We brainstormed, voted, and decided. I have lots of speech possibilities in my files, but with the end of the semester looming and a few failed projects lingering, I want to end strong by turning the decision over to the students. With only three weeks left in the school year, Speech is going to get through another two rounds of the Impromptu Speech, present a skit, and use a debate as the final project.
The Handouts
The one catch I threw in was determined by cards. I used the deck of cards to randomly assign partners. Eighteen students, so ace through nine black and ace through nine red; find the other person that has the same number you do. Those two people are required to work together on this project, though each pair can join forces with any other pair in the room. This mixes things up a little bit and I’m really pleased with the way it worked out.
Instantly, groups gathered ideas for TV shows and movies to mine (three of four groups initially picked That 70’s Show). They hopped online to scour scripts. They ran with time in a more organized fashion than I’ve seen all year. This is very exciting.
That’s what got me thinking: what more does a handout need to declare? I feel like I spend an awful lot of time writing information that students never look at. They typically just want to know two things: when is it due and how much is it worth? The rest they’ll get through osmosis as the class talks about the assignment. And maybe all that blathering kills the initial excitement, something that contributes heavily to a student’s success or failure.