” are general guidelines. Don’t stress if you finish early or run a day over—I do too. Flexibility and compassion help nervous students.
• Please, please feel free to contact me. I will happily answer any question about public speaking. It may be the most difficult class I’ve ever taught, but it certainly is rewarding.

My biggest belief with teaching public speaking: students need time to practice their speeches while providing structure and diverse speaking opportunities. We spend days practicing our speeches alone, with peers, and with me. Professional speakers practice intensely, and students should see that practice prepares them. Teaching public speaking requires flexibility and pep talks.

Week One: Introduction.

How to teach public speaking? Connect with your students and their parents. We complete introductory speech activities . (Download for free. ) Part of teaching public speaking should be building a community to set young public speakers at ease. Giving a speech in front of others can be nerve-racking, and I have never regretted spending time discussing communication and the multiple factors of public speaking with students. General conversations and fun activities help build a supportive community; you really will be setting the room for success.

Discussion Starter: “In the Beginning”

I email parents/post to the classroom website the note for parents about public speaking. (Note in bundle.)

I cover the role of audience members with students (worksheet in bundle). When I give students this expectation, it helps because they know they have a role in class even when they are not speaking.

We read an overview of giving a killer presentation . This takes an entire class period; we discuss how powerful speaking is.

I define the differences between interpersonal and intrapersonal communication. We write about how our intrapersonal communication influences our interpersonal communication.

Week Two: Baby Steps.

Audience Analysis. Who is your target audience? For every speech, students must recognize their audience. We complete the Audience Analysis activity which normally takes two class periods.

Write a radio commercial . Students must realize that their audience cannot read the message; they can only hear and see. I practice “hear” first with a thirty-second speech. Students write and deliver a radio commercial.

This helps because students understand that public speaking holds power—in fact, that is probably why they are nervous about speaking to an audience! I want to harness that excitement and power but not scare students. With the radio commercial, students can “ease into” public speaking. It is quick, short presentation, but it allows me to outline my expectations for speeches.

The radio commercial also allows students to focus on verbal communication without focusing on hand gestures, positioning, etc.

Weeks Three – Four: Narratives: writing and presentations.

Teaching public speaking is a personal endeavor because students will share personal information. Narrative speeches are a great way to build relationships with students.

Discussion Starter: “Where do I stand during my speech?”

I choose a narrative topic for students. I have done numerous, so I have plenty of samples and instructions .

Goal setting sheets help student, and I devote time explaining the process and reasons for planning goals in life. I want them to set goals so that the information is important to them, so they are invested in the process. Setting goals also allows me to differentiate without students asking about their classmates’ plans. After the narrative speech, students create their first goal sheet.

Students deliver a speech without researching and citing sources. The narrative is about them, so they can write and deliver it rather quickly. This gets students in front of an audience without immense pressures.

Week Five:   Informative : research and writing.

For the first researched speech, I have students complete a biography. I do this because they are so easy to organize—students use a timeline of a person’s life. When I question how to teach public speaking, I believe starting students with confidence pays off later.

Additionally, with researching and citing sources, students can become overwhelmed. When they start with a biography, they do not yet have to worry about organizing information. We use the brainstorming sheet as we research these speeches.

Discussion Starters:

• “How do I research my speech?”
• “Citing sources”
• “Outlining your speech”

We research and write the speech outlines. During this week, w e practice extensively. Students have completed several smaller speeches at this point, but this speech is different since students research the topics and cite sources. My sample speech is about Kate Chopin. Showing students this speech allows for me to demonstrate organization while not stealing a potential topic. Most students won’t write about Chopin!

Weeks Six – Seven: Practice, prep, and planning . Presentations.

This week, students will make a visual aid, decide on their goals, and practice their biographical speeches. I often have students work with peers and provide feedback. I rotate around the room these days. Students often put too much information on their visual aids, and this is a correction I work with them.

To differentiate, students choose their own goals. A goal can be to speak loudly, to minimize “um,” or to move hands purposefully. When I grade, I keep each student’s goal sheet by me and watch if they have improved on what their focus was.

Students often want to write their speech and deliver it the next day. To prevent this, I make the outline due a week before we start speeches. Students get points for having their outline done, which they appreciate. This forces them to practice.

I cannot stress enough that students will need lots of prompting and encouragement to practice. Students sometimes tell me that they perform better if they don’t practice. This is not true! Rarely have I given a class too much time to practice and had them bored. Students can always perfect their speeches.

We have many discussions and classroom conversations. Our worksheets start reflection and provide talking points.

• “When Does My Speech Begin?”
• “Using a Visual Aid”

Presentations take about a week (of course, this depends on the size of your class). I encourage proper audience behavior. Students should be engaged and check statements from presenters. Part of a speech class is learning to be a good audience member.

I record students as they speak. As we finish presentations, students watch their presentations and reflect. They write what they should improve, how to improve—taking their goals into account. We wrap up by having a class discussion about concerns and strengths. Students can become overwhelmed or unmotivated, so I always acknowledge the difficulty of giving speeches and how they are succeeding in certain areas.

Weeks Eight – Eleven: Argumentative research and writing.

At the start of this process, students are still watching and reflecting on their previous speeches. Students do this alone, so the rest of the class is often researching and outlining their new speeches.

We repeat the informative layout, but we cover more information as a persuasive/argumentative speech. To me, this is the type of speech students will most often deliver in life. It’s important for them to take it seriously and do well. I don’t have this as the final large speech because when I did that, winter break or the end of the school year (whenever the semester ended) took away from serious speech practice.

I add another week into this speech because I typically increase the time requirement. Students need more practice as this speech is a new format and typically longer.

Decide ahead of time what format you want students to use. I typically use Monroe’s Motivated Sequence for persuasive speeches.

Two days are spent completing the Ethos/ Pathos/ Logos Activity .

Discussion Starter: “Diving deeper with your topic”

Students are familiar with the creation process, so the speech creation and practice process normally is better.

Week Twelve: Impromptu , narrative.

Students have worked hard so far, and I give them a slight break from preparation while teaching them valuable skills: thinking, organizing, and speaking quickly. Plus, students often have habits that need broken: fillers (um, yeah, so) or unnecessary hand gestures. These short and relaxed impromptu topics require students to speak, but at the same time, they can focus less on the content and more on what they should improve.

We also study a famous speech by Susan B. Anthony . These activities are important, but they also give students a rest.

Weeks Thirteen – Fifteen:  Informative , non-biography.

Returning to an informative speech is difficult for students, and I do this on purpose. Students must understand the different expectations of speeches. They will try to persuade during this speech, and that is something of which they must be aware. Part of teaching public speaking is challenging students in new ways.

Informative speech topics can include different types of technology, careers in a certain field, or roles of government branches. I have a sample informative speech included in my speech unit. The speech is on modernism, and I stress to students that they should not border on persuading their audience.

• “Adding emphasis in your speech”
• “Elevating your rhetoric”

We repeat the speech preparation format that the other speeches followed. I also show a presentation about figurative language and show students speeches with samples of the figurative language. Then, students brainstorm figurative language to put in their own speeches.

Weeks Sixteen – Seventeen: Impromptu/Argumentative, how-to .

(Again, you can download these public speaking lesson plans PDF in my library. The impromptu activity is included.)

We practice persuasive speeches again, only this time in impromptu format. Students need to present their point of view logically and persuasively. Many “speeches” will be in front of a college professor or boss when called on to present their case for or against something.

I have students create the topics which normally include ideas like, “sell me this pen” or “explain why your work schedule should change.”

Finally, if I have a large class, students might complete the impromptu speeches the entire week. If I need another speech topic, we complete the other how-to speech we did not do earlier. (I have two how-to speeches included, one for food and one for non-food.)

Week Eighteen: When I taught seniors, this was the most exciting time for my speech class. Students wrote a graduation speech, and administrators judged who would give the speech at graduation. (Students not in my class could participate too.) It was an authentic audience, it was meaningful, it had everything for the end of a public speaking course.

I do not give students a list of rules for their graduation speeches; I make students develop them. This is more meaningful because it shows me if they understand what it takes to create and deliver a great speech, if they understand that not all speeches are the same, and if they can take the initiative in delivering a speech. I use the rubric that is included in the bundle.

Sometimes, schools require that each class have a final exam. The public speaking bundle has a test, which I give if required. Other times, I use the graduation speech as the culminating activity. Then, we complete a final evaluation sheet so that we can close the class.

When I began teaching, I had fifty-year-old books that my students hated. (I didn’t love them.) I had my speaking experiences, and not much else. Teaching public speaking takes dedication and effort, but you can succeed. My hope is that this outline of a public speaking curriculum saves another teacher stress and pain.

I developed this order, these processes after mistakes, reflection, and more reflection. I hope this public speaking unit helps other teachers.

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Thanks for stopping by my blog! I’d love to connect with you after you download the public speaking lesson plans PDF. Join me on Facebook to meet other educators who discuss best practices for how to teach pubic speaking, how to develop high school speech lesson plans, and how to create a speech curriculum for high school.

public speaking public speaking activities

Analyzing Famous Speeches as Arguments

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

Traditionally, teachers have encouraged students to engage with and interpret literature—novels, poems, short stories, and plays. Too often, however, the spoken word is left unanalyzed, even though the spoken word has the potential to alter our space just as much than the written. After gaining skill through analyzing a historic and contemporary speech as a class, students will select a famous speech from a list compiled from several resources and write an essay that identifies and explains the rhetorical strategies that the author deliberately chose while crafting the text to make an effective argument. Their analysis will consider questions such as What makes the speech an argument?, How did the author's rhetoric evoke a response from the audience?, and Why are the words still venerated today?

Featured Resources

From theory to practice.

Nearly everything we read and hear is an argument. Speeches are special kinds of arguments and should be analyzed as such. Listeners should keep in mind the context of the situation involving the delivery and the audience-but a keen observer should also pay close attention to the elements of argument within the text. This assignment requires students to look for those elements.

"Since rhetoric is the art of effective communication, its principles can be applied to many facets of everyday life" (Lamb 109). It's through this lesson that students are allowed to see how politicians and leaders manipulate and influence their audiences using specific rhetorical devices in a manner that's so effective that the speeches are revered even today. It's important that we keep showing our students how powerful language can be when it's carefully crafted and arranged.

Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• 7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.

Materials and Technology

• ReadWriteThink Notetaker
• Teacher Background and Information Sheet
• Student Assignment Sheet
• List of Speeches for Students
• Queen Elizabeth I’s Speech with Related Questions
• Historical Speech Research Questions
• Peer Response Handout
• Essay Rubric

This website contains audio of the Top 100 speeches of all time.

Included on this site is audio of famous speeches of the 20th century, as well as information about the speeches and background information on the writers.

The "Great Speeches Collection" from The History Place are available here in print and in audio.

This website includes information on finding and documenting sources in the MLA format.

Preparation

• Review the background and information sheet for teachers to familiarize yourself with the assignment and expectations.  Consider your students' background with necessary rhetorical terms such as claims, warrants, the appeals (logos, pathos, ethos), and fallacies; and rhetorical devices such as tone, diction, figurative language, repetition, hyperbole, and understatement. The lesson provides some guidance for direct instruction on these terms, but there are multiple opportunities for building or activating student knowledge through modeling on the two speeches done as a class.
• Check the links to the online resources (in Websites section) make sure that they are still working prior to giving out this assignment.
• Decide whether you want to allow more than one student to analyze and write about the same speech in each class.
• Look over the  List of Speeches for Students to decide if there are any that you would like to add.
• Look over the suggested Essay Rubric and determine the weights you would like to assign to each category.  For example, you might tell students that Support and Research may be worth three times the value of Style. Customize the Essay Rubric to meet the learning goals for your students.
• Reserve the library for Session Three so the students can do research on their speeches.
• President Obama’s Inauguration Speech.
• Former President Bush’s Defends War in Iraq Speech.
• Former President Bush’s 9/11 Speech.
• Former President Clinton’s “I Have Sinned” Speech.

Student Objectives

Students will

• analyze a speech for rhetorical devices and their purpose.
• identify an author’s purposeful manipulation of language.
• identify elements of argument within a speech.
• write an analysis of a speech with in-text documentation.

Session One

• Begin the lesson by asking students what needs to be present in order for a speech to occur. Though the question may seem puzzling—too hard, or too simple—at first, students will eventually identify, as Aristotle did, the need for a speaker, a message, and an audience.
• The class should discuss audience and the importance of identifying the audience for speeches, since they occur in particular moments in time and are delivered to specific audiences. This is a good time to discuss the Rhetorical Triangle (Aristotelian Triad) or discuss a chapter on audience from an argumentative textbook. You may wish to share information from the ReadWriteThink.org lesson Persuasive Techniques in Advertising and  The Rhetorical Triangle from The University of Oklahoma.
• Next distribute Queen Elizabeth’s speech to the troops at Tilbury and use the speech and its historical context as a model for the processes students will use on the speech they select. Provide a bit of background information on the moment in history.
• Then, as a class, go over  Queen Elizabeth’s speech and discuss the rhetorical devices in the speech and the purpose for each one. Adjust the level of guidance you provide, depending on your students' experiences with this type of analysis. The questions provide a place to start, but there are many other stylistic devices to discuss in this selection.

Discuss the audience and the author’s manipulation of the audience. Consider posing questions such as

• This is a successful speech.  Why?
• Elizabeth uses all of the appeals – logos, pathos, and ethos – to convince all of her listeners to fight for her from the loyal follower to the greedy mercenary.  How?
• The tone shifts throughout the selection.  Where?  But more importantly, why?

Martin Luther King, Jr. uses an appeal to pathos in his “I Have a Dream” speech through his historical allusion to Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.” This is particularly effective for his audience of people sympathetic to the cause of African American men and women who would have been especially moved by this particular reference since it had such a significant impact on the lives of African Americans.

Session Two

• Continue the work from the previous session by distributing the  Analyzing Famous Speeches as Arguments handout and discussing the assignment and what it requires. See the  background and information sheet for teachers for more details.
• Tell students they will be getting additional practice with analyzing a speech as an argument by showing a short  10-minute clip of a presidential speech . Ask students to think about how the particular moment in history and the national audience contribute to the rhetorical choices made by the speaker.
• Lead a discussion of the speech as an argument with regard to purpose and intent. Work with students to identify warrants, claims, and appeals.
• Ask students to consider how the author manipulates the audience using tone, diction, and stylistic devices. What rhetorical devices aided the author’s manipulation of his audience? Discuss a particular rhetorical device that the President used and the purpose it served.
• Share the Essay Rubric and explain to students the expectations for success on this assignment.
• Allow students to select a speech from the List of Speeches for Students . If they wish to preview any of the speeches, they can type the speaker's name and the title of the speech into a search engine and should have little difficulty finding it.

Session Three

• Take the students to the library and allow them to research their speeches. They should locate their speech and print a copy for them to begin annotating for argumentative structure and rhetorical devices.
• What was the speaker up against?  What is the occasion for the speech?
• What did the author have to keep in mind when composing the text?  
• What were his or her goals?  
• What was his or her ultimate purpose?  
• What was his or her intent?
• Remind students that the writer of the speech is sometimes not the person who delivered the speech, for example, and this will surprise some students. Many people assume that the speaker (president, senator, etc.) is always the writer, and that’s not always the case, so ask your students to check to see who wrote the speech. (They might be surprised at the answer. There’s always a story behind the composition of the speech.)
• Help students find the author of the speech because this will challenge some students. Oftentimes, students assume the speaker is the author, and that’s sometimes not the case. Once the speechwriter is identified, it is easier to find information on the speech. Help students find the history behind the speech without getting too bogged down in the details. They need to understand the climate, but they do not need to be complete experts on the historical details in order to understand the elements of the speech.
• If they wish, students can use the ReadThinkWrite Interactive Notetaker to help them track their notes for their essays. Remind them that their work cannot be saved on this tool and should be printed by the end of the session so they can use it in future work.
• For Session Four, students must bring a thesis, an outline, and all of their research materials to class for a workday. Remind them to refer to the Analyzing Famous Speeches as Arguments , the Essay Rubric , and any notes they may have taken during the first two sessions as they begin their work.
• The thesis statement should answer the following question: What makes this speech an effective argument and worthy of making this list?

Session Four

• Set up students in heterogeneous groups of four. Ask students to share their outlines and thesis statements.
• Go around to check and to monitor as students share their ideas and progress. The students will discuss their speeches and their research thus far.
• Have students discuss the elements of an argument that they plan on addressing.
• Finally, have students work on writing their papers by writing their introductions with an enticing “grab” or “hook.” If time permits, have students share their work. 
• For Session Five, students should bring in their papers. This session would happen in about a week.

Session Five

• In this session, students will respond each other's drafts using the Peer Response Handout .
• Determine and discuss the final due date with your students. Direct students to Diana Hacker’s MLA site for assistance with their citations if necessary. 
• Remind students that their work will be evaluate using the essay rubric .  They should use the criteria along with the comments from their peer to revise and polish their work.
• During the process of analyzing  Queen Elizabeth I’s Speech , consider showing the related scene from the film Elizabeth: The Golden Age . Though the text of the speech is drastically cut and altered, seeing one filmmaker's vision for the scene may help reinforce the notion of historical context and the importance of audience.
• Allow students to read and/or perform parts of the speeches out loud. Then, they can share some of their thinking about the argumentative structure and rhetorical devices used to make the speech effective. This activity could happen as part of the prewriting process or after essays have been completed.
• Require students to write a graduation speech or a speech on another topic. They can peruse print or online news sources to select a current event that interests them.  Have them choose an audience to whom they would deliver an argumentative speech.

Student Assessment / Reflections

• After peer response has taken place, use the essay rubric to provide feedback on student work. You may change the values of the different categories/requirements to better suit the learning goals for your classroom.
• Calendar Activities
• Lesson Plans
• Student Interactives
• Strategy Guides

Students explore the ways that powerful and passionate words communicate the concepts of freedom, justice, discrimination, and the American Dream in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.

While drafting a literary analysis essay (or another type of argument) of their own, students work in pairs to investigate advice for writing conclusions and to analyze conclusions of sample essays. They then draft two conclusions for their essay, select one, and reflect on what they have learned through the process.

Useful for a wide variety of reading and writing activities, this outlining tool allows students to organize up to five levels of information.

This strategy guide clarifies the difference between persuasion and argumentation, stressing the connection between close reading of text to gather evidence and formation of a strong argumentative claim about text.

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Hands-On Figurative Language Activities for your High School Class

It’s absolutely astonishing how little high schoolers understand figurative language. Even my seniors struggled to tell me the difference between similes and metaphors (didn’t they learn that like every year in middle school?). And they didn’t have the attention span to work their way through worksheet after worksheet of figurative language practice. So I came up with some figurative language activities to review and practice their skills–without boring my high school students to death!

When I came up with these figurative language activities, I tried to add a hands-on component. Even just holding something would, I knew, help some of these definitions stick in my kids’ minds better. 

So in this post, I’m going to share some of the engaging figurative language activities that worked for my Creative Writing students.  

Want some more Creative Writing teaching tips? Read this post.  

Figurative Language Activities #1: Figurative Language Scavenger Hunt

When I set out to teach and review figurative language with my creative writing students, I knew I was going to have to spend some time doing direct instruction. But, most of these terms shouldn’t be completely new for my kids either, so I didn’t want to spend a ton of time lecturing. 

Instead, I opted for a short slideshow that covered the basics. I gave them the name of the figurative language technique, a definition, and an example. 

I even gave students a copy of this figurative language handout so they could look up any that they might forget (or, you know, so they don’t ask how to spell “onomatopoeia”).

Once we were all on the same page as far as terms, it was time to begin the figurative language scavenger hunt!

Like any scavenger hunt, the goal was for students to be the first to find everything on their list.

My students always seemed to thrive under competition, so I challenged them to race one another and offered small treats as prizes for those that finished. 

In this case, they had to find an example of each type of figurative language in the classroom. 

I love this activity because it gets kids up and moving around the room. I think incorporating movement in a lesson is important, but often difficult in a Creative Writing class. 

Setting Up the Scavenger Hunt

Before class, I hung up carefully selected poems around the classroom. I knew that there was at least one example of each term within the five poems, and I had made my own list beforehand, so I could help students out quickly with their searches.

After students found their ten examples, they could return to their seats and create original examples of their own. 

Even though students were basically listening to a lecture, looking for examples, and then creating their own, the scavenger hunt added so much more dimension to the lesson. Students moved around the room, formed teams, competed, got frustrated, asked for help, and more. It was everything you want in a classroom. 

You could do a scavenger hunt of your own pretty easily. Decide on your figurative language terms, create a presentation, and then gather the works for students to scavenge. 

You can even do this activity with your classroom library instead of hanging up poems. Choose any poems or literature examples you want for this scavenger hunt as long as there are plenty of examples for your kiddos to find.

You could also save yourself a ton of time and get my no prep, done-for-you Figurative Language Scavenger Hunt right here! I also added a digital version to this resource. Personally, I don’t think the digital version is as fun, but it’s perfect for students who happen to be absent or when your school goes virtual unexpectedly. 

Figurative Language Activities #2: Figurative Language Tasting

This is my students’ favorite of the figurative language activities: a figurative language tasting. 

I go into detail about how to do one in this blog post here. But basically, you’re going to give students small treats and have them describe eating them using figurative language. 

Now, I know we don’t have any extra money for our classroom. Don’t panic about the treats. 

You can buy one bag of pretzels and give each student 1-3 to taste for this activity. Big bags of mints are also a good go-to for this one.  Don’t forget to ask admin ahead of time for a few dollars in the budget for some classroom supplies. (You never know. They might offer to reimburse you!)

You don’t even necessarily need to give students food . 

Instead, you can give them small objects to describe. How would they describe a cotton ball versus a rubber band versus a paper clip?

You’re giving students something that they can hold and experience in the moment to write about. 

This involves students’ senses–whether that’s taste, smell, touch, whatever–and really getting them to think creatively about describing these sensations. 

Plus, since every student is describing a similar experience (rather than trying to describe their favorite food or vacation spot from memory), they can compare their work and learn from one another. 

If you want to learn more about doing your own figurative language tasting, check out this blog post .

You can also download a FREE lesson plan and worksheet right here!

Figurative Language Activities #3: Figurative Language Task Cards

At some point in your figurative language unit, you just might need students to sit down and practice these terms over and over. It’s hard to analyze a poem if you’re re-defining foreshadowing every ten seconds after all. 

Usually, a worksheet would probably be our go-to for this. Instead, consider using figurative language task cards.

Task cards and worksheets really aren’t that different. They both give students a question to answer or task to perform. But task cards are more tactile. Students have to hold them, shuffle them, pass them to a friend. 

It’s not as interactive as a scavenger hunt or tasting, but it’s still definitely more interesting than a worksheet. 

Plus, task cards are flexible. ( Check out my blog post on using task cards here .)

Want students to work as a group or talk as they work? Give each table or group of students ONE deck of task cards. They’ll be forced to share and will naturally talk about their responses while doing so. 

Want students to get up and move? Tape the cards around your room and give students a response sheet. Now students have to get up and move around to find the questions they’re supposed to answer. 

Task cards are super easy to make. You can format some pretty cards online and print them or you can even write your questions/tasks on index cards. 

If you’d like to save yourself some time, you can get my figurative language task cards right here . 

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Figurative Language Activities #4: Figurative Language Writing with Photo Cards

At some point, students are going to have to write using figurative language. It’s the only way to reach the top of Bloom’s. 

But you might not want to create a massive project like writing an original short story or an epic sonnet just to assess figurative language skills. 

And, if your students are like mine, you might need to build in lots of scaffolding and baby steps to get students to write anything original to completion. 

For these reasons, I came up with my own Figurative Language Writing Activity with Photo Cards.  

I print off cards with pictures of different landscapes on them (a couple of deserts, forests, snow scenes, etc.). Then, students pick the landscape that looks inspirational to them. 

Eventually, they’ll write a scene that describes their chosen landscape. But first, I have them brainstorm several examples of figurative language for each of the five senses . 

That way, when they write, they can pull their own examples to describe the taste of the ocean air or the feel of the arid desert air. 

And describing a setting doesn’t have to be long. Even a couple of paragraphs or a very long one will be enough writing for you to know if students “get it.”

Tips for Your Own Writing Activity

You can save yourself some time and get my Figurative Language Writing Activity here , but you could make your own as well. 

You can print off pictures or bring in magazines. Maybe you don’t even want students to describe a landscape. Maybe it’s a scene like a day at a carnival or an auction house. You probably even have some better ideas for sensory-rich descriptions. 

But if you have struggling students or students who rarely write on their own, I do recommend some scaffolding before jumping into the writing process. This could be just having students brainstorm an example of each type of figurative language that describes their scene. Or an example of figurative language for each sense. 

Just don’t let them touch a completely blank page unless you know they’re ready. 

It’s a good idea too to have students highlight or underline and label their examples of figurative language. They wrote them; they should be able to identify them. 

This will be just a little bit more proof that they know what they’re doing, and you won’t have to worry about guessing a students’ intentions if you come across a vague or confusing description. 

While much of this activity is sitting down, having those physical pictures to look at and examine adds an element of hands-on learning. 

It’s hard to come up with engaging, out-of-the-box figurative language activities on the fly. But if you know that you have a unit or Creative Writing class coming up, consider how you can add a sensory element to your lessons. 

Can you add some movement? Even giving students a clipboard and going outside to complete a worksheet or do some writing is a great change of pace. 

Can you provide props? Giving students something to taste, touch, manipulate, or move around can be inspiring and engaging. 

If you’d like to incorporate some unique figurative language activities into your class but are low on prep time (who isn’t?), check out my Figurative Language Mini-unit Bundle !

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How to Write a High School Graduation Speech (+ Examples)

Amanda Green was born in a small town in the west of Scotland, where everyone knows everyone. I joined the Toastmasters 15 years ago, and I served in nearly every office in the club since then. I love helping others gain confidence and skills they can apply in every day life.

I was in several clubs in high school, I was the valedictorian, and I happened to be the youngest in our graduating class. Needless to say, I had to write and give more than one speech at our graduation.

Being asked to give a graduation speech in high school is a tremendous honor and responsibility. It takes a lot of preparation, from planning to writing and editing your speech.

My guide should show you how to write a graduation speech for high school, especially with the examples I’ve included. Follow the template and tips, and you’re sure to receive a standing ovation from your audience.

How Long Is a High School Graduation Speech?

The best high school graduation speeches aren’t long and boring since the ceremonies already take hours. Aim for an address that doesn’t exceed 10 minutes. Keep your audience’s attention and save some for other people’s speeches.

Your graduation speech should only be around 500 to 600 words. You have to read it slowly and articulate the words clearly. One way to keep it shorter is by removing cliches and other unnecessary content.

High School Graduation Speech Template

Essays and speeches usually have three parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. Here is a structure you can follow for a memorable high school graduation speech.

Introduction

• Thank people for attending. Acknowledge the presence of your teachers, parents, and fellow graduates.
• Introduce yourself. Not everyone in the room knows you, even if you’re the class valedictorian.
• Catch the audience’s attention by sharing a motivational quote or saying. Your personal narratives and advice will later be based on this saying.
• Recall memorable high school experiences. Anything is worth sharing, whether it’s a simple day in class or your debate competition.
• Encourage classmates not to forget these beautiful memories.
• Share helpful advice for this new chapter of their lives.
• Restate the quote or saying you mentioned in the introduction.
• End with a call to action that will encourage the graduates to make a difference.
• Thank the audience for hearing you out.

How to Write a Graduation Speech for High School

Public speaking takes a lot of preparation. Here are some tips you should follow when writing and delivering a graduation speech for high school.

Can We Write Your Speech?

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Pick a Theme

Inspirational high school graduation speeches leave a mark on people. If you want to create one, try building it around a central message.

Think about everything you experienced in high school and look for patterns. Was high school about learning from mistakes? Or was it about achieving big dreams with small steps? Consider not only what is essential to you but also what is important for your fellow graduates.

Once you have picked a theme, selecting a quote, including advice, and recalling high school memories will be much easier. Here are some popular themes you can consider using for yours, but make sure to choose ones that are relevant to you and/or your class.

• Embracing failure
• Big things take time
• Achieving big dreams with small steps
• Facing change with grace
• Overcoming adversity
• Becoming a lifelong learner
• Being more intentional and responsible for your future

Begin With Gratitude and a Self-Introduction

Once you step on stage, you must start with a few formalities. Know the name of the previous speakers and acknowledge their excellent speeches. Then, thank everyone in attendance, including the teachers, parents, and fellow students.

Say it’s a privilege to speak before the audience on this special day. This is also the best time to introduce yourself.

Don’t assume that everyone in the room knows who you are. State your name and why you were tasked to create the speech. Below is an example.

“Thank you, Mr. Jones, for the wonderful speech. And thank you to the parents, teachers, staff, and fellow graduates in this room who have made the past four years unforgettable. It’s a pleasure to stand in front of everyone and represent the class of 2022 at this address. I am [name], your class valedictorian.”

Make It About Everybody But You

Your graduation speech is not a mini-biography of your accomplishments. Only sprinkle a few personal anecdotes, then include what the four years of high school have been like for the other students. Below is an example.

“Four years ago, we were freshmen walking through the doors of [school name]. While some of us want to be doctors, artists, engineers, and singers in the future, we all had one goal in mind during that time: to leave a mark on the school in the next four years.”

Recall High School Memories

Tap the ceremony’s nostalgia by recalling important events from the past four years. You can include prom, school fairs, and even mundane scenarios. Include hardships, such as the sudden shift to online classes during the pandemic.

If you are a valedictorian , you should know which memories everyone treasures. Try interviewing some of your peers about their best high school memories. Below is an example.

“Every batch of graduates from [school] has a common core memory. For us, it was probably prom 2022. Instead of getting our beauty sleep the night before the dance, everyone stayed in school until 8 PM because of the last-minute changes. While that experience was full of pressure and chaos, we look back on that memory remembering teamwork and dedication.”

Share Advice

Your advice is the most crucial part of the speech. It serves as a call to action the students will follow in the future.

Make sure to keep it positive and remind everyone that anything is possible. You can also advise them to advocate for others and treat everyone equally.

Here’s an example showing what I mean.

“The future is uncertain, and the only thing we can do is be optimistic about it. We learned to stay determined in the past four years, so we can do it again throughout college or our careers.”

Incorporate Your Personality

Just because you’re speaking for the rest of the class and following an outline doesn’t mean your speech should be boring. You can still infuse your personality through humor, anecdotes , and life experiences.

You can also open your address with something funny, as long as it’s appropriate and timely. If you’re a valedictorian, self-deprecating humor will be a hit. Try adding quirky memories from classes that will immerse your audience.

Leave Your Audience Inspired

You are not at the graduation to merely receive your diploma. As a speaker, you need to leave your audience inspired on the next chapter of their lives. Encourage them to find their purpose and make a difference in the world.

Some speakers end their speeches with another quote. Here is the one I used in my high school speech, but there are tons to be found on the internet you can use that might better suit your needs.

• “All our dreams can come true… if we have the courage to pursue them.” — Walt Disney

Finally, thank everyone for taking the time to listen to your speech. Express gratitude toward your classmates for the memories over the last four years.

Proofread Your Work

Read your writing out loud and fix parts that don’t sound pleasing. Doing so will make your writing more powerful and precise. Look out for flowery language, excessive adjectives, and lengthy sentences.

When editing, make sure to remove cliches from your writing. These are words and phrases that have been overused in speech and writing. These include phrases like “all walks of life,” “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” and “two wrongs don’t make a right.”

Try sharing more personal anecdotes and collective memories than tired pieces of advice. This will make the speech more interesting and customized for the audience. Find out what your fellow high school graduates and the rest of the audience want to hear and know, then write it concisely and effectively.

Once you’re done fixing clarity issues, it’s time to fix structural errors. Perform several edits on your speech to remove all spelling and grammar mistakes.

Practice Your High School Graduation Speech

There’s no exact formula for the perfect valedictorian or commencement speech. But if you follow my tips and examples and speak from the heart, your fellow graduates will live by your words as they go about their futures.

Remember to keep your engaging speech positive and inspiring. Recall memories from high school, then make them look forward to creating new ones in their careers or college.

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A Classical & Christ-Centered Education

Secondary Curriculum

The secondary school is divided into two stages… grades 7-8 (the Logic Stage) and grades 9-12 (the Rhetoric Stage).

In grades 7-8, the students take the mastered information from the Grammar Stage and bring it into ordered relationships. Students begin to apply logic, assessing the validity of arguments and learning to view information critically with more discerning minds.

In grades 9-12, students learn to articulate eloquently and persuasively, and to use the tools of knowledge and understanding acquired in the earlier stages. This is the point at which the strength of a classical education is made fully visible.

Click here for an overview of the Logos School secondary curriculum.

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The Knight’s Creed and Commitment

Class Schedules

Spring 2024 Finals Schedule    7th-12th grades only.

23-24 Fall Class Schedule     7th-12th grades only.

Senior Course Options: 

By the time students reach their senior year in high school, they have usually developed interests in specific areas. Therefore, they will be given the opportunity to pursue those areas through the following senior course options. These options are designed to allow students the opportunity to learn one or two subjects well. As Dorothy Sayers says, “Whatever is mere apparatus may now be allowed to fall into the background, while the trained mind is gradually prepared for specialization in the “subjects” which, when the Trivium is completed, it should be perfectly well equipped to tackle on its own.” (from The Lost Tools of Learning) These options should aid the transition from the completion of the Trivium to the more specialized study that is a part of a college or university education.

Option 1: College or Online Class

This is a 1 credit option in which a student enrolls in a college or online class. Approved subjects include math, science, theology, humanities, and fine arts. The class must be taken for credit and the student must submit a transcript to receive credit toward Logos graduation. Areas of study that do not qualify are recreational classes and/or self-guided courses with little accountability.

Option 2: Internship

The internship is a 1/2 credit option intended to provide seniors with the opportunity to study a career. Students must work a minimum of 2 hours per week on their internship. A variety of internships have been approved in the past (interning with an elementary or secondary Logos teacher, riding along with police officers, observing at a local vet clinic, etc.). Students are not allowed to be paid for the time they spend as an intern. Parents are responsible to provide oversight and any necessary supervision or screening (background checks, etc.) for this experience.

Procedures for Both Options

1. At least two weeks before the beginning of each semester, students must submit a written proposal to the principal, via email. Late proposals will not be considered. Proposals must describe the following:

a. the main purpose of and goals for the program

b. the work that the student will be doing weekly to achieve these goals (include the website link for online classes)

c. the number of hours per week that the student will be participating in the program

2. Students have two days to resubmit proposals that have been denied.

Guidelines for Both Options

1. Credit will not be granted for work completed before a proposal is approved.

2. Students will receive a grade of E, S, or U at the end of each quarter and semester.

3. Failure to make satisfactory progress in the first semester will disqualify the student from participating in these programs during the second semester.

4. Students may only request approval for one semester at a time.

Dialectic Speech Meet

The following is information for the Dialectic Speech Meet for the 7 th -9 th grade students. Most of the work and grading is done during English class. For the final meet onwards, the students will perform their pieces with students from other classes in the same category. That afternoon during 7 th period there will be an assembly to hear the top performances from each category.

• Mid-December – information goes home
• Mid-January – Selections are due
• Toward the end of January – Piece is presented for a grade
• Beginning of February – Speech Meet

Dialectic Speech Meet Guidelines Dialectic Speech Meet Judge’s Form Dialectic Speech Meet Selection Ideas

Rhetoric Speech Meet

The following is information for the upcoming Rhetoric Speech Meet for the 10 th -12 th grade students. Please note a few differences between the Dialectic Speech Meet of the 7 th -9 th graders and the Rhetoric Speech Meet:

• Poetry must be through the Poetry Out Loud program.
• Readers Theater and the Original Oratory categories are allowed.
• Children’s books and plays are allowed as sources for material.
• There is no memory check. Pieces will be presented once in class for a grade, and once at the meet for a test grade.
• Mid-September – Information goes home.
• Beginning of October – Selections are due.
• Mid-October – The piece is presented for a memory grade.
• Beginning of November– Speech Meet

Guidelines Judging Form Selection Ideas