speech writing for kids

Young student standing next to teacher at front of classroom

How to help your child write a speech (without doing it for them)

Associate Professor in Education, Deakin University

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Joanne O'Mara receives funding from The Australian Research Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Deakin University provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.

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It’s hard for parents to help kids with homework without doing it for them . It can be especially difficult to work out where to start when your child is preparing a speech for school.

You might find your child is procrastinating more about getting started with a speech than about other homework. This could be because they are anxious about it.

Having something that they want to say to their class can help to increase your child’s confidence and motivation when they deliver the speech. A positive speechmaking experience can increase confidence for next time, which is why some schools teach public speaking in a systematic way.

It’s important to keep in mind that public speaking has two parts to it: writing the speech, and delivering it.

Here are some tips for how to help your kid with both aspects of preparation.

Read more: What's the point of homework?

Writing the speech

First, help your child find something they want to say to their audience.

When a child is delivering a speech to the class, they are being listened to, observed, and watched by their peers. Most other classwork is only read by the teacher. In a speech, they are sharing their ideas with the whole class.

That’s why it is really important they own what they are saying, and say it in their own words.

It’s key they own the topic (if it is a free choice of topic) or that they own the stance they are taking (if the topic is set by the teacher).

As a parent, it’s tricky to support your child to find their own words to say – but it’s very important you don’t write the speech for them.

Help them to think about what they care about and what they think is important to share with their class.

Apart from the fact the teacher will spot a parent-written speech a mile away, if your child has no ownership of their speech, they will not care about communicating the ideas to the class.

Next, help your child to think about organising their ideas.

It’s good to have a hook or a catchy introduction into the main idea of the speech. That could be a rhetorical question, an anecdote or an amazing fact. They can then think of around three main points about the topic.

Ask your child questions that help them to think about some examples or evidence that support their ideas.

Finally, help them to finish their speech. Often, the ending might return to the beginning to round off the point being made – a kind of “I told you so”!

Delivering the speech – 4 tips for parents

1. Encourage your child to focus on communicating their idea to their audience.

If they focus on sharing their ideas, rather than worrying about themselves, everything will come together. Encourage them to think about looking at the audience and making sure everyone can hear them.

2. Practise the speed of delivery and time their speech.

One of the easiest things to practise that makes a big difference to the delivery of the speech is the pacing.

The big tip is to slow down. When speakers feel nervous they tend to speed up, sometimes just a little — but often students will deliver their speeches at breakneck speed, racing to just get it done so they can go and sit down.

I’ve listened to thousands of student speeches and have never heard one delivered too slowly. But I have heard many that sound like a horse-race call.

3. Be an affirmative audience to their speech.

Listen to your child practise when they feel ready to share with you, but don’t push them if they are resistant.

Focus on building their confidence by talking to them about the moments you felt they were connecting with you as an audience member. Be appreciative of their jokes or show you share their feelings about ideas they care about.

Your children seek your approval – don’t be stingy with it.

4. If they are feeling confident, suggest they work on nuancing their delivery.

Once they are feeling confident about delivering the speech, the child can add variety and texture.

For instance, they might slow down for emphasis on certain words, add a pause after asking a question, or think about some moments where they might speak more softly or loudly.

Variation will add interest to the delivery of the speech and help to grab and keep the audience’s attention. It also helps further convey your child’s ideas.

Good support takes time

It’s hard to get the balance right when supporting your child to prepare their speech. The trick is to understand that it will take more than one sitting.

So, plan for a few chunks of time, and work on building their ideas and enthusiasm.

Read more: Should parents help their kids with homework?

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Children's literacy

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130 Awesome Speech Topics for Kids

Amanda Green was born in a small town in the west of Scotland, where everyone knows everyone. I joined the Toastmasters 15 years ago, and I served in nearly every office in the club since then. I love helping others gain confidence and skills they can apply in every day life.

Kids always do best when they are interested in what they are asked to talk about. But every child has different interests, and therein lies the challenge – selecting awesome speech topics that kids will want to talk about.

A few points you want to consider:

If the topic is too “adult,” they may be too young to cope with what they find.
If the topic is too simplistic, their growing sense of awareness may be stunted.

Keep in mind the goal of the speech – do you want to educate, to entertain, to express ideas, or something else?
Consider topic that suits child’s character: someone who has an extensive imagination won’t like the same topics as someone who is more factual and practical.

Here is a broad range of speech topics for kids you can choose from.

Family and friends, miscellaneous, more miscellaneous….

Why I love my mom and dad
Funny things my parents say
Let me tell you about my imaginary friend
Things that really happen at grandma’s house when mom and dad aren’t there
Secrets my mom does all day when I’m not around
What my brother/sister thinks of me
What my dad does in the bathroom for all that time
If I had a choice between getting money or spending time with my family, I would choose…
What did I do for my mom last mother’s day
Let me tell you about my family
My family’s traditions
Original projects to surprise my parents on Mother’s Day (in the Spring) and Father’s Day (often marked in June).
Where we went on vacation/holiday with my family
What is my favorite song
My favorite band or singer, and one of his or her greatest hits I would like to play with some clarification.
The best fairy tale, or a variation child speech topic can be a cartoon character.
My favorite season of the year is…
My favourite time of day or week.
The funniest April Fool’s Day joke.
5 of my favorite words
Top favorite Christmas song of all times
3 favorite things to buy at the market
If I went to my favorite restaurant I would order…
Mom and my favorite place to visit is..
My favorite thing about summer
What my favorite pizza toppings are
My favorite New Year’s tradition
Favorite sundae toppings
The most delicious meal I’ve ever had
If I built the ultimate sandwich, it would have…
The worst vegetable on the planet
How many things can you make with a potato
Describe the flavors of Thanksgiving foods
One thing I know how to cook is…
The contents of your lunch box.
Different ways to eat an apple
Why I don’t care about the “Five second rule”
I don’t like to eat … Fill in something you dislike
A day in the life as a fly
What my dog is thinking
What would it be like if dinosaurs roamed the Earth?
My dream mythical creature for a pet would be…
If I could talk to animals…
What do cows think about
How do animals talk to each other
How to care for your pets, the right way
What rights should animals have?
What different wild animals have I seen
How penguins live on Antarctica and only there and not on the North Pole (besides the zoo of course)
A day at the wildlife sea aquarium, with dolphins, sharks, whales and seals.
How kangaroos care for their children.
What birds visit your backyard at home
How do rainbows work
What planet would I visit if I had my own rocket ship
Why the sky is blue
How are stars made
Where do clouds come from?
Where babies come from
What outer space is like
Why do the leaves on trees change color in the fall
How water is so important
What makes the Sun so bright
How do boats float
Why do we have dreams when we sleep
Why are eyes different colors
What makes the world go ’round
How do planes fly
The stars, black holes, galaxies and the interstellar medium in our cosmos
Biggest birthday wish
Best indoor winter activities
Coolest superhero power
If I was the President of the U.S….
My dream vacation
If I were a character in a book, I would be…
Why I’m on Santa’s nice/naughty list
The inside scoop on __________
If I could change one thing about the world, it would be…
How I really feel about seeing the doctor
The best part about holidays
If I had three wishes, they would be…
If I were famous, it would be for my…
My secret life as a spy
My best invention
Fun games to play on long car rides
Silly songs I know
In my dream house, there would be…
The best part about being sick
Why the tooth fairy must be real
What my name means
Disney World: the first person I’d want to see is…
If I was the author of a book, I’d write about…
The charity I’m going to donate to when I’m older is…
What happiness means to me
The best thing about me is…
If I could be a character in any video game, it would be…
How I care for the environment every day
Why are farmers important
What I want to be for Halloween next year
What I want to be when I grow up
Why best friends are so special
If I was a princess or prince, I would …
My toys, dolls or mini racing cars collection.
My trip to Disney World or other resort.
How I decorate my room at home.
My biggest adventure.
Good kid games online.
Nice birthday presents you like to get.
What you could do without television or video.
Foreign hollidays we do not celebrate.
Things – food or scary situations – that make you sick.
What is more important: Doing what’s right or being popular
The best memory I can remember
Who I was named after
What it would be like to meet an alien
My greatest fear
The happiest day of my life
Something I have done that I am proud of
What adult in my life do I look up to the most
How to plan a surprise party
A day at the beach
The coolest toy I have
What I know about (insert sport)
Vampires or werewolves?
Steps to drawing a flower
If I re-wrote the story, “The Little Mermaid” or “Bambi” it would go like this…
How to make a snowman
The strangest place I’ve ever been
Are table manners really important
Tell a myth or legend about your future self
The coolest art/craft I’ve ever made
If I were in charge, the rules I would make would be…

If you are selecting a topic together, sit down with your child and read through this list together and make your own list of which topics stood out to your child . Suggest alternatives or adaptations to some topics. The goal is to get their juices flowing. You want this to be a choice that they are comfortable with.

Help them decide by reminding them who their audience will be and what the occasion is . This will help determine what is appropriate and what the audience will want to hear. Your child probably wouldn’t want to talk about Barbie at a formal function or to an audience of mostly boys.

All that’s left to do is prepare and practice, because we all know – practice makes perfect!

Can We Write Your Speech?

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205 Controversial Topics for your Essay, Speech, or Debate

206 Great Speech Topics for Teens [Persuasive, Informative]

25 thoughts on “130 Awesome Speech Topics for Kids”

Sure! It’s about I only want a ribbon about u are afraid Togo on stage and don’t want to go to the next level except a good grade.

A day in a life of me as an old person

im so bad at writing speechs

You should keep some simple and affective topics on which children can speak on. But still good.

this really helped me I am trying to look for a speech and this helped me ALOT!!!!thanks and had lots of good ideas

it’s very good for a child under like 8 but i am 9 and i use it and when our teacher said were have a speech contest i flip out! but i found this web site and it helped me a lot. In fact, i won the speech contest!

Ok you guys are good in all but I feel like I don’t know if kids are going to want to listen to these baby ideas and where baby’s come from and I am in grade six and I don’t think people really want to listen but you guys ar good for like grade threes or something like that because I don’t think people over the grade of four are going to want to listen to this

OK you guys r good but i need more ideas all of are cool but i need to win a speech contest

I love the ideas kind of random but still funny and interesting

please help me to write speech

ya i’m in a speech contest too and thx you have helped me lot’s 🙂

I couldn’t think of anything so I simply did: why I can’t think of a speech topic!

I LOVE your topic Me it inspires me and I think I am going to write about that for my speech contest entry.

i LOVVVE the ideas im going to come first in my speech comments

i wish you would give more responsible topics because i don’t want to write a speech on the steps to write a flower i would want to amaze the judges with a out of this world speech not a stupid one i am in sixth grade and i am about to do a huge essay contest and i want to write something jaw dropping

thank you!!! this is very helpful to us it give us more confidence and knowledge

I need a topic that I can talk about for 20 MINUTES!!!. These topics seem too trivial for an impromptu speech for 20 minutes, but good topics for shorter speeches!

love your ideas so good you really have a brillant brain sir

Thank u a lot

No this is not the topics i am looking for….. I’m looking for persuasive speeches could u please add topics for that

Winning Isn’t Everything

Well, it’s pretty good for school, but I need topics like “Benefits of ___” or “What we should do about pollution”, etc. I’m doing this for a Public Speaking class and we have to do speeches sort of like a ‘TED talk’

I want a speech on the Democratic for my school

I’m kinda annoyed they don’t take you to a site that helps you write it like I need this thing next Monday!

I love those crazy and cute topics….once I read them they grab my heart at once and now my mummy is saying me to make ur speech on this and that blaa … blaaa…. but I can’t leave those cute science topics….thank you so much for whoever have those kind of sweet topics

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