Name: __________________Period: ___ Date: ______ * Posted to MMS Teacher Websites
Tropicana Public Speaking Program
Speech Unit Packet: Students should read this packet and follow the directions
to plan, research a topic, write a rough draft, type 2-3 minute speech, practice
speech, make notecards to use for speech, and give Tropicana Speech.
Sign ups with Language Arts teacher for Class Contest: Nov. 18 & 19
Times: 8:00-9:00 am, room 5-114
General Information:
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Must be original and student written, not “parent-written”.
Must be a different topic each year. (You cannot simply improve a speech you gave in
elementary school.)
May be from your personal experiences, interests and original thoughts and/or material
from reference book, articles, internet, or other media.
Should not have offensive language or material.
Must be between 2 – 3 minutes.
Must have three parts:
INTRODUCTION - “grab” the audience’s attention
BODY - three main sections
CONCLUSION – “wind it up”
Must be one of the following modes:
INFORMATIVE – explains, teaches, gives facts
PERSUASIVE – gain support, convince
INSPIRATIONAL – stirs emotions, has emotional impact
ENTERTAINMENT – humorous, makes you laugh
Must be given with notes on note cards; must not use the complete written speech.
May use the note cards to jog memory; must not read directly word for word from cards.
Must not memorize in a stilted manner.
Must not have visual aids (no costumes, accessories, posters, props, hats, caps, etc…)
Must research for information and credit sources when direct quotes are used in the
speech.
Practice and give speech for school contest in media center December 8th.
If you participated in the 4-H Tropicana Public Speaking Program before, then fill in:
Grade 4
School _________________________Speech Topic ______________________
Grade 5
School _________________________Speech Topic ______________________
Speech Notes Part One
Select your topic. Use the topics list.
Plan your speech.
Next, write your speech.
Writing your speech is similar to writing an essay.
REMEMBER:
SOMETHING WRITTEN TO BE SAID
IS DIFFERENT FROM
SOMETHING WRITTEN TO BE READ!
You must write in a clear, natural way so that your speech moves smoothly from one point to the
next; however, remember a speech is written to be heard rather than read. It must, therefore,
sound good! It must be written using vivid, concrete words which create a clear, colorful picture
for the audience. It must be written with words that glide rather than plod along. It must be
arranged in three parts. As you write your speech, make sure these partitions are very clearly
designed for the audience.
I. Introduction
 Be casual and friendly.
 To get their attention arouse curiosity of the audience.
 Show how the topic is of interest to the audience.
 Make clear what your speech is going to be about.
 Get your audience to want to hear more about your topic.
 Begin with a GRABBER! Use one of these ideas to begin your introduction:
*Ask an interesting question.
*Give a surprising fact.
*Make a striking statement.
*Tell a story.
*Refer to a recent incident.
*Offer a challenge.
*Use a quote.
*Use a poem.
*Use a joke.
*Use a headline.
 Do not begin, “Hello, my name is ……”
 Do not begin, “My speech topic is …..”
 Do not begin with your speech title, unless it is your grabber.
 Do not begin, “Good morning or good afternoon or, good evening.”
 Do not begin, “Mr. Chairman, Chairwoman, Honored Guests, Ladies and
Gentlemen, Students, etc.”
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II. Body
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Simply begin with your GRABBER.
Create a favorable atmosphere for the body of the speech.
PARTITION THE TOPIC INTO THREE MAIN POINTS.
The body is the longest part of your speech (3 well developed paragraphs).
Focus on the three main points to be covered.
Arrange your information in the best possible order:
*order of importance
*chronological order
*comparison
*cause and effect
 A logical order will make it easy for the audience to follow your speech.
 Develop the three main points in detail.
*explanations
*examples
*descriptions
*reasoning
*evidence
*facts to back arguments
 Students must research topic and provide text cited evidence in their speech.
 Select a lead sentence for each paragraph. Each following sentence should relate
directly to the basic thought of that paragraph.
 Use transitional words.
 Be clear so the audience can follow along easily and enjoy your speech.
 Cover the topic in an easy natural way.
 Make your ideas personal.
 Use words and sentences that will sound good to your audience.
 Be convincing. Show your audience that what you have to say is important to
them.
III. Conclusion
 This is the final touch and your last chance to impress your audience.
 Don’t introduce a new point!
 You might tell them the audience exactly what you want them to do or believe
about your topic.
 You might tell them why you feel your topic is important or why it may be
important in the future.
 You may invite them to “get involved” or “learn more” or “try it sometime.”
 You might briefly summarize or review your main points.
 You might restate the purpose.
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You might use a quote or verse of a poem that cleverly expresses the point.
You might question or challenge.
Don’t say, “Thank you” or “The end” or “I hope you enjoyed my speech.”
Don’t talk about stopping; just stop.
Close with the idea the audience should remember the longest.
Plan your conclusion so that you will finish forcefully and leave the listeners
thinking about what you have said.
A good ending might leave the audience laughing or smiling.
A positive ending will help you to succeed.
Speech Notes Part Two
Practice Your Speech
After your speech has been planned and written, the next step is to learn it. This
may not be as difficult as you might imagine because you already have a good idea of the
content. Concentrate on the main ideas, not specific words. Then if you forget a word or
phrase, you can choose another way to express the same thought. You want your
speech to sound like conversations, not like a recitation!
First, practice your speech in parts, then put it all together and rehearse it just the
way you will give it.
Practice giving your speech so that you need only to look at your note cards now
and then to make sure you are covering the main points you wanted to cover. If you have
access to a tape recorder or camcorder, record your speech and play it back. Listen for
spots where improvement can be made.
At first you may feel more at ease practicing in privacy. Later you will want
someone to listen as you practice. Your family is a good audience.
Presentation Tips
 When you are called on to speak, walk to the speaker’s stand. Pause for a
moment and look at your audience. Take a deep breath and exhale slowly. Begin
your speech.
 You may feel a little nervous at first, but soon you will relax and enjoy sharing
your ideas.
 Hold your cards in your hands or put them on the speaker’s stand.
 Only occasionally look down at your cards. Do not present a “read” type of
delivery. Do not present a stilted or over memorized speech. Remember to be
casual and conversational.
 Speak naturally; you must seem relaxed and at ease.
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Convey to the audience a sense of wanting to communicate.
Make the audience feel that the subject is important.
Have comfortable posture. Stand straight, but not stiff and unnatural.
Keep your feet fairly close together. Do not rock, weave, or twist.
Speak clearly and loud enough for everyone to hear. Your voice will be a bit
louder than you usually speak in conversation, but try to sound conversational.
Remember to speak a little more slowly than usual!
Pronounce your words correctly.
Vary your voice tone and volume. Some ideas and words in you speech are more
important than others. To emphasize them, pause before and after saying them.
Go up and down the scale. Don’t talk in monotone. Talking in the same tone of
voice will put the audience to sleep, especially if they have already heard several
speeches.
Use good eye contact. Look directly into the eyes of members of the audience.
Look at people in various parts of the audience and talk to them as you would in
normal conversation.
Your face should reflect the mood of your speech.
Use gestures when appropriate to add interest and emphasize your message.
Avoid meaningless face and hand gestures. They should be used only when they
clarify or point out the importance of a point. A gesture is appropriate if it is one
you would make during an ordinary conversation with a group or friends. As a
rule you don’t count on your fingers. This gesture is overworked and not very
effective.
Dress neatly and comfortably. If you feel good, you’ll be more confident, and
this can influence your presentation.
If you make a mistake, stop, take a breath, and then continue. Don’t apologize.
Stay within the time limit of 2 to 3 minutes.
Speech Planning Sheet
Name: __________________________________ Period: ________ Date: ____________
Topic: __________________________________ Type: __________________________
Title: __________________________________
Introduction
Grabber:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Main Points for thesis/controlling idea:
1. ________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________
Body
*Be sure to include text cited evidence.
Main Point 1: _________________________________________________________________
Detail ____________________________________________________________
Detail ____________________________________________________________
Detail ____________________________________________________________
Main Point 2: _________________________________________________________________
Detail ____________________________________________________________
Detail ____________________________________________________________
Detail ____________________________________________________________
Main Point 3: _________________________________________________________________
Detail ____________________________________________________________
Detail ____________________________________________________________
Detail ____________________________________________________________
Conclusion
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Note cards for Speech
Do not copy your speech word for word.
SPEECH NOTE CARDS
1. You need five 4 X 6 index cards (or one card per speech paragraph).
2. Use mostly single words or short phrases, not sentences.
3. Sentences may be used for:
 Introduction
 Quotes
 Jokes
 Poems
 Important or difficult parts
 Conclusion
4. Number the cards to keep them in order as you give your speech.
5. Do not put notes on the back of the cards.
6. Put your name on the back of each card.
Speech Timeline 2015
_____ Week of 10/26
Language Arts Class
Tropicana Speech Introduction & Packet posted on teacher web sites
Power Point Introduction to Speech
______ Mon. 10/26 – Wed. 11/18
Students will read the speech planning packet on Web Site. Students will
plan, research the speech topic, provide text cited evidence, write a rough
draft, revise, edit, time the speech, practice the speech, and type a final draft
to turn in. Each language arts teacher will provide due date for written
speech for her classes. Students will make notecards to use for the speech
delivery.
_____ 8 am Wed. 11/18 & Thurs. 11/19 (Students will sign up for speech day.)
Students give speech on their assigned morning before school. NOTE:
Typed Speeches are due the day student delivers their speech. Students use
their notecards to present speech.
Nov. 18 & 19
6th Grade Language Arts Student Speeches
Sign up for a day with language arts teacher.
Tues. Dec. 8
School Speech Contest Media Center
Sat. Jan. 30, 2016
District Competition at FAMU Perry Paige
Auditorium