Five-Week Plan
A week-by-week sequence from communication and voice to structure, listening, rehearsal and a short original speech.
Open resource →
Year 9 Power of Speech • Oratory
Fundamentals
A five-week unit on the foundations of public speaking. Students learn how communication works, how voice and body carry meaning, how to structure a speech, how to read an audience, how to listen and give feedback, and how to manage nerves. They finish by building and delivering a short original speech.
What this packet is. It contains 16 public resources, including this overview. Students move from the communication model and vocal technique to body language, clarity, structure, audience analysis, listening, nerve management, rehearsal and ethics. The examples and model speeches are original, and the success criteria are formative and labelled as such.
Unit outcomes
- Explain how speaker, message, audience, channel, feedback and context shape communication.
- Use breath, pace, pitch, volume and pause with control.
- Use stance, gesture, eye contact and movement purposefully.
- Speak clearly and adapt vocabulary to the audience.
- Structure a speech with a clear opening, signposted body and purposeful close.
- Analyse an audience and adjust register, evidence and examples.
- Listen actively and give specific, useful feedback.
- Plan, rehearse and deliver a short original speech with confidence.
The five-week shape
| Week | Focus |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | Communication, voice and body. Map the communication model; practise breath, projection, pace, stance and gesture; record a baseline reading. |
| Week 2 | Clarity, structure and audience. Work on articulation and emphasis; build openings, signposts and closes; analyse audience and register. |
| Week 3 | Listening, feedback and nerves. Practise active listening and peer feedback; learn preparation and regulation strategies for performance anxiety. |
| Week 4 | Rehearsal and delivery. Chunk the speech, mark the script, rehearse with an audience, record and revise. |
| Week 5 | Build, deliver and reflect. Draft a short original speech, rehearse, deliver it and reflect on one specific change. |
Public resources
Outcomes and Skills
What students learn, how the skills connect, and what a strong short speech looks like.
Open resource →Speech as Communication
Speaker, message, audience, channel, feedback and context: what actually happens when someone speaks.
Open resource →Voice and Breath
Projection, pace, pitch, pause and vocal care: how to fill a room without shouting.
Open resource →Body and Presence
Stance, gesture, eye contact and movement: how to look like you mean it without performing.
Open resource →Clarity and Articulation
Consonants, stress, pace and plain language: how to be understood at the back of the room.
Open resource →Structure and Signposting
Openings, signposts and closes: how to help an audience follow a speech they can only hear once.
Open resource →Audience and Purpose
Who is listening, what they need, and how to adjust register, evidence and examples.
Open resource →Listening and Feedback
How to listen closely, give specific feedback and use it without defensiveness.
Open resource →Managing Nerves
Practical, evidence-informed ways to prepare for and manage performance anxiety.
Open resource →Rehearsal and Delivery
How to practise deliberately, mark a script and deliver with control in a real space.
Open resource →Building a Speech
A complete workshop: from prompt and purpose to outline, draft, rehearsal and reflection.
Open resource →Ethics and Inclusion
Truth, consent, cultural respect and access: the responsibilities that come with a microphone.
Open resource →Teacher Notes
Planning, differentiation, sensitive content and classroom protocols for the Fundamentals unit.
Open resource →Sources and Provenance
What is original, what is excluded, and how the packet handles copyright and attribution.
Open resource →Planning and support
Read the teacher notes for planning, differentiation, sensitive content and participation guidance. The sources and provenance page records what is original, what is excluded and how the packet handles copyright. Differentiation is built into the teacher notes rather than published as a separate student page. The sources and provenance page records what is public, what is linked rather than copied, and what the packet deliberately leaves out.
No assessment instrument. This packet does not publish confidential class briefs, scores, bands, weights, task numbers, due dates or test papers. It is a teaching and formative-feedback resource. Teachers keep their own school instruments offline.
Last reviewed: October 2026. Counts on this page match the public HTML pages in this folder.