Classes and Curriculum

Curriculum

Pre-Public Speaking Series (1st – 3rd grade students)

The mission of this series is to provide opportunities to young students to learn these basic soft skills early on. There are two courses in this series to accomplish the goal.

· PPS 101 Building Public Speaking Confidence

This program teaches young students the essentials of building confidence in public speaking. The participants learn how to stand tall and speak confidently in front of a large group. They begin to understand the concepts and importance of body language, bringing variation in speed and tone. The students learn the concept of public speaking using fun concepts like show and tell, storytelling, and poem recitals among others.

· PPS 102 Introduction to speech writing

This program leads young students to basic writing skills. They learn how to write speeches in six easy steps. They begin to learn how to give a structure to their thoughts. The students learn different ways to open and close the speech to make it interesting. They continue to practice speaking with confidence. It gives them a head start for the advanced courses in Public Speaking and Debates

Public Speaking Series (4th – 8th grade students)

Mastering the very important and basic skill of effective communication with others is proven to improve the overall confidence and advancement in academics among students. The mission of this program is to improve each participant’s confidence, communication and make him an overall presenter using fun and friendly ways. In these classes, students learn how to manage public speaking anxiety, present themselves with confidence, and connect with their audience through effective and clear speech. There are three courses in this series to accomplish the goal

· PS 201 Speaking with Confidence

This class focuses on teaching delivery and presentation skills to the students. Students learn how to manage public speaking anxiety, present themselves with confidence, and connect with their audience through effective body language. It improves their confidence in public speaking and communication skills. They learn different approaches of preparing for a speech example speaking from notes or from memory. The goal of this course is by t the end of the session a student should be able to stand tall and speak confidently and fluently in front of a large group for at least 2 minutes.

· Ps 202 Structure your Speech

The aim for this class is to have each participant write a well-structured engaging speech. Kids at this age usually find it challenging to organize their many! ideas. This class focuses in helping participants give a clear structure to their thoughts. Students study how to write speeches on different kinds of topics and for different occasions. They learn to write speeches on descriptive, expository, narrative, process, cause and effect types of topics as well as speeches for social occasions and ceremonies. They practice speaking with confidence.

· PS 203 Presenting with A/V tools

Speakers can use audio and visual aids to make their speech more effective and memorable for the audience. The students learn to use props, Power Point presentation, charts, diagrams, models, drama and other audio/visual aids to get their point across. This class prepares students to become a complete presenter. Students thoroughly enjoy the hands on way of presenting their speeches.

DEBATE SERIES (5^th – 8^th grade students)

Our Debate classes are very popular among students and parents! It helps students understand all sides of a subject matter. Presenting your point is important but it is equally important to listen to the other side. Students become better listeners; get better with their note-taking abilities and more importantly, it improves their overall general knowledge on a variety of current topics. The students learn essentials of Debating. They learn how to make strong arguments by providing reasoning and evidence. The participants debate on a variety of their age appropriate topics in various formats.

· DS 301 Essentials of Debating

This class teaches essentials of Debating. The students learn how to make strong arguments, use tools like flow, practice note taking. This course instills critical thinking in students by providing reasoning and evidence. This course introduces various formats of the debates popular in high school. The participants debate on a variety of their age appropriate topics in various formats.

· DS 302 Current and Advanced Debates

This class explains various debate formats to the students. They learn how to write full-length constructive and refutation speeches for various debate layouts. They begin to do research and debate on more involved and current affairs topics. It not only improves their speaking and critical thinking skills but also expands their general knowledge on current issues and other matters.

Combo Series

These options of classes are ideal for students who want to learn how to speak confidently, persuasively and learn the formats of debating in one course.

· CS 401 Public Speaking and Debates Level 1

This is a combo course of PS 201 and DS 301

· CS 402 Public Speaking and Debates Level 2

This is a combo course of PS 202 and some of DS 301 and DS 302

· CS 403 Public Speaking and Debates Level 3

This is a combo course of PS 203 and DS 302

Workshops

Public Speaking and Debate Workshops are ideal for students who understand the basics of debating and are confident speakers. These workshops are suitable for students who are looking to prepare for tournaments. These are typically 2-3 day workshops with 2 or 3 hours each followed by a tournament in most cases.

· WS 501 Public Speaking Workshop

This workshop updates students about the rules, judges’ ballots in various speech tournaments. They practice writing, speaking and preparing for tournaments.

WS 502 Debate Workshop
This workshop updates students about the rules, judges’ ballots in various debate tournaments. They practice writing speaking and preparing for tournaments.