Learning Recommendations: Students should be ready to develop skills involved with speaking in front of both small and large groups. Strong research skills, comfort with 4-level outlines, and general organizational skills will also be very helpful. Strong support of peers is necessary.

General Description: Public Speaking and Debate develops a variety of useful skills: interpersonal communication, purposeful body language, audience awareness, research, logic and logical fallacies, and speech-writing techniques.

Content: Interpersonal communication and body language, extemporaneous speeches, rhetoric and reasoning and refutation, persuasive speeches, team debates, fallacy focus, speech analysis, informative speeches.

Strategies: Students will learn how to speak effectively to a variety of audiences for a variety of situations, taking advantage of effective logical and rhetorical techniques. They will use decisive, relevant body language to help meet their appropriate goals for each speech. They will hone their skills at giving helpful, constructive feedback, learning how to affirm and assist their peers. They also will practice using media and other visual aids as well as researching for specific information from impressive, academic sources to both give and analyze speeches.

Equipment to be provided by student: Note cards, access to Internet sources outside school.