Speech Topics on History for Fourth Graders
A provocative topic can make the difference between an average speech and a spectacular one. Not only will your audience lean forward and listen to what you have to say, but you might even discover you're having fun saying it. If you're in the fourth grade and preparing a speech about history, use your detective skills to track down topics rich with mystery and life. Remember, just because it's history doesn't mean it's dead and buried.
Other People Are Reading
-
Cultural History
-
A culture's rituals, art and economics give us clues to its past. Consider topics such as how the Egyptian mummification process works, what Native Americans used for currency, 19th century traveling carnivals and European cave paintings. Because the word "history" comes from a Greek word meaning "to inquire," your speech on history should seek out questions as well as answer them. If you're interested in a subject, chances are your audience will be interested, too.
Historical Figures
-
Historical figures often have a rich and storied past. There may also be fascinating, little known facts you can root out. Along with examining how our world changed because of someone, consider what might have happened if they had never lived. Albert Einstein, Florence Nightingale, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, William Shakespeare, Martin Luther King, Joan of Arc and Harriet Tubman provide an opportunity to learn about the virtues of tenacity and courage as well as their rewards.
-
Historical Events
-
When we're in the middle of an important event, it's hard to see it clearly. Looking back on an event, however, allows us the gift of hindsight. Use your history speech to examine a historical event. Consider the Battle of Waterloo, the Wright brothers' first flight, the origins of the Underground Railroad, the assassination of President Lincoln, the Alamo, the Salem witch trials and the first celebration of Thanksgiving.
Unexplained Mysteries of the Past
-
Topics that contain an element of intrigue can capture an audience's attention like no other. Look for historical people, places and events with mysteries no one has been able to fully solve yet. Consider subjects such as who built Stonehenge and why or how the Egyptian pyramids were made. Who was Amelia Earhart and what happened to her? What was the lost continent of Atlantis, and did it even exist? What might have happened to the Lost Colony?
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Ryan McVay/Stockbyte/Getty Images
