Next week my seniors have to make 4-5 minute speeches to the class. It’s an assignment I include just to give students the experience of researching a topic, creating a professional PowerPoint and delivering a speech.
To make it interesting for students who give the speech as well as the kids who have to listen to all of the speeches, I allow students to select their own topics and submit them for my approval. Kids who really enjoy history select history topics, science kids select science topics, etc. Sometimes students research a contemporary topic or topics about contemporary culture. I’m always fascinated by the variety of their topics.
A week before we begin the topics, however, I still have students who have yet to submit possible topics. I have a rule that I will select the topic for students if they do not have an approved topic at least one week before they must give their speeches. A few years ago, I asked Michael, one of my most creative students to make a list of good topics. When I assign a topic to a student, I hold my pen over Michael’s list, drop the pen, and whatever it lands on is the topic I give the student who has procrastinated and failed to submit a topic.
I love Michael’s list, and each semester I usually have at least one student who wants a challenge who asks me to wave my pen over the list and find him a topic. Here’s Michael’s list of topics. Students are required to research the topics; they can’t just make up stuff for the speech (although that might be funny).
- The history of the stapler
- Fun with Global Warming
- How I know that the moon landings are fake
- Movie monsters and their effects on the ecosystem
- Famous stamp collectors (or rock collectors, or marble collectors)
- Stuff you can eat that you wouldn’t think is edible
- The ten greatest people named “Hubert” to ever live.
- How AAA batteries changed America
- The creation of elevator music
- The magical land under the kitchen sink
I’m open to new topics to add to my list!
