Publisher's Synopsis
Say goodbye to fear of writing and public speaking in your home! Your teen can become a confident, skilled communicator! Teens learn to communicate effectively through writing and speaking in Communication 101: Essays and Speeches where students read classic essays before they write one. They listen to skilled orators before they give their own speeches and read one living book a month. Communication 101: Essays & Speeches, a one-credit high school English course, can be used at home or in a group setting.
Before we give a speech, we listen to a skilled orator. We start simple with reading a picture book aloud expressively. Your own family will make a great audience for your teen or combine with another family to get a bigger audience for speeches. This course has been a huge success in the co-op setting and even shy teens have enjoyed the challenge of speaking in front of their peers.
Students Will...
- Read & discuss Great works of literature in a book club setting
- Read a classic essay each month and look up vocabulary words
- Write an essay similar to the one they read
- Read essays aloud to family or homeschool co-op group
- Listen to great speeches by excellent speakers
- Give speeches in a safe atmosphere
- Write 5 timed essays
Students will listen to the following speakers:
- Ronald Reagan
- William F. Buckley
- John F. Kennedy
- Margaret Thatcher
- Winston Churchill
- Martin Luther King
- General Douglas MacArthur
- Ken Ham
Students will give the following speeches:
- Read picture book aloud
- Introductory speech
- Demonstration speech
- Personal testimony
- Persuasive speech
- Commercial
- Interview
- Extemporaneous
- Debate
Students will read essays by the following writers:
- G.K. Chesterton
- C.S. Lewis
- Cal Thomas
- William F. Buckley, Jr.
- Mark Twain
- Charles Lamb
- Sir Frances Bacon
- Founding Fathers
Students will write the following essays:
- Descriptive
- Narrative
- Article
- Letter to the Editor
- Persuasive
- Comparison
- Add Humor to an Old Essay
- Critique or Review
Grammar
Quick review of grammar in the beginning of the course and subsequent grammar reviews twice a month. However, this is based on the assumption that students have already studied grammar and just need review.
All the required essays are included in Communication 101: Essays & Speeches:
- "The South Sea House" by Charles Lamb
- "Of Travel" by Frances Bacon
- "Why the Articles Failed" (Anti-Federalist Paper)
- "The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union" (Federalist Paper)
- "So Help Me Darwin" by William F. Buckley
- "French and English" by G.K. Chesterton
- "Taming the Bicycle" by Mark Twain
You will need to purchase, or download from the internet, the following books:
- Elements of Style by E.B. White
- God in the Dock by C.S. Lewis (a collection of essays)
- The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
- The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
- Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
- Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
- The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
- Time Machine by H.G. Wells
