Speak the speech – Year 7, Term 4

These resources have been designed for use by teachers in connection to the Year 7, Term 4 program Speak the speech.

These resources provide a one way to approach conceptual programming to develop students' understanding of how spoken word texts provoke a dynamic interaction between composer and responder.

In this program, students will trace the evolution of the spoken word from traditional forms of oratory, to a contemporary culture of multimodal texts. Students will experiment with writing and delivering a range of spoken forms to deepen their understanding of the reciprocal relationship between composer and responder. By investigating oratory through speeches, drama, performance poetry and storytelling, students explore and understand new texts and concepts, and experience new ways of learning.

This program and associated resources are not intended to be taught exactly as is presented in their current format but should be adapted to suit students’ needs. The resources should be used with timeframes that are created by the teacher to meet the overall assessment schedules.

Speak the speech is supported by the following resources.

Watch Speak the speech – sample speech listening activity (10:09)

Speak the speech listening activity

[audio starts at 0:15]

[text on screen – Speak the speech. Sample speech – audio file and listening activity]

[text on screen –Acknowledgement of Country. We recognise the Ongoing Custodians of the lands and waterways where we work and live. We pay respect to elders past and present as ongoing teachers of knowledge, songlines and stories. We strive to ensure every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learner in NSW achieves their potential through education.]

[image of a painting of Aboriginal person. The person has brown skin and dark hair. The painting is a close up of a light brown eye and nose with a white stripe of paint going across the cheek and nose.]

[image caption – 'Ochre Eyes' created by Lilianna from Winmalee High School on Darug Country as part of 2020 Schools Reconciliation Challenge.]

[text on screen – Supporting effective peer editing – activity structure. Oral storytelling is dead.

  1. Read over the vocal variation rehearsal strategies in Phase 6, resource 9 - rehearsal strategies, taking note of how using your voice can create engagement and interest in your audience.
  2. Listen to the student sample of the unrehearsed speech ‘Oral storytelling is dead’ by John.
  3. While you are listening, use Phase 4, activity 8 – feedback templates to note areas for improvement.
  4. Take notes individually during the speech, recording both strengths and weaknesses of the content and delivery of the speech.
  5. Reflection – how would you improve this speech if you were the speaker? Write a list of 3 areas for improvement and 3 areas that worked well.]

[text on screen – First attempt before peer feedback – speaker: John – part 1. Oral storytelling is dead.

  1. Listen to the student sample.
  2. While listening, use Phase 4, activity 8 – feedback templates and note areas for improvement.
  3. Record strengths and weaknesses in relation to the delivery of the speech.]

John

Thank you for giving me the chance to speak to you today about stories. Who doesn't like a good story? I'm always rifling around on Netflix for something good to watch. I love shows that have adventure in them and someone gets to save the day. But I also don't mind watching documentaries about real life survivors. Mum says, I should watch a little less telly and suggested I read more. Read, well, that's not going to happen in my free time. Who in the audience here has not had a parent come up with a totally daft idea like this? So we came up with a compromise and I said I would listen to some podcasts. I hate to say it, but I have actually found some that are pretty interesting. I guess that's why I chose the topic 'Oral storytelling is dead' because I don't think it is.

Oral storytelling, what exactly is it? Well, if we look at the meaning of the words, we can work out that oral means spoken rather than written. And storytelling means the telling or writing of stories. So if we put those both together, we can see that oral storytelling is telling a story by mouth. Firstly, what is the first thing we think of when we talk about telling a story by mouth? I guess as an Aussie, I can tell you that I am going to have to go with the traditional Dreamtime Stories of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We all know that this is the way that important stories and messages were passed down through generations. We all know that they did not have books and stuff, so all the important stuff was told by word. And in school, we are still learning about these stories and how the world was created. I think they're pretty neat, and if we are still learning them, then they aren't dead, are they?

Secondly, another thing I think about when people say oral storytelling is when mum used to tell me stories at bedtime when I was little. Actually, she still tells stories to my younger brother and sister. I remember hearing about all kinds of fairytales at night. Mum would shut off the lights and sit on the edge of the bed and just start telling a story. Sometimes it was about princes and princesses and sometimes they would be about animals and dragons. They were pretty cool. Mum used to talk fast in the scary parts and talk real quiet when something was about to happen. The way she told the stories made it real interesting and even exciting. So my second point that oral storytelling isn't dead because mum tells bedtime stories proves this.

My third and final argument is that podcasts are oral storytelling. Like I said before, mum made me listen to podcasts. I found this real cool one about people surviving extreme disasters. I've listened to stories about people eating dead people in the snowy mountains to survive, people hiking out of jungles with nothing but a pocket knife, and people stopping the nuclear power stations in Hiroshima from blowing up. I can tell you that these stories were so exciting. I couldn't wait to listen to the next episode. So what I'm trying to get at is that podcasts are oral storytelling, and podcasts are getting more popular every day. Did you know that there are over 5 million podcasts around the world with about 500 million podcast listeners? So you can't tell me that oral storytelling is dead. It is actually growing because they reckon the amount of people listening is still growing.

In conclusion, I rest my case. Oral storytelling is not dead, and in fact, you just participated in oral storytelling because you just listened to my story in the form of a speech. Thank you for giving me the chance to speak to you today about oral storytelling.

[slides showing instructions]

[text on screen – First attempt before peer feedback – speaker: John – part 2. Oral storytelling is dead.

  1. Reflection – how would you improve this speech if you were the speaker?
  2. Identify 3 areas for improvement and 3 areas that worked well.]

[text on screen – Rehearsal strategies. Overview. If you want to deliver an effective speech, you must rehearse. Rehearsing your speech will give you authority on your topic and will allow you to feel more confident in your delivery. When rehearsing, use these 3 strategies.

  1. Practise
  2. Vocal variation
  3. Body language]

[text on screen – 1. Practise. Rehearsal strategies.

  1. Practice in from of the mirror.
  2. Video yourself on your phone – play it back and look for particular delivery elements.
  3. Rehearse in front of your family and friends.
  4. Time your speech to make sure it is long enough.
  5. Know your speech so you could extemporise if required.]

[text on screen – 2. Vocal variation. Rehearsal strategies.

  1. Project your voice – make sure you are loud enough.
  2. Vary your vocal variety – use different tone, pause, pitch and pace.
  3. Stress important words.
  4. Use appropriate passion in your vocal delivery.]

[text on screen – 3. Body language. rehearsal strategies.

  1. Maintain eye contact with the audience.
  2. Use appropriate facial expressions.
  3. Use hand gestures to strengthen points.
  4. Use appropriate body language.

For this particular speech sample, you will not be able to observe the delivery; however, you should consider the types of delivery techniques you could use.]

[text on screen – Rehearsed speech. Oral storytelling is dead.

  1. Listen to the student sample of the speech ‘Oral storytelling is dead’ after it has been rehearsed.
  2. Look back over Phase 4, activity 8 – feedback templates that you completed previously. Has any of your feedback been incorporated? What could still be improved? Voice projection? Vocal variety? Word stress? Emotive delivery?
  3. Reflection – how would you incorporate body language into this speech to complement the delivery?]

[text on screen – Second attempt after rehearsal and peer feedback – speaker John. Oral storytelling is dead.

  1. Listen to the rehearsed student sample.
  2. Look back over Phase 4, activity 8 – feedback templates and reflect: has any of your feedback been incorporated? What could still be improved (voice projection, vocal variety, word stress or emotive delivery)?
  3. Reflection – how would you incorporate body language into this speech to complement the delivery?]

John

Thank you for giving me the chance to speak to you today about stories. Who doesn't like a good story? I'm always rifling around on Netflix for something good to watch. I love shows that have adventure in them and someone gets to save the day. But I also don't mind watching documentaries about real life survivors. Mum says, I should watch a little less telly and suggested I read more. Read, well, that's not going to happen in my free time. Who in the audience here has not had a parent come up with a totally daft idea like this? So we came up with a compromise and I said, I'll listen to some podcasts. I hate to say it, but I have actually found some that are pretty interesting. I guess that's why I chose the topic 'Oral storytelling is dead' because I don't think it is.

Oral storytelling, what exactly is it? Well, if we look at the meaning of the words, but can work out that oral means spoken rather than written. And storytelling means the telling or writing of stories. So if we put those both together, we can see that oral storytelling is telling a story by mouth. Firstly, what is the first thing we think of when we talk about telling a story by mouth? I guess as an Aussie, I can tell you that I'm going to have to go with the traditional Dreamtime Stories of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We all know that this is the way that important stories and messages were passed down through the generations. We all know that they did not have books and stuff, so all the important stuff was told by word. And in school, we're still learning about these stories and how the world was created. I think they're pretty neat. And if we're still telling them, then they aren't dead, are they?

Secondly, another thing I think about when people say oral storytelling is when mom used to tell me stories at bedtime when I was little. Actually, she still tells stories to my younger brother and sister. I remember hearing about all kinds of fairytales at night. Mum would shut off the lights and sit on the edge of the bed and just start telling a story. Sometimes it was about princes and princesses and sometimes they would be about animals and dragons. They were pretty cool. Mum used to talk fast in scary parts and talk really quietly when something was about to happen. The way she told the stories made it real interesting and even exciting. So my second point that oral storytelling isn't dead because mum telling bedtime stories proves this.

My third and final argument is that podcasts are oral storytelling. Like I said before, mum made me listen to podcasts. I found this real cool one about people surviving extreme disasters. I've listened to stories about people eating dead people in the snowy mountains to survive, people hiking out of jungles with nothing but a pocket knife, and people stopping the nuclear power stations in Hiroshima from blowing up. I can tell you, these stories were so exciting. I couldn't wait to listen to the next episode. So what I'm trying to get at is that podcasts are oral storytelling, and podcasts are getting more popular every day. Did you know that there are over 5 million podcasts around the world with about 500 million podcasts listeners? So you can't tell me that oral storytelling is dead. It is actually growing because they reckon the matter of people listening is still growing.

In conclusion, I rest my case. Oral storytelling is not dead, and in fact, you just participated in oral storytelling because you just listened to my story in the form of a speech. Thank you for giving me the chance to speak to you today about oral storytelling.

[text on screen – What next... Speak the speech. Refer to the ‘Steps for success’ in the sample assessment notification. In addition, a range of activities and resources have been created to support the creation of the assessment speech:

  • Phase 6, resource 1 – evidence-based practice in assessment procedures
  • Phase 6, resource 2 – task forms and features
  • Phase 6, resource 6 – the research process
  • Phase 6, resource 8 – using palm cards
  • Phase 6, resource 10 – structured rehearsal strategy
  • Phase 6, activity 1 – research guiding questions
  • Phase 6, activity 2 – what’s your line of argument?
  • Phase 4, activity 8 – feedback templates]

[text on screen – References. This presentation contains NSW Curriculum and syllabus content. The NSW Curriculum is developed by the NSW Education Standards Authority. This content is prepared by NESA for and on behalf of the Crown in the right of the State of New South Wales. The material is protected by Crown copyright.

Please refer to the NESA Copyright Disclaimer for more information https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/mini-footer/copyright.

NESA holds the only official and up-to-date versions of the NSW Curriculum and syllabus documents. Please visit the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) website https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/home and the NSW Curriculum website https://curriculum.nsw.edu.au.]

[end of transcript]

Syllabus

Syllabus outcomes and content descriptors from English K–10 Syllabus (2022) © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2024.

Category:

  • English (2022)
  • Stage 4
  • Unit

Business Unit:

  • Curriculum and Reform
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