Monday 9/15/2014

Happy Monday! Here's our plan for today:

Warm Up: Speaking Drills!

Here is some more info about our speaking drills for today, which will help improve your public speaking skills.

Distracted Speech
This game was designed to teach students to ignore distractions and focus on a task.  A student is given a text, such as a case or a famous speech, like the Gettysburg Address and while reading it, two or three other students are selected to stand next to the speaker and do what they can to be a distraction.  They will whisper in the speaker's ear, talk to one another, look over the speaker's shoulder and begin to read the same text or read other things.  All the while, the speaker should ignore it all and continue to read the assigned text without interruption.  It is a fun game and serves a useful purpose.
Speaking Drills
There are many kinds of speaking drills which are used to help students speak clearer and project their voices.  We also enjoyed these activities and sometimes added our own twists to the activities.  Some of our favorites:
1. Read a speech backwards.
2. Read a speech with a pen in the mouth.
3. Read a speech within a fixed time period trying always to complete the speech within five seconds of the time limit.
4. Read a speech with exaggerated inflexions, and gestures or extreme drama.
5. Read a speech as fast as possible.

Objective: We can research a topic using primary sources. We can represent the views of a key stakeholder in an important world issue.

Lesson: Assign roles for immigration debate, immigration research, prepare for tomorrow's debate!

Wrap Up: What do you need to do tonight to make sure you are ready for tomorrow's debate? List 2 things.

Homework: Finish researching and preparing for tomorrow's debate!