Over the last few weeks you will have noticed some very strange voices coming from our classroom...... from vampire cries to shrieking coaches, and a gang of boys arguing over sandwiches!!!!
Room 18 have decided to take the bull by the horns in our preparation for speeches and make the voice work a top priority. Students have been learning vocal skills through play readings and have had lots of fun developing the quality of their expression, clarity, pace, volume and gesture to help all the characters come alive in their wacky journal plays.
One of the hardest things to get right in speech delivery is voice control and it is always the clincher of whether a good speech is transformed into a great speech. We all know how our nerves affect our voice, making even the most confident speaker be reduced to a raspy squeak at the most crucial moment.!
So....... students started with selecting a play to read to themselves and then in a circle read a part with the rest of the group. Background thinking is done about the type of character they have and how that knowledge transforms into an original voice using expression that fits the role... and then students practise bringing the character to life through the reading. Characters are swapped around so we see a range of emphasis and then after four readings the students are reading to share with the wider group... putting all their great thinking together in an entertaining presentation.
We have also been playing a game called just a minute, where a topic is given and a student will stand up and speak about it without using UMM's, hesitations or repetitions. It's great fun and ....... if you can top 2.35mins talking about "Fathers are far more exciting than Mothers", you will have beaten a couple of our clever boys!!! Have a go at home around the dinner table!!
Room 18 have had lots of fun and are feeling more confident in using their voice skills. They are looking forward to their speech delivery with excitement and growing confidence.