SpeakUP! Podcasting and Public Speaking

Description

Let your voice be heard!

Should pineapple ever be found on pizza? Is a hotdog a sandwich? Is eighteen really a responsible age for driving a vehicle? What made Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech so moving to so many? Is school choice the answer to America’s educational woes? 

SpeakUP! is a semester-long, half-credit, language arts high school-level class that is a fantastic introduction to written and spoken communication through compelling rhetoric and 21st-century platforms!  Master the art of effective persuasive speaking and writing through the avenues most popular today: audio, video, blogging, and social media.

This class will help students develop communication techniques and confidence in both effective spoken and written communication.

SpeakUP! will set students up for future success as excellent communicators as they:

• Grab audience attention
• Organize thoughts and ideas for communication
• Critically analyze information and research
• Learn how people are moved to action
• Explore ways to present ideas effectively

Students will learn about the many aspects of public speaking while exploring effective podcasting, video and audio techniques.  Instruction will include: rhetoric and persuasive techniques, the Five Canons of Rhetoric (Invention, Arrangement, Style, Memory, Delivery), analytical study of effective deliveries, and content organization. Becoming an effective public communicator requires specialized tools and much practice! Student assessment will include oral delivery (various formats), discussion boards, content text, research, and – of course – student participation!

Required Materials:

Materials/handouts will be provided by the teacher

Internet access to search and explore topics 

Video and audio capability for recording speeches/content to be shared within our class

Prerequisites:

Confident computer skills and abilities

Good command of English grammar

SpeakUP! Podcasting and Public Speaking would pair perfectly with Write to Ignite: The Copywriting Experience, BizTalk: Personal and Professional Communication,  Entrepreneurship, Graphic Design in Canva, Photography and Digital Technology, Career Exploration, or any other True North career track or entrepreneurial course!