If you teach high school business, you may be looking to develop your students' public speaking skills before they enter the workforce or pursue post-secondary education.
After all, public speaking allows us to form connections, influence decisions, and motivate change in others. As one of the most important---yet most dreaded---forms of communication, learning how to speak in public situations effectively offers immense value to students.
So what high school public speaking curriculum options are out there? What do these resources look like, and which one would serve your students best?
In this article, you’ll explore five of the best high school public speaking curriculum options:
- Complete Public Speaking Curriculum by Michelle Hughes
- Public Speaking Bundle by Distinguished English
- Public Speaking Bundle: All My Speech Lesson by Teachers Pay Teachers
- The Art of Public Speaking
- Essential Elements of Public Speaking, 7th Edition
After reading this article, you’ll better understand what each curriculum solution offers so you can decide which will best meet your instructional goals and student needs.
1. Complete Public Speaking Curriculum by Michelle Hughes
The Complete Public Speaking Curriculum comes from a notable seller on Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT), an online marketplace where educators can buy, sell and share resources.
The central objective of this curriculum, designed for grades 9-12, is to build student confidence and hone articulation. This curriculum includes 300 pages of resources sufficient for a year-long course or can easily be adapted to fit a semester-long course.
The curriculum includes:
- Lectures (20+ PPT presentations)
- Speech Assignments & Packets (18 formal speeches)
- Quizzes
- Daily Speaking Activities (50+ activities)
- Speech Rubrics (for each formal speech)
- Syllabus
- Pacing Guide
- Semester-Long Activity Calendar
- Year-Long Activity Calendar
- The Great Debaters Movie Response
- Model Speeches
The PowerPoint slides are full of valuable information and strategies to help students gain confidence in their speaking ability and hone public speaking skills for a wide variety of audiences.
In addition, this curriculum option provides educators with lesson plans and pacing guides to help structure their course to best meet their goals.
How Much Does This Resource Cost?
The curriculum is available for $50 with the option to purchase additional teacher licenses for $45 each.
Who Is This Resource Intended For?
This curriculum option is a good fit for educators looking for an affordable, supplemental resource to pair with a more comprehensive course curriculum.
While the activities and speeches are engaging and full of good information, there are no quality control or information update requirements for curriculum sold on TpT. What this means is the content for this curriculum option isn’t regularly updated to keep up with changing public speaking practices and expectations. If you implement this curriculum on its own without a comprehensive option to fill in the gaps you may run the risk of teaching students outdated information.
If you’re looking for a more comprehensive, regularly updated public speaking curriculum, you're likely better off purchasing a resource from another curriculum provider.
2. Public Speaking Bundle by Distinguished English
The Public Speaking Bundle available through Teachers Pay Teachers is designed for students in grades 7-10 and is aimed at taking the fear out of public speaking through engaging activities and experiences.
This bundle consists of a wide variety of games, projects, activities and more to support students in their learning.
Products in this bundle include:
- Public Speaking Games
- Personal Narrative Public Speaking Unit with Random Acts of Kindness
- Public Speaking Selfies Activity for Teaching Expression
- Monroe’s Motivated Speaking Project
- Persuasive Appeals Billboard Activity with Pathos, Logos and Ethos
- Logical Fallacies Lesson and Activity
- Logical Fallacies Poster
- Public Speaking Activity - Impromptu How-to
- Christmas Debates for Middle School ELA - Public Speaking Activity
- Public Speaking Christmas Debate with Assignment Sheet and Rubric
- Fun Middle School ELA Mega Bundle - Activities, Games, Projects, Posters and Essays
These well-designed games, printable materials, projects and lessons offer students engaging ways to interact with content and apply public speaking skills in novel ways. Educators should note there are no lesson plans or pacing guides included in this product.
How Much Does The Resource Cost?
The Public Speaking Bundle is available for $24.76 with the option to purchase additional teacher licenses for $17.82 each.
Who Is This Resource Intended For?
This curriculum option is intended for students in grades 7-10 as a supplemental resource to support a more comprehensive curriculum.
While the coursework and games are well-designed and give students a great opportunity to apply what they’ve learned, there are no lesson plans or pacing guides included in this resource. If not paired with a more comprehensive curriculum, the Public Speaking Bundle may not give your students the in-depth learning experiences needed to master public speaking skills.
If you’re an educator simply looking for supplemental activities like games, easy-to-understand lessons, and speech prompts to diversify your student’s learning in public speaking, the Public Speaking Bundle is a solid addition to your classroom.
However, if you’re looking for a structured curriculum resource equipped with lesson plans and comprehensive materials, another curriculum provider may offer a better solution.
3. Public Speaking Bundle: All My Speech Lessons by Secondary Sarah
The Public Speaking Bundle: All My Speech Lessons is a popular resource available through Teacher Pay Teachers. It's designed to take the fear and intimidation out of public speaking to add to student's employability skills. With enough materials for a semester-long course, the speech lessons and activities in this resource offer students a wide array of ways to develop their speaking skills.
Instructional material and lessons found in this bundle include:
- Intro to Public Speaking lessons
- Speaking Lesson on Posture & Movement
- Visual Aids Lesson
- Revision Read-Aloud Activity
- Speaking Growth Tracker Charts
- Public Speaking Superlative Certificates
- Rhetoric, Propaganda, & Fallacies Flipbook
- Public Speaking Activity, "15 Minutes of Fame"
- The “Bucket List” Research Project
- Humor & Storytelling Public Speaking Activity
- Mock Conference Talks
- Dramatic Readings Speech Activity
- Literary Analysis "Case File" Project
- Intro to Debate Unit
The resources and tools included in this option build foundations, track progress over time, and give students opportunities to practice in a variety of assignment types. In addition to speeches and presentations, this bundle also includes listening components, speech analysis, and class debate prompts.
How Much Does This Resource Cost?
The Public Speaking Bundle: All My Speech Lessons costs $64.99 with the option to purchase additional teacher licenses for $58.49 per additional license.
Who Is This Resource Intended For?
The Public Speaking Bundle: All My Speech Lessons is a good fit for high school educators in search of a robust supplemental resource.
As a supplemental resource, this curriculum bundle offers a wide array of engaging lessons, activities and projects with creative approaches to delivering content to students. The bundle is well suited to pull content from to pair with a more comprehensive curriculum to give students new, fun ways to learn and apply what they learn.
If you’re looking for a comprehensive, regularly updated public speaking curriculum then the Public Speaking Bundle: All My Speech Lessons may not be the best choice for your students.
4. The Art of Public Speaking, 13th Edition
Author: Stephen E. Lucas
Copyright: 2020
The Art of Public Speaking, 13th Edition from McGraw Hill is a comprehensive textbook designed to help students in grades 9-12 become capable and responsible speakers, listeners, and thinkers.
The textbook is composed of five units consisting of 20 lessons:
Unit 1: SPEAKING AND LISTENING
- Speaking in Public
- Ethics and Public Speaking
- Listening
- Giving Your First Speech
Unit 2: SPEECH PREPARATION: GETTING STARTED
- Selecting a Topic and a Purpose
- Analyzing the Audience
- Gathering Materials
- Supporting Your Ideas
Unit 3: SPEECH PREPARATION: ORGANIZING AND OUTLINING
- Organizing the Body of the Speech
- Beginning and Ending the Speech
- Outlining the Speech
Unit 4: PRESENTING THE SPEECH
- Using Language
- Delivery
- Using Visual Aids
Unit 5: VARIETIES OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
- Speaking to Inform
- Speaking to Persuade
- Methods of Persuasion
- Speaking on Special Occasions
- Presenting Your Speech Online
- Speaking in Small Groups
Each unit explores verbal expression and professional communications in-depth to help students understand the value of public speaking and develop skills to speak effectively in front of groups.
Seamlessly coordinated with Connect, McGraw Hill’s online program supplies a proven set of teaching and learning tools designed to challenge students and develop valuable public speaking skills. Alongside the eTextbook, McGraw Hill offers the Art of Public Speaking video program which includes more than 60 speech excerpts demonstrating principles of public speaking.
This curriculum option also includes an Online Instructor’s Manual containing suggested course outlines, speaking assignments, unit outlines and classroom activities along with teaching tips for all exercises and activities.
How Much Does This Textbook Cost?
McGraw Hill offers a few different pricing options for The Art of Public Speaking as well as bundle options. For a single hardcover copy of the textbook, educators can expect to pay $159.60 each.
A one-year online Teacher Edition subscription will cost $225.16 and includes access to the eTextbook, guiding documents, strategies and other instructional materials. As for student access to the resource, a one-year online Student Edition subscription will cost $163.08 and a six-year online Student Edition subscription will cost $197.76.
The Standard Student Bundle, which includes a hardcover textbook as well as access to the eTextbook version for one year, costs $195.24 and $217.48 for a six-year subscription.
Who Is This Textbook Intended For?
McGraw Hill’s The Art of Public Speaking, 13th Edition is designed for students in grades 9-12.
If you’re an educator looking for a comprehensive public speaking curriculum to structure your course around with in-depth units and engaging online activities for students to apply what they learned, then this textbook option could be a solid choice for your students.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for a more engaging, interactive public speaking curriculum, this textbook option may not be the right solution for your students. While textbooks are full of valuable information, they often lack engaging, interactive components that capture students' attention and keep them engaged.
5. Essential Elements of Public Speaking, 7th Edition
Author: Joseph A. Devito
Copyright: 2021
The Essential Elements of Public Speaking textbook from Pearson is a comprehensive resource designed for students in grades 9-12. This textbook breaks public speaking down into 10 discrete steps in order to give students everything they need to learn how to prepare and present successful speeches.
The textbook is broken down into three parts consisting of 13 lessons:
PART I. FUNDAMENTALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
- Introducing Public Speaking
- Listening and Criticism
PART II. PREPARING AND PRESENTING PUBLIC SPEECHES
- Select Your Topic, Purposes, and Thesis (Step 1)
- Analyze Your Audience (Step 2)
- Research Your Speech (Step 3)
- Collect Supporting Materials (Step 4)
- Use Presentation Aids (Step 4, continued)
- Organize Your Speech (Steps 5, 6, and 7)
- Word and Rehearse Your Speech (Steps 8 and 9)
- Present Your Speech (Step 10)
PART III. TYPES OF SPEECHES
- Speaking to Inform
- Speaking to Persuade
- Speaking on Special Occasions
In addition to the textbook, Pearson offers digital coursework and resources for Essential Elements of Public Speaking textbook on its Revel platform. The platform includes videos, interactive content and assessments integrated throughout the textbook narrative to provide opportunities for students to explore and apply concepts.
How Much Does This Textbook Cost?
Pearson offers a few different pricing options depending on if you want a printed textbook, eTextbook, access to student coursework or any combination of the three.
Educators can expect to spend $74.99 on a printed textbook or $59.96 for access to the eTextbook. Payment plans are also available for the eTextbook in which the price breaks down into four payments of $9.99 over a four-month period.
Pearson also offers digital coursework and resources to pair with the textbook hosted on its Revel platform for $74.99 for 12-month access. For educators looking to pair Revel coursework with the printed textbook, you can expect to pay $113.32 for the bundle.
Who Is This Textbook Intended For?
If you’re looking for an in-depth, comprehensive public speaking textbook curriculum designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to speak effectively in public, this textbook is a solid choice for your students.
The textbook explores the fundamentals of public speaking in depth as well as provides students with a 10-step process they can use to develop and execute high-quality public speeches in a wide variety of environments. If paired with the digital curriculum hosted on Pearson’s Revel platform, students gain access to both valuable information in the textbook as well as opportunities to apply what they learn, creating a linear learning experience.
On the other hand, this textbook may not be a good option for your students if you’re looking for a more engaging curriculum resource. While textbooks are full of valuable information, they often lack attention-grabbing, interactive components that bring learning to life and keep students engaged.
Which Public Speaking Curriculum Option Is Right For My Students?
In this article, you’ve discovered some of the best curriculum resources for teaching public speaking to high school students. There are a lot of factors to consider when choosing the best curriculum solution for your course and only you know what’s best for your classroom. Depending on your instructional goals and students’ needs, one of these options could suit your students better than the rest.
However, if you’re looking for a public speaking curriculum solution that is comprehensive, engaging and easy to implement, consider iCEV’s Professional Communications Course Curriculum!
iCEV’s standards-aligned curriculum offers hundreds of hours of engaging, interactive content as well as lesson plans, pacing guides and other materials designed to set you and your students on a path to success. Best of all, with a single subscription you gain access to all of iCEV’s comprehensive Business, Marketing, Finance, & IT courses.
