Speech Topics

Posts Tagged ‘speeches’

So, You’re an 8^th-Grader and Need a Great Speech Topic, Huh?

If you are an 8^th –grader who has been asked to write a speech, you’ve come to the right place for some great speech topics for your grade!

Writing an 8^th-grade level speech is not difficult at all once you understand what makes an interesting and memorable speech.

What you need to look for as a speech topic is what interests you and your friends the most; what do you talk about?

A Great 8^th-Grade Speech Needs to be Interesting to Other Kids and 8^th Grade Activities

A good speech does not have to be world-stopping news or awe-inspiring.

The “news” of 8^th-graders is what all the kids talk about—all the time. Listen to your friends and what subjects are most discussed like:

1. What types of things such as shopping for brand-name products like clothes  set kids apart from each other?

2. What kinds of computer games are most popular and why? Do you think playing computer games is the best kind of free-time activity? Why or why not?

3. What type(s) of music do you listen to? How did that type of music evolve? In other words, gear your speech on the history of the most popular music.
What is your favorite movie? Why? What story does the movie tell and how does it relate to you or the world around you?

4. Do you play an instrument? Who invented that instrument and how is it made? What is its “story?”

5. What is your favorite device? What is the history of the Ipod or cell phone? Why is it so important?

Interesting 8^th Grade Speech Topics that Talk about the World in and around Us

A great speech topic can talk about concerns you have in your ‘own world’ as well as concerns about world, state, and community issues.

1. What bothers you most about being an 8^th-grader? Do your parents understand that you are not a “kid” anymore? Or do you feel that kids your age are being forced to grow up too fast and “be adult?”

2. Do you think it’s more important than ever to grow your own food? Why? What’s the difference between store-bought and home-grown vegetables and fruit? Do you think that everyone should use a part of their yard to grow food instead of shrubs and grass?

3. Do you think that sexual abstinence should be encouraged? Are teenage pregnancies on the rise and how are such young parents coping with their newborns, work, and school?

4. Why do you think recycling is important? Do you recycle and, if so, how do you and your family do it? Could you think of ways to recycle more “stuff” at home? For example, you could write about making your own compost from discarded remains from fruits and vegetables to use to fertilize your yard.

5. Why are some animal species endangered? What are they and what happened to their environment? Are polar bears in trouble?

8^th Grade Speeches and Speech Topic Ideas on the Internet

A terrific speech can be written on just about anything you and your friends find interesting.

Is there something in your local newspaper or television that everyone is talking about?

One of the best and fastest ways to find a good speech topic is through the internet and news in your neighborhood and around the world.

Here are some great online resources:

1. CNN at http://www.cnn.com/ has breaking news on a variety of topics that could be used to write a speech. CNN features current affairs such as financial crisis, weather changes and problems, gun control, political and other interesting speech-worthy topics.

2. MSNBC at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/ also has technical, science, and as well as late-breaking news from around the world.

3. FoxNews at http://www.foxnews.com/ has news from around the world, also broken down into sections so that you can easily find a speech topic of great interest.

Putting Your 8^th Grade Speech Together

Remember that speech writing is a lot like writing a letter: you want everything in order to explain things from beginning to end.

Also remember that it’s okay to take a stand and be controversial. Many speeches that are honest and drive home a point may not please everyone, but the speech may be talked about for quite awhile—and therefore will be remembered.

• An easy-to-follow speech-writing template is located at http://www.ismckenzie.com/outline-template-for-writing-a-speech/.

Using Experiments to Write a Speech (any age): Experiments with Easy-to-Make Objects are Fun!

The best speech topics often focus on a “show and tell” aspect that keeps the attention of the audience.

I still remember being completely enthralled when building a solar-powered radio with my dad. The radio was comprised of a wooden cigar box, mica, and a few other components and, lo and behold, it worked using the light on my bedside stand! I would fall asleep listening to all kinds of things and couldn’t WAIT to show and explain my “solar radio” to my friends and classmates.

Not only do some projects wind around to great speeches but the excitement of the presenter/speaker creates an enthusiastic air in a roomful of people. Such speeches are delightful and have the added bonus of creating a memory shared by a parent and child.

Yes, Speeches are ‘Show and Tell’

“Show and Tell” was the mainstay for many of us during our elementary school years. We brought something to talk about and wrote about what we had to say about it.

Today, the best speeches use likely takeoff’s such as the use of a specimen, a PowerPoint show to show statistics or a whole host of other visual effects to make the point of their speeches—especially those that are geared toward being persuasive. It’s a “Show Me” world and, especially with persuasive speeches, one cannot discount the use of visual aids to make their point.

I don’t know what happened during the course of the years but many children became ‘speechless’ when told they had to give a speech. Speeches for children should remain “Show and Tell” and rightly so: to remove the connotation of talking about something out of thin air without a prop.

After all, ‘speeches’ are nothing the same thing as ‘presentations’ and both use “Show and Tell” to be effective.

The Best Speeches Come from a Child’s Heart

Don’t write the speech for your child but do take an active part in listening, helping to refine it, and help your child practice without fear of ‘being dumb’. The greatest gift you can give your child is to allow them to openly express themselves and correct when and if the language is off-kilter or could be embarrassing to the audience.

A child, through innocence, is exposed to so much ‘darkness’ through the news and other inputs. Can you help your child realize a positive outcome or solution to a situation affecting your community?

Does the adoption of kittens and puppies appeal to your child? Even if you cannot own one, children can identify the need for other living things being taken care of: with heart, warmth, and food. Can your child help to raise awareness of animal cruelty?

What is the Scope of Your Child’s Ambition?

“Scope” is a word used to describe not only a goal, but the observation of the outcome—and playing a role in it.

If your son or daughter likes excavation, collection of rocks and history, then explore that. What are your native plants and how has your area developed in the last one hundred years? Great speeches perk up the mind and make people think about the present and future. After all, the future comes from us that we pass down.

The Best Speeches by Children are Often Quite Funny

More than a few young girls have waltzed into their schoolroom with a pillow under their dresses.

And those same girls proceeded to talk about how they were getting a new brother or sister. While that could be of concern to many parents, the children have told their stories in such a cute and funny way, that adults were chuckling and applauding them.

Many “just is life” topics can be used for great speeches by little ones. Many of these stories have been featured in Time Life and Reader’s Digest: “Out of the Mouth of Babes.”

Help your child to decide on a speech and have him or her give you a demonstration. Be cautious when criticizing, however: Let your child show a part of the world from his/her own eyes’.

It’s not YOUR speech. Your child’s best speech will come from their soul.

The best speeches from elementary and middle school children come from the heart that is focused on what interests them as well as their concerns. You can take a monumental speech such as saving the forest and turning it into “Let’s Save Paper So the Trees aren’t Cut Down.”