How to Teach Public Speaking to Elementary Students

Early practice in public speaking can help a child improve his confidence.

Teaching children public speaking at a young age helps them overcome their fear of speaking to an audience and prepares them for such tasks as they progress academically and professionally. Some students are naturally comfortable speaking to an audience while others are shy and may dread speaking. By implementing public speaking activities at the elementary level, you can enhance the speaking skills of naturally-comfortable children, and build confidence in shy kids and make them more comfortable with speaking.

Instructions

1. Implement group discussions. Create groups of four or five students. Give them a topic and ask each child in the group to express his opinion. The other students should listen to the opinion being expressed without offering any criticism. This method works well for a shy student as he would have to speak only to his classmates and there is no criticism involved. Group the child with one or two of his best friends if he is very shy.

2. Ask students to enact a scene from their history books using puppets. This way of training improves students' language skills. This is also an effective method to initiate a shy child into public speaking. As the child will be facing the audience only virtually, he will be more willing to speak without feeling embarrassed.

3. Use alphabet recital exercises for younger students. Ask students to recite all alphabets or numbers in front of the class. Ask the student to make eye contact with his audience at least once while speaking. As a challenge, ask the student to place different modulations on alphabet letters. Consider this as an example - A-B-C, D! E-F-G? H, I-J-K! L? M, N, O, and so on.

4. Form student groups and ask them to recite a poem or a science lesson in front of the class. This method allows a group of students to talk before an audience. Being in a group makes can make kids feel more secure and comfortable with talking in public.

5. Ask students to make up an imaginary creature. Help them imagine one by asking questions like, "Does it live on water, land or in trees?" "How many legs does it have?" "What does it eat?" and so on. Give students about 10 minutes to write about this creature and ask them to read it in front of the class. The student should speak clearly and make eye contact with the audience while speaking.

References

• Adventist: Training Elementary Students for Public Speaking
• Prufrock Press Inc: Fun and Quick Public Speaking Activities
• Child Provider Law: Teaching Children Public Speaking Skills