In our Primary classrooms, we are teaching the basics of public speaking to our 3- to 6-year-olds. The children in this age group are given opportunities to practice these skills each day. One daily job in each of our 3-6 classrooms is that of being "leader" for the day. Children get so excited about this responsibility! Some parents report to us that their child will wake up early or count the days until he or she gets to be the leader.  

With this leadership role comes an entire day of working on their public speaking skills. Each morning, the leader counts the number of children and reports who is missing from the group. He or she then completes the calendar and reports the month, day of the week, the date and the year. The leader also gets to be a meteorologist and report the weather that he or she has predicted for the day. Finally, the leader figures out and shares how many days of school we have had so far,  using the golden bead materials or counting straws to represent numbers.
 

Another responsibility of being the leader is to ring the bell numerous times throughout the school day and relay messages to the entire class. We expect the children to stop what they are doing and give their full attention to the leader's announcement. You may wonder, "What if my child is too shy to handle all of these responsibilities?" The answer is... just watch the kindergartners in our classroom! They are the ones who, without the teachers even having to ask them, step up and help the child that has not quite gained the confidence or skills necessary to handle these skills independently.
 

Along with serving as the leader for the day, we also give the children opportunities to practice public speaking in other ways. Many times we will pass a "talking rock." The aim of this exercise is for the children to share something about themselves with the group -  for example, their favorite part of winter break or what they love about school. The children are practicing their storytelling skills as they learn that there should be a beginning, middle and end to a story. They are also working on articulation and their expressive language skills. If a child is not confident in doing this activity, they simple say "pass" and the talking rock goes to the next child. We also have share time throughout the week, when the children get to sign up for a share and maybe bring in a special artifact or object from a trip. These objects are never toys, but perhaps a special rock or shell they found on a hike or trip. The children get a chance to share their object, and then ask the class for questions or thoughtful comments.
 

As Primary teachers, it is so rewarding to see the children that we have taught put the public-speaking skills they learned in the 3-6 Program to use as they confidently perform in a concert as a 6-9 or 9-12 student or speak at graduation.  The public speaking skills developed at WMS are a priceless gift that proves invaluable to our alumni, even as adults.

Additional Resources
"7 Ways to Teach Public Speaking to Kids"
"How to Build Confidence in Preschoolers and Toddlers with Public Speaking"
"Public Speaking & Communication"