Teaching a Speech and Debate Class for      Homeschoolers

by Donna Reish

 November 2004

For the past four years, we have been teaching and coaching speech and debate for homeschoolersin northeast Indiana. Last year, we took the plunge and began writing materials and speaking to those who wish to begin speech and debate classes and clubs in their

communities. We try to share our experiences with others because speech and debate are

such vital skills for students to acquire. We have had great joy in watching a student who

was afraid to answer the telephone or stand up at the end of his table in class in front of

four other students to talk for thirty seconds about his favorite book become an excellent

speaker who wins competitive speech events---and then goes on to preach at his church

or lead someone to Christ.

Public speaking is a skill that most young people are terrified of learning. They often do

not have opportunities to practice this skill in the home environment. Debate is another

excellent communication and thinking skill that is truly best taught in a group

environment due to the nature of needing four students in which to debate, as well as

others to give feedback. Both skills equip students “to be ready to give an answer to those

who ask of the hope that is within them”; prepare them for being leaders in their families,

communities, and nation; and give them confidence and preparation to face job

interviews, scholarship reviews, and much more.

Speech, Debate, or Both?

Speech and debate are often thought of together simply because in order to debate, a

student must learn to speak. One can speak without learning debate skills, but we

combine the two for the most effective outcome. Our experience has been that a student

often “just wants to do debate”—none of those speech things—then gets involved in

speech and loves it as well, The same is true of those who think debate looks too difficult

and only want to do speech. Once they get a taste of debating, they enjoy it too. This

article will assume that you desire to start a class or club for both subjects, and you can

pick and choose the approaches if only one of them is desired.

What Is Debate?

Policy debate is the most popular form of debate and the one that we teach the most

extensively. It is a four person debate competition in which two teams of two students

debate against each other in a ninety minute round of competition. Each student has

certain speeches (They speak equally and in a certain order.), and each one has a chance

to do cross-examination on a member of the opposing team. In a debate tournament, each

team will have opportunities to be the “affirmative” team and the “negative” team the

same number of times (except in the case of a bye); thus, each student must learn,

research, and study that year’s topic extensively enough to argue both sides at any given

moment.

The resolution (the topic that will be debated) is set at the beginning of the academic

year, and all students debate about the same topic the entire year—on both sides. A team

(of two students) writes what is called a debate plan and uses that plan for the whole year

to argue that the resolution should be changed (though teams often rewrite plans

throughout the year as their plan gets solved by the government mid-season!). When the

team is on the negative side during a tournament, they argue that the affirmative team’s

plan will not work and the United States should stick with the current system. (Last

year’s resolution was that the US should change its policy toward one or more of its

protectorates.)

We coach and teach policy debate in preparation for tournaments that are sponsored by

debate and speech clubs all around the country, following the National Christian

Forensics Communication Association (NCFCA) guidelines and resolution. This is the

home school debate and speech league. It was founded several years ago by Home

School Legal Defense and Michael Farris’ daughter, Christy Shipe. A few years ago it

grew so large that it broke off as its own organization, and is today its own entity, no

longer a part of Home School Legal Defense Association (though HSLDA still supports

and encourages it and Christy Shipe is still on the board of the organization). In contrast

to public school (and even some Christian school leagues), NCFCA’s debate resolution

for each year is never a topic that forces a student to argue for something he is convicted

is wrong (e.g. abortion, euthanasia, etc.); the debate topic each year is never a moral

issue.

A Club or a Class?

Some people want to jump in to speech and debate right away by getting involved in

competitions. Others just desire for their students to learn the skills of speaking and

debating and will consider the competition later. If you desire to teach students the

fundamentals of speech and debate, you may want to start by offering a class. Then, any

students who enjoy either speech or debate (or both) may pursue competition by forming

a speech and debate club.

In our area, we offer a class each fall for thirteen weeks in which we teach the

fundamentals of policy debate and public speaking. The second semester of the school

year, any students who desire (those from our class, from previous classes, or those

taught at home without a group) may join our speech and debate club. As a club (during

the second semester of the academic year), we do not have formal classes, but instead go

to tournaments together, host home tournaments, share evidence and information, and

have practice sessions. The primary teaching comes through the first semester class. Last

year, we had fifty students in the class in the fall. At the end of the class, all of the

students were required to participate in one tournament (unless parental permission was

given to not participate) in speech, debate, or both. During the second semester, twentyfive

of those fifty students went on to be in the club and compete in one to eight

tournaments.

Starting a Speech and Debate Class

To start a speech and/or debate class in your area, you might want to do any or all of the

following:

1. Find a place to hold the class. Secure a site that is large enough for the group

you think you will have attending. This site should have one large meeting room

(size is dependent upon the number of students you anticipate) and some smaller

rooms to break up into to practice speeches. When we had thirty students, we had

a meeting room that was large enough for five or six eight-foot tables and at least

six other rooms to break up and debate and speak in. When we had fifty students,

we had eight or nine eight-foot tables in one large room and another ten rooms for

debating and speaking in small groups.

2. Determine class length and times. Decide on the length of your class and the

number of sessions. We found that we needed a minimum of three hours per week

for our class, and four hours would be even better (again, this will be based on the

number of students in your class). We had thirteen weeks of classes the first year

and eleven the next. We do not recommend having less than twelve weekly

sessions, or you simply do not have time to cover all the basics.

3. Determine ages of students. You may choose to have high school students only

if your space is limited, or you may choose to just have a speech class for

elementary and junior high students, and skip debate this year. (If you do the

latter, you may desire to use a directed curriculum with places for the student to

fill in notes, outline speeches, etc. such as Speak Up! by Kayla and Cami Reish

(Training for Triumph, 2003). Since we teach speech and debate with the

intention of training students for competitions in the NCFCA league, we open our

classes to students ages twelve through eighteen by January 1st (the league

guidelines)—though our daughters do offer elementary and middle school speech

classes various times throughout the year.

4. Choose curriculum. Decide on your curriculum for the class. You may obtain

speech and debate books and tapes from the library and make up a curriculum as

you go along, or you may desire to get materials published by those involved in

homeschool speech and debate such as An Introduction to Argumentation and

Debate by Christy Shipe (HSLDA, 1998) or Ready to Give an Answer for the

Hope That Is Within You by Ray and Donna Reish (Training for Triumph, 2003).

The Shipe book is strictly debate, but it gives a lot of details concerning policy

debate to new students. Ready to Give an Answer covers speech and debate. Both

of them include forms for the NCFCA league. The Reish book has details on how

to host classes and evaluate students’ speeches. It is nice if each family involved

in the class can obtain a book, so the students can read the material at home that

you are presenting in class.

5. Advertise. You need to spread the word about your class. If your home school

community does not have speech and debate at this time, be ready for an

onslaught of students. Speech and debate seem to be sweeping the country in

home school circles. You need to determine ahead of time how many students you

will be able to handle according to the amount of help and space you have. You

might want to include this number in your advertising, along with a note

indicating that the spaces will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Usually

an article or advertisement in your local home school support group newsletter is

all that is needed for advertising.

6. Host a kick-off meeting. It is good if you get all the students and at least one

parent from each interested family together for a kick off meeting in which you

present the details of your class. Often, a parent will bring along the students he or

she wants to enroll in the class, and once the students see what it is all about, they

are eager to join. Likewise, a student may have heard about peers in a neighboring

community doing this and drag along a parent to see if he can join. Either way,

your kick off meeting will help some decide whether they really want to take the

class or not. In our kick off meeting, we like to have a mock debate (especially

humorous ones in which students are debating a funny topic, like whether they

should order pizza or whether sisters should share clothes) in order to let them get

a taste of what debate is like. We have had past students come and give an

explanation of debate, but all of the technical terms have a tendency to intimidate

the students and overwhelm the parents. Keep it simple. Also, we have past

students give various speeches from the NCFCA speech categories to show

parents and potential students the skills that can be developed in the class. (Be

sure to have a sample of a dramatic event, such as humorous interpretation or

dramatic interpretation as many students are interested in learning dramatics.)

7. Determine the costs. We have charged between nothing and a couple of dollars

per session per student for our beginning classes so far (just enough for the

Reishes to each supper after class and to pay our college students who help us).

The amount you charge (if any) will be based on the time you have for the class,

whether you use volunteers to help you with the class, whether you are paying

former debaters or college students to help teach, how much the families will

spend for materials, etc. In addition to class fees, be sure to calculate the costs of

any shared materials. For our class, we purchased some books and videos from

the NCFCA (in addition to each student’s text book purchase) and photocopied

debate plans, evidence, and speaker feedback forms. Do not underestimate the

cost of doing all of this. (You may want to charge $10 to $20 per student for copy

costs in the beginning with the option of having another payment midway

through, if needed.) By the end of our last class, we had over $800 in copying

costs for the shared debate evidence the students found that we photocopied for

each student, feedback forms, sample cases, etc., and during our last couple of

classes, we have used over three hundred feedback forms per session.

Structure of Each Class

The structure and format of your classes will be based on what you are teaching (speech,

debate, or a combination of the two), how many students you have, the length of your

class meetings, the number of class sessions you have, and more. In our classes, we

intermingle speech and debate each week. We have found the following structure to work

well for us:

1. At the beginning of each session, Ray writes the schedule on the board for that

day. We rarely get to everything we want to do, but this does get us started

anyway and lets the students know what is in store for the session. (As to what we

do each week, we go in order of the Ready book and teach the speech types and

debate theory a little each week, assigning outside reading, speeches, and doing

activities and games that reinforce that week’s teaching.)

2. Ray assigns two students each week to give a three to six minute devotional in

front of the whole class, preferably something about communication, if possible.

These two students kick off each class. (We start out recruiting former students

for this until new ones are comfortable enough to volunteer.)

3. While the devotionals are being shared, Ray discreetly goes around the room and

checks each student’s sermon notes. Each student is expected to take notes during

the sermon at his church; if a student is unable to attend church that week, he is

permitted to listen to a tape, radio broadcast, etc. and take notes over that. Ray

does not evaluate the notes at this time; he just makes sure they are done and

provides accountability. Each student’s note taking skills will increase through

frequent note taking.

4. Next, we usually have a lecture over the information they read from their Ready

to Give an Answer book about speech. We use a “Teach-Practice-Apply”

approach in our classes. This means that we teach the skills through outside

reading, sample speeches from past students, and lecture over the topic. Then the

student practices the skill by preparing a speech of the type that was taught.

(During the practice stage, the student will give his prepared speech one time to a

small group. He will receive feedback from parents and other students, then he

will go home and apply what he has learned to improve his speech. (This is one

aspect of the apply part of the TPA approach; the real apply step comes when he

competes, speaks at the nursing home or local support group, or shares his

testimony at church!) He will come back and give his speech again to the group

with the improvements made.

5. Ray or one of our college helpers will lecture about debate. Each week, we try to

give them little doses of what debate is all about rather than overwhelming them

with too much all at one time. We utilize many teaching methods for debate, such

as lecture over the outside reading they were assigned, mock debates, passing out

sample evidence and reviewing the components of a piece of evidence, passing

out sample plans and reviewing the parts of a plan, going over the speaker’s

positions and roles in the debate, having someone give a first affirmative speech

and as a group determining some arguments you could make against this plan, and

more. We do a lot of interaction and class participation; we also use games and

activities for teaching speech skills.

6. We assign homework, usually something as follows (about three hours worth of

homework per week): prepare a devotional (as it is each student’s turn), prepare

the new speech type, improve last week’s speech, read about speech in book, read

about debate in book, look up five pieces of evidence online, prepare a one page

brief about one of the countries that might be included in this year’s resolution,

take sermon notes, and more. Eventually, they will be writing debate plans, and,

very soon, debating in class with experienced debaters. (We bring in former

debaters for this.)

Important Tips for Speech and Debate Class

We feel that there are several key points that have made the difference between success

and failure in our classes. Keep these points in mind as you prepare for your class:

1. Note taking is one of the most vital components for good speaking, debating,

and writing. We teach various note taking skills for the different types of

speeches, and we also expect students to take notes each week on a sermon. Home

schooled students often do not have good note taking skills as they are not

expected to practice this skill in the home. We emphasize the fact that note taking

is for the student; thus, he should be able to use his notes to write from or speak

from at any given time. Our students know that Mr. Reish could call on them

anytime to give a “mini sermon” from their sermon notes. The purpose of taking

notes is to be able to use them!

2. Research is a vital tool for good debating. We list web sites in our book in

which they can find evidence. The NCFCA web site (www.ncfca.org) gives sites

to look into. There are books published each year with evidence in them already;

the sources of these pieces of evidence will give the students further links to look

into. We start the students researching from the very first week. We assign certain

countries for them to find information about. They either come back with a

written brief about that country or a speech about it. Sharing knowledge that the

students acquire through research makes the research even more valuable.

Evaluating pieces of evidence in class early on teaches the students what to look

for in evidence---credible sources, format of evidence, importance of dates, etc.

3. Have students speak immediately about topics they already know. Students

should begin speaking immediately about things they know. During the first class,

students are surprised to find that they will speak two to four times each! It does

no good to prolong the speaking assignments “until they get better at it.” The only

way to dispel fears of speaking is to speak. We start our students out speaking the

first week about themselves for thirty seconds, their summer for one to three

minutes, and some other personal topic (like favorite book or favorite subject). By

speaking about something they know, their fears are lessened. We briefly teach

the type of speech they will be giving (introduction speech, personal speech, etc.),

then the students speak!

4. Break up into small groups within the room for students to speak. We have

our students speak for the first few weeks at the end of eight-foot tables

simultaneously. (All nine eight-foot tables have speakers speaking at the ends of

them at the same time.) This sounds confusing, but it is really profitable. For one

thing, the student is not expected to speak in a quiet room with many people

listening to him. The others in the room kind of drown out his errors! Secondly, it

takes less class time to quickly teach about a topic and then have everyone do it at

first. It is not intimidating to the students since everyone else is doing it too.

5. Branch out into rooms for longer, more polished speeches. After several

weeks, students will break up into groups and go to individual rooms to speak and

debate. By then, they have prepared the various types of speeches ahead of time

(dramatics, persuasive, informative, etc.), and they are more confident to give

their speeches. Continue to have students speak often! Each student should have

the opportunity to speak at least a couple of times per week to a small group or

table of students and parents.

6. Have students prepare some speeches in class. During the first couple of weeks,

we have the students speak about topics they are familiar with and that do not

require research. We give them ten to fifteen minutes during class to prepare,

during which we will roam around and help those who are struggling with the

outlining or thinking process.

7. Feedback is one of the most important aspects of speech class. I cannot stress

enough the feedback process of speech class. Every time a student speaks in our

class, at least two, but preferably four to six, people give feedback on feedback

forms. You may use the feedback forms provided in the Reish book or use the

judges’ forms at the NCFCA web site, or design your own feedback forms.

Basically, the student needs to know what he did right and what he did wrong. He

needs to know ways that he can improve his speech. That is what feedback is all

about.

8. Welcome help from parents. We take all the help we can get in our classes. The

more parents who are there giving feedback, taking small groups to rooms to

debate or speak, assisting students with outlining, etc., the better. Students seem

to put more stock in the parents’ feedback forms than they do their peers’.

9. Make your speech class a safe environment. We enjoy having fun with our

students in class and at tournaments. The students know that Mr. and Mrs. Reish

will be there to help them with their speeches, improve their skills, and have an

enjoyable time in the process. They also know that we, under no circumstances,

will tolerate making fun of others’ abilities. From the beginning, make it known

that no teasing and put-downs will be tolerated. The only way students can

improve their skills is if they feel comfortable in the environment in which they

are speaking. No exceptions.

Teaching speech and debate has been rewarding for us. Helping students become “ready

to give an answer” has been rewarding for us. Investing in the lives of others always is.

For more information and speech help, see our E-Catalog. We have cassette tapes of

sample speeches and a mock debate, tips on starting a class, and how to’s of speech

writing and delivery, in addition to our books Ready to Give an Answer and Speak Up!

• Comments (0) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Teaching a Speech and Debate Class for      Homeschoolers

by Donna Reish

 November 2004

For the past four years, we have been teaching and coaching speech and debate for homeschoolersin northeast Indiana. Last year, we took the plunge and began writing materials and speaking to those who wish to begin speech and debate classes and clubs in their

communities. We try to share our experiences with others because speech and debate are

such vital skills for students to acquire. We have had great joy in watching a student who

was afraid to answer the telephone or stand up at the end of his table in class in front of

four other students to talk for thirty seconds about his favorite book become an excellent

speaker who wins competitive speech events---and then goes on to preach at his church

or lead someone to Christ.

Public speaking is a skill that most young people are terrified of learning. They often do

not have opportunities to practice this skill in the home environment. Debate is another

excellent communication and thinking skill that is truly best taught in a group

environment due to the nature of needing four students in which to debate, as well as

others to give feedback. Both skills equip students “to be ready to give an answer to those

who ask of the hope that is within them”; prepare them for being leaders in their families,

communities, and nation; and give them confidence and preparation to face job

interviews, scholarship reviews, and much more.

Speech, Debate, or Both?

Speech and debate are often thought of together simply because in order to debate, a

student must learn to speak. One can speak without learning debate skills, but we

combine the two for the most effective outcome. Our experience has been that a student

often “just wants to do debate”—none of those speech things—then gets involved in

speech and loves it as well, The same is true of those who think debate looks too difficult

and only want to do speech. Once they get a taste of debating, they enjoy it too. This

article will assume that you desire to start a class or club for both subjects, and you can

pick and choose the approaches if only one of them is desired.

What Is Debate?

Policy debate is the most popular form of debate and the one that we teach the most

extensively. It is a four person debate competition in which two teams of two students

debate against each other in a ninety minute round of competition. Each student has

certain speeches (They speak equally and in a certain order.), and each one has a chance

to do cross-examination on a member of the opposing team. In a debate tournament, each

team will have opportunities to be the “affirmative” team and the “negative” team the

same number of times (except in the case of a bye); thus, each student must learn,

research, and study that year’s topic extensively enough to argue both sides at any given

moment.

The resolution (the topic that will be debated) is set at the beginning of the academic

year, and all students debate about the same topic the entire year—on both sides. A team

(of two students) writes what is called a debate plan and uses that plan for the whole year

to argue that the resolution should be changed (though teams often rewrite plans

throughout the year as their plan gets solved by the government mid-season!). When the

team is on the negative side during a tournament, they argue that the affirmative team’s

plan will not work and the United States should stick with the current system. (Last

year’s resolution was that the US should change its policy toward one or more of its

protectorates.)

We coach and teach policy debate in preparation for tournaments that are sponsored by

debate and speech clubs all around the country, following the National Christian

Forensics Communication Association (NCFCA) guidelines and resolution. This is the

home school debate and speech league. It was founded several years ago by Home

School Legal Defense and Michael Farris’ daughter, Christy Shipe. A few years ago it

grew so large that it broke off as its own organization, and is today its own entity, no

longer a part of Home School Legal Defense Association (though HSLDA still supports

and encourages it and Christy Shipe is still on the board of the organization). In contrast

to public school (and even some Christian school leagues), NCFCA’s debate resolution

for each year is never a topic that forces a student to argue for something he is convicted

is wrong (e.g. abortion, euthanasia, etc.); the debate topic each year is never a moral

issue.

A Club or a Class?

Some people want to jump in to speech and debate right away by getting involved in

competitions. Others just desire for their students to learn the skills of speaking and

debating and will consider the competition later. If you desire to teach students the

fundamentals of speech and debate, you may want to start by offering a class. Then, any

students who enjoy either speech or debate (or both) may pursue competition by forming

a speech and debate club.

In our area, we offer a class each fall for thirteen weeks in which we teach the

fundamentals of policy debate and public speaking. The second semester of the school

year, any students who desire (those from our class, from previous classes, or those

taught at home without a group) may join our speech and debate club. As a club (during

the second semester of the academic year), we do not have formal classes, but instead go

to tournaments together, host home tournaments, share evidence and information, and

have practice sessions. The primary teaching comes through the first semester class. Last

year, we had fifty students in the class in the fall. At the end of the class, all of the

students were required to participate in one tournament (unless parental permission was

given to not participate) in speech, debate, or both. During the second semester, twentyfive

of those fifty students went on to be in the club and compete in one to eight

tournaments.

Starting a Speech and Debate Class

To start a speech and/or debate class in your area, you might want to do any or all of the

following:

1. Find a place to hold the class. Secure a site that is large enough for the group

you think you will have attending. This site should have one large meeting room

(size is dependent upon the number of students you anticipate) and some smaller

rooms to break up into to practice speeches. When we had thirty students, we had

a meeting room that was large enough for five or six eight-foot tables and at least

six other rooms to break up and debate and speak in. When we had fifty students,

we had eight or nine eight-foot tables in one large room and another ten rooms for

debating and speaking in small groups.

2. Determine class length and times. Decide on the length of your class and the

number of sessions. We found that we needed a minimum of three hours per week

for our class, and four hours would be even better (again, this will be based on the

number of students in your class). We had thirteen weeks of classes the first year

and eleven the next. We do not recommend having less than twelve weekly

sessions, or you simply do not have time to cover all the basics.

3. Determine ages of students. You may choose to have high school students only

if your space is limited, or you may choose to just have a speech class for

elementary and junior high students, and skip debate this year. (If you do the

latter, you may desire to use a directed curriculum with places for the student to

fill in notes, outline speeches, etc. such as Speak Up! by Kayla and Cami Reish

(Training for Triumph, 2003). Since we teach speech and debate with the

intention of training students for competitions in the NCFCA league, we open our

classes to students ages twelve through eighteen by January 1st (the league

guidelines)—though our daughters do offer elementary and middle school speech

classes various times throughout the year.

4. Choose curriculum. Decide on your curriculum for the class. You may obtain

speech and debate books and tapes from the library and make up a curriculum as

you go along, or you may desire to get materials published by those involved in

homeschool speech and debate such as An Introduction to Argumentation and

Debate by Christy Shipe (HSLDA, 1998) or Ready to Give an Answer for the

Hope That Is Within You by Ray and Donna Reish (Training for Triumph, 2003).

The Shipe book is strictly debate, but it gives a lot of details concerning policy

debate to new students. Ready to Give an Answer covers speech and debate. Both

of them include forms for the NCFCA league. The Reish book has details on how

to host classes and evaluate students’ speeches. It is nice if each family involved

in the class can obtain a book, so the students can read the material at home that

you are presenting in class.

5. Advertise. You need to spread the word about your class. If your home school

community does not have speech and debate at this time, be ready for an

onslaught of students. Speech and debate seem to be sweeping the country in

home school circles. You need to determine ahead of time how many students you

will be able to handle according to the amount of help and space you have. You

might want to include this number in your advertising, along with a note

indicating that the spaces will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Usually

an article or advertisement in your local home school support group newsletter is

all that is needed for advertising.

6. Host a kick-off meeting. It is good if you get all the students and at least one

parent from each interested family together for a kick off meeting in which you

present the details of your class. Often, a parent will bring along the students he or

she wants to enroll in the class, and once the students see what it is all about, they

are eager to join. Likewise, a student may have heard about peers in a neighboring

community doing this and drag along a parent to see if he can join. Either way,

your kick off meeting will help some decide whether they really want to take the

class or not. In our kick off meeting, we like to have a mock debate (especially

humorous ones in which students are debating a funny topic, like whether they

should order pizza or whether sisters should share clothes) in order to let them get

a taste of what debate is like. We have had past students come and give an

explanation of debate, but all of the technical terms have a tendency to intimidate

the students and overwhelm the parents. Keep it simple. Also, we have past

students give various speeches from the NCFCA speech categories to show

parents and potential students the skills that can be developed in the class. (Be

sure to have a sample of a dramatic event, such as humorous interpretation or

dramatic interpretation as many students are interested in learning dramatics.)

7. Determine the costs. We have charged between nothing and a couple of dollars

per session per student for our beginning classes so far (just enough for the

Reishes to each supper after class and to pay our college students who help us).

The amount you charge (if any) will be based on the time you have for the class,

whether you use volunteers to help you with the class, whether you are paying

former debaters or college students to help teach, how much the families will

spend for materials, etc. In addition to class fees, be sure to calculate the costs of

any shared materials. For our class, we purchased some books and videos from

the NCFCA (in addition to each student’s text book purchase) and photocopied

debate plans, evidence, and speaker feedback forms. Do not underestimate the

cost of doing all of this. (You may want to charge $10 to $20 per student for copy

costs in the beginning with the option of having another payment midway

through, if needed.) By the end of our last class, we had over $800 in copying

costs for the shared debate evidence the students found that we photocopied for

each student, feedback forms, sample cases, etc., and during our last couple of

classes, we have used over three hundred feedback forms per session.

Structure of Each Class

The structure and format of your classes will be based on what you are teaching (speech,

debate, or a combination of the two), how many students you have, the length of your

class meetings, the number of class sessions you have, and more. In our classes, we

intermingle speech and debate each week. We have found the following structure to work

well for us:

1. At the beginning of each session, Ray writes the schedule on the board for that

day. We rarely get to everything we want to do, but this does get us started

anyway and lets the students know what is in store for the session. (As to what we

do each week, we go in order of the Ready book and teach the speech types and

debate theory a little each week, assigning outside reading, speeches, and doing

activities and games that reinforce that week’s teaching.)

2. Ray assigns two students each week to give a three to six minute devotional in

front of the whole class, preferably something about communication, if possible.

These two students kick off each class. (We start out recruiting former students

for this until new ones are comfortable enough to volunteer.)

3. While the devotionals are being shared, Ray discreetly goes around the room and

checks each student’s sermon notes. Each student is expected to take notes during

the sermon at his church; if a student is unable to attend church that week, he is

permitted to listen to a tape, radio broadcast, etc. and take notes over that. Ray

does not evaluate the notes at this time; he just makes sure they are done and

provides accountability. Each student’s note taking skills will increase through

frequent note taking.

4. Next, we usually have a lecture over the information they read from their Ready

to Give an Answer book about speech. We use a “Teach-Practice-Apply”

approach in our classes. This means that we teach the skills through outside

reading, sample speeches from past students, and lecture over the topic. Then the

student practices the skill by preparing a speech of the type that was taught.

(During the practice stage, the student will give his prepared speech one time to a

small group. He will receive feedback from parents and other students, then he

will go home and apply what he has learned to improve his speech. (This is one

aspect of the apply part of the TPA approach; the real apply step comes when he

competes, speaks at the nursing home or local support group, or shares his

testimony at church!) He will come back and give his speech again to the group

with the improvements made.

5. Ray or one of our college helpers will lecture about debate. Each week, we try to

give them little doses of what debate is all about rather than overwhelming them

with too much all at one time. We utilize many teaching methods for debate, such

as lecture over the outside reading they were assigned, mock debates, passing out

sample evidence and reviewing the components of a piece of evidence, passing

out sample plans and reviewing the parts of a plan, going over the speaker’s

positions and roles in the debate, having someone give a first affirmative speech

and as a group determining some arguments you could make against this plan, and

more. We do a lot of interaction and class participation; we also use games and

activities for teaching speech skills.

6. We assign homework, usually something as follows (about three hours worth of

homework per week): prepare a devotional (as it is each student’s turn), prepare

the new speech type, improve last week’s speech, read about speech in book, read

about debate in book, look up five pieces of evidence online, prepare a one page

brief about one of the countries that might be included in this year’s resolution,

take sermon notes, and more. Eventually, they will be writing debate plans, and,

very soon, debating in class with experienced debaters. (We bring in former

debaters for this.)

Important Tips for Speech and Debate Class

We feel that there are several key points that have made the difference between success

and failure in our classes. Keep these points in mind as you prepare for your class:

1. Note taking is one of the most vital components for good speaking, debating,

and writing. We teach various note taking skills for the different types of

speeches, and we also expect students to take notes each week on a sermon. Home

schooled students often do not have good note taking skills as they are not

expected to practice this skill in the home. We emphasize the fact that note taking

is for the student; thus, he should be able to use his notes to write from or speak

from at any given time. Our students know that Mr. Reish could call on them

anytime to give a “mini sermon” from their sermon notes. The purpose of taking

notes is to be able to use them!

2. Research is a vital tool for good debating. We list web sites in our book in

which they can find evidence. The NCFCA web site (www.ncfca.org) gives sites

to look into. There are books published each year with evidence in them already;

the sources of these pieces of evidence will give the students further links to look

into. We start the students researching from the very first week. We assign certain

countries for them to find information about. They either come back with a

written brief about that country or a speech about it. Sharing knowledge that the

students acquire through research makes the research even more valuable.

Evaluating pieces of evidence in class early on teaches the students what to look

for in evidence---credible sources, format of evidence, importance of dates, etc.

3. Have students speak immediately about topics they already know. Students

should begin speaking immediately about things they know. During the first class,

students are surprised to find that they will speak two to four times each! It does

no good to prolong the speaking assignments “until they get better at it.” The only

way to dispel fears of speaking is to speak. We start our students out speaking the

first week about themselves for thirty seconds, their summer for one to three

minutes, and some other personal topic (like favorite book or favorite subject). By

speaking about something they know, their fears are lessened. We briefly teach

the type of speech they will be giving (introduction speech, personal speech, etc.),

then the students speak!

4. Break up into small groups within the room for students to speak. We have

our students speak for the first few weeks at the end of eight-foot tables

simultaneously. (All nine eight-foot tables have speakers speaking at the ends of

them at the same time.) This sounds confusing, but it is really profitable. For one

thing, the student is not expected to speak in a quiet room with many people

listening to him. The others in the room kind of drown out his errors! Secondly, it

takes less class time to quickly teach about a topic and then have everyone do it at

first. It is not intimidating to the students since everyone else is doing it too.

5. Branch out into rooms for longer, more polished speeches. After several

weeks, students will break up into groups and go to individual rooms to speak and

debate. By then, they have prepared the various types of speeches ahead of time

(dramatics, persuasive, informative, etc.), and they are more confident to give

their speeches. Continue to have students speak often! Each student should have

the opportunity to speak at least a couple of times per week to a small group or

table of students and parents.

6. Have students prepare some speeches in class. During the first couple of weeks,

we have the students speak about topics they are familiar with and that do not

require research. We give them ten to fifteen minutes during class to prepare,

during which we will roam around and help those who are struggling with the

outlining or thinking process.

7. Feedback is one of the most important aspects of speech class. I cannot stress

enough the feedback process of speech class. Every time a student speaks in our

class, at least two, but preferably four to six, people give feedback on feedback

forms. You may use the feedback forms provided in the Reish book or use the

judges’ forms at the NCFCA web site, or design your own feedback forms.

Basically, the student needs to know what he did right and what he did wrong. He

needs to know ways that he can improve his speech. That is what feedback is all

about.

8. Welcome help from parents. We take all the help we can get in our classes. The

more parents who are there giving feedback, taking small groups to rooms to

debate or speak, assisting students with outlining, etc., the better. Students seem

to put more stock in the parents’ feedback forms than they do their peers’.

9. Make your speech class a safe environment. We enjoy having fun with our

students in class and at tournaments. The students know that Mr. and Mrs. Reish

will be there to help them with their speeches, improve their skills, and have an

enjoyable time in the process. They also know that we, under no circumstances,

will tolerate making fun of others’ abilities. From the beginning, make it known

that no teasing and put-downs will be tolerated. The only way students can

improve their skills is if they feel comfortable in the environment in which they

are speaking. No exceptions.

Teaching speech and debate has been rewarding for us. Helping students become “ready

to give an answer” has been rewarding for us. Investing in the lives of others always is.

For more information and speech help, see our E-Catalog. We have cassette tapes of

sample speeches and a mock debate, tips on starting a class, and how to’s of speech

writing and delivery, in addition to our books Ready to Give an Answer and Speak Up!

• Comments (0) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

                            “Eight Daily Habits for ‘08”

                                                     Donna Reish

It’s a new year and with it comes new opportunities to do the things we want to do—and not do the things we don’t want to do, as Paul puts it. How many of us make resolutions over and over again only to fizzle out by March (or earlier)? How many of us have awesome plans in January to do more for God, train our children’s hearts more, and generally be more successful during the new year?

I used to make long, elaborate resolutions—complete with subpoints and sub-subpoints on how to achieve them! Even with all of that detail and thought, I still found myself floundering. Now I don’t make grandiose plans to be and to do every January. Instead, in January, and anytime I want to make a change, I take baby steps. Little, daily steps towards the goals I might have.

For example, instead of revamping the entire schedule, sure that next week I will start my day an hour earlier, exercise with the kids, put food in the crock pot every morning, read aloud for two hours before lunch, etc. etc., I do one of two things: (1) Start with the beginning of the day and change that according to what I think will make things run more smoothly—just one small change; or (2) Start with the most important change I want to make, and just do that item. Not long lists of dozens of improvements. Just one change; baby steps towards success. One change that I can implement today. One change only—until I have that one under control. Then, I’ve been successful already, so I know I can do another. Success breeds more success. Positive changes breed more positive changes.

Of course, I didn't come up with this idea on my own. (I am an "idea lifter"---lifting ideas from other people and using them for myself!) It actually originated with our mentors, Terry and Esa Everroad, nearly twenty-five years ago. (Boy, when I say things like "twenty years ago" and "twenty-five years ago," I feel reaaallllly old!) Terry told Ray to meet with me once a week and just listen. Ask me what was wrong, what I wanted changed, what I needed from him. Then, together, choose one thing--just one--that we would work on improving. When that was better, choose another, then another, then another. He told Ray to do this until one week he would ask me, and I would have nothing to say. Then, he told Ray, he could consider his own needs. Good selflessness advice for husbands, huh? (Well, for wives, too.)

And the same idea can be duplicated in any area of our lives--eating more healthfully, schooling better, building stronger relationships. One change at a time. Baby steps. Then another, then another. Not life remodeling all at once. Just one goal at a time.

To start out this new year, I want to give you “Eight Daily Habits for ‘08”—eight things that I have found make my day run more smoothly, create the environment I want in my home, and cause me to have success in my homeschool. These are eight things that I know help me and maybe they will help you, too. Now, there are one or two items that I have “fallen off the wagon on”—that I need to work on re-implenting myself (one at a time, of course)…but I won’t tell you which ones those are. J

I have found that it is the little things that make the difference. Spring cleaning is incredible...for a few days afterwards. However, making sure that the floors are swept, bathrooms are wiped down, and laundry is done every day is what makes me really sing. The big things will always be there--waiting to be done and waiting to be implemented, but the small things are what make each day better. The daily ins and outs. The habits that make us truly successful.

So…without further ado, I give you my eight daily habits* for success in ’08, not necessarily in any certain order. You choose the one that will make tomorrow a better day for you and your family—and implement it, one baby step at a time, to reach your goals in your homeschool and in your family.

Daily habit 1:  Rise with the Lord

When people used to tell me this, I, of course (being the big thinker that I am), envisioned an hour in the early morning hours, in a prayer closet uninterrupted, worshipping, praying, and reading the Word. Because that could never happen in my life (and I can give you eight good reasons why it never did!), I never truly felt like I was ever "rising with the Lord."

Then, I happened upon some verses that I could really sink my teeth into--meeting God in the night watches (perfect for us insomniacs!); God giving me a song in the night; etc. I might not be up at the crack of dawn, but I was often up throughout the night--those night watches and songs in the night were perfect for me!

Now that I am, well, maturing, I can't stay up quite as late as I used to, but I still pray at night that God will give me a song in the night and that I will wake up with that song. And when I consistently do this, I do wake up with a song in my heart, a song that God gave me in the night. Many days, before I even open my eyes, my mind will start reciting words to a song: "Lord, you are more precious than silver"; "Be thou my vision"; "Cast me not away from your presence, Oh, Lord"; and much more. I am rising with the Lord! He is giving me a song in the night, and I am waking up with His song on my lips.

What does rising with the Lord mean to you? It could mean waking up and reading the Bible or a devotional before you do anything else. It might mean a prayer time before you start your day. However God leads you to rise with Him, make it a daily habit! Do not make it so elaborate (an hour in the Word and an hour in prayer!) that you cannot continue it your entire life, but do make it meaningful enough to have an effect on your day (which should be the result of any encounter with God).

Daily habit 2: Make a place for God before retiring

Many years ago I found myself reciting a certain verse over and over to myself: "I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, Until I found out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob" (Psalm 132 4: & 5). I taught it to the children and then made it into a song that my girls and I enjoyed singing for some time:

                    I will not (I will not) close my eyes (close my eyes);

                    I will not (I will not) slumber (slumber).

                    Til I've made a place ('til I've made a place)...

                    For the God of Jacob (for the God of Jacob)

                    'Til I've made a place ('til I've made a place)

                    For my Lord (for my Lord).

                    Til I've made a place ('til I've made a place)...

                    For the God of Jacob (for the God of Jacob)

                    'Til I've made a place ('til I've made a place)

                    For my Lord.

Jacob was just a toddler at that time, and he, of course, thought we were singing about him--and often asked for the "Jakie song." However, for me, it became a nightly prayer/song. No matter what my day held; no matter how busy and hectic it was; no matter how I felt about this or that--I was telling the Lord that I would not go to sleep until I had cleared my mind and heart for Him.       

How can you make room for the Lord everyday? Some may feel that they are creating a place for God if they study the Bible before bed. Others might feel that they are clearing a path for him through family prayer or praying with your spouse. Regardless of what you do, do not close your eyes; do not slumber...until you've made a place for the Lord.

Daily habit 3: Teach your kids God's Word and the character of Christ before other subjects

When we start the day out with our children and God's Word, we are telling them that the Bible is the most important book to study and its truths are the most important knowledge to obtain. We decided nearly two dozen years ago that we would not teach academic subjects without teaching the Bible--and that it would be first. If we had time for the other subjects, great. If not, at least we had done the most important subject.

We have taught the Bible and character dozens of ways. There is no one "right way." Ray's favorite way is to open the Bible, read it together, and discuss it. I personally like using "programs"--reading from creation science books, character based books (like IBLP's Character Sketches), Bible story books for younger children (like our favorite, Family Bible Library--see our website for info on this), IBLP character booklets and other bulletins, etc. Ray has read through The Picture Bible with each child when each little one was between the ages of four and six. I read through the entire Family Bible Library with each child around that same time. We also enjoy reading devotional materials together: Max Lucado books, names of God books, and other "daily devotionals."

If this habit has eluded you in the past, just pick up a devotional or other "daily" type book (even if it is just a few paragraphs in length for each entry), and read it at breakfast every morning. That will get the ball rolling. From that will likely spring discussions and applications galore as you build those truths and principles into your children's lives.

Daily habit 4: Tie heart strings

We can get so caught up in work, teaching, outside demands, and physical needs (feeding and clothing) that we overlook one of the most important things that we should do each day--tie heart strings with our children. Most parents have their children's attention for eighteen years. Those are years that we can invest in them spiritually and build relationship with them.

It is so easy to get to the end of the day and discover that we have not squeezed our special squeeze, winked our special wink, or hugged our special hug. This is especially true as our children get older and no longer cuddle in our chair with us or have "rockies."

In addition to the physical closeness that our children need, they also need our verbal affirmation and communication. My and Ray's input into our three young adult daughters' lives (ages seventeen, twenty, and twenty-one) is like a daily healing balm to them. Two of them are heavily involved in demanding ministries--to the disabled and to the Spanish community (no English spoken!). One of them is searching for her place and working hard to prepare for her future. They need to connect with us. They need for us to tell them that we are proud of them and that we support their endeavors. They need for us to hurt with them when they are hurting. They need for us to say, "So, tell me about your day," and "Give me details!"

Tying daily heart strings is more difficult than simply reading a morning devotional or being sure the laundry is done each day. It isn't usually in the schedule. It is needed at the most inopportune times. The more you give, the more they seem to need. But it is essential. Our children need to have their heart strings tied to ours so that when the storms of life roll, they will have a safe haven of love and understanding---"Jesus" with arms and words of encouragement on this earth.

If you find that each day ends with no heart strings tied, try this little tip: In the corner of each day on your planner, put a little square. At the end of each day, write the initials of the child that you connected with that day in that little square. Purpose not to end a day without being able to write one sweet child's initials in a daily square. Each week you can look back over your planner and see who missed out that week. (You know, the squeakiest wheel gets the grease!) Then next week, you will know who needs focused on more.

Or try this tip that I did for years and years when our older children were younger: have a "day" for each child. We milked this day for all it was worth. It was the child's day to help me with dinner (or fix it herself as she got older); it was the child's day to do extra chores; it was the child's day to help teach the preschooler. But it was also his day to pick two books for story time, sit in the front seat of the van if we went somewhere, and sit closest to Mom during read alouds. Heart-wise (and often unbeknownst to the child), it was his day to get a longer blessing during blessing time, to have a longer time with Dad at bedtime, and to get extra attention from Mom throughout the day. This is especially helpful for families with several children. Each child needs a day! :)

Daily habit 5: Get completely ready for each day

Years ago, when my older children were younger, I seldom "fancied up" unless I was going somewhere. I often put on sweats, took my walk, then showered and put sweats back on. I figured that if nobody was going to see me except the kids and Ray, I may as well use that time for something else (efficiency expert gone wild here!). Then I met Geney and Lilli, yes, that's you, you two. They always looked great no matter whether I dropped in unexpectedly or saw them at the skating rink. And I decided that my family deserved more than ponytails and sweatpants.

Flylady (a self-help, organizing, cleaning guru online who helps thousands of women get control of their daily lives) sends out daily email reminders early each morning that read, "Dress down to your shoes." Her premise is that if you get completely ready for the day (as though you are going somewhere), you will feel more professional and serious about what you do each day.

Now that Ray and I dance most days for exercise I don't just have to get ready down to my shoes; I actually have to get "dressed up" (well, somewhat dressed up). The studio where we dance has a "no jeans and no sweats" unwritten policy. But you know what? I like it. I have come to enjoy not being dowdy all the time! I don't panic if someone pulls in the driveway. If I have to run a quick, unexpected errand, I don't have to make excuses for my appearance to everyone I see.

Whether you get "fancy" each day or simply get clean and presentable, I think you will enjoy it too. I feel so much better coming out to teach the kids and manage the home with myself pulled together. Besides my family deserves to have a happy, glowing mommy--and wife!

Daily habit 6: Read aloud to your kids (and husband!)

We have read aloud to our kids for years and years. When our older childen were little, they would get read to by me or Ray (through Bible, unit studies, devotions, and story time) three to five hours every day. Now neither of us has time to read aloud that much with the kids (and I admit I use talking books to substitute for me quite often!), but we still enjoy reading to and with the kids every day.

You have heard it all before--if you want to raise readers, you have to read to them. Children who are read to daily are x times more likely to become readers themselves, etc. etc. Guilt trip aside, we have found that reading has built a strong educational foundation--and tied heart strings at the same time. We have so many memories of "Jack, Max, and Axle at the Acme Painting Company" and "Morris learning to count," as well as inspiring devotional materials and awesome creation science books. And, yes, we have raised several readers. Even the ones who do not read lengthy pieces of literature love to read the Bible and inspirational materials. And we all still love gathering with a stack of Christmas books in December for long evenings of reading aloud.

Again, think baby steps. Just read from a Christian adventure chapter book every night towards the end of dinner. Or read two stories to the littles before naptime. Or stick a book of short stories in the van and read aloud while Dad drives. You don't have to read three to five hours a day. And you don't have to read certain books. Just enjoy reading and learning together.

Daily habit 7: Do most important chores before starting school each day

Twenty years ago we started the habit of doing the most important chores first thing each day. We might read together; then some will go do devotions while others exercise, but before we "hit the books" for the day, we do the most important daily chores for that day. For us, this means getting something started (or figured out) for the evening meal, doing a load of laundry (and starting another one), unloading and reloading the dishwasher, being sure the kitchen sink is empty, gathering all trash and taking it out, making the beds, putting away anything that is out from the night before, and wiping down the bathrooms.

About fifteen years ago, we lived in a home with a full basement, and our schoolroom was downstairs. One morning we went down to do Bible, and then I gave everyone assignments to go upstairs and do chores. Someone mentioned that it would sure be a lot easier if just did our schoolwork right after Bible then went upstairs and did chores. I almost agreed, but told the kids, "No, we want to come down to do school with a clean upstairs and all of the daily work done." Well, when we came upstairs to do our jobs, we smelled something burning--and our attic was on fire. We had just moved into that house, a rental, so we didn't have smoke detectors up yet, so if we had stayed downstairs, we might not have discovered the fire until it was too late (especially as long as it took me to get through several elementary children’s school every morning!). We called the fire department and got out of the house before any damage was done to anything except the attic. And I was quick to tell the kids that it pays to do chores first thing in the morning!

One thing about important chores that has helped me immensely in raising a large family with several children in homeschool at one time is to think of dishes and laundry the same as brushing my teeth. I never brush my teeth less than twice a day...and we never do dishes or laundry less than twice a day. Saving dishes for later and accumulating large amounts of laundry always depressed me. I cannot function in school, writing, and other household tasks with undone dishes and undone laundry.

If daily chores are keeping you from doing the important things each day, start with this one: a daily chore time for twenty minutes or so each morning in which each person has a list of tasks in order to conquer those "dailies" that keep getting in your way. If you have two, three, (or in our case, six!) people doing daily chores every morning, those ongoing, never-quite-finished tasks will not seem so big.

Daily habit 8: Kiss your spouse for at least fifteen seconds and hug for at least thirty seconds

This is a new "rule" for us! Don't blush...you know that you function better in all areas when you have kissed and hugged enough! My brother-in-law, a much cooler, younger person than Ray or I, came home this summer to visit following a marriage retreat. When anything got stressful for my sister, he would say (as only Uncle Leonard can), "Come here, honey. You know we didn't have our kissing and hugging yet. That's probably what's wrong." What a sweet husband!

Our kids thought our elevator kissing was unbearable already, without enduring it for a full fifteen seconds! But you know what? They secretly like it. :)

It isn’t, of course, the magic of kissing for fifteen seconds or hugging for thirty seconds that makes this a good daily habit. It is the fact that a fifteen second kiss is more than a peck, and a thirty second hug is more than a passing squeeze. The “time minimums” force us to stick around a little bit, stop what we’re doing, and be close to the one we love. Maybe there won't always be time for romance, hearts, flowers, and rainbows, but our marriage is the most important (and longest!) relationship we have on this earth. We need to protect it, nurture it, and shower it with kisses and hugs.

 So….there you have it. Eight daily habits* that make a huge difference in my home and school. I did want to add that "daily habits," for us, has always meant "more often than not." We do not beat ourselves up trying to achieve perfection. We have found through the years that if we can do those important things four days a week at least (more often than not), we will succeed over the long haul. Of course, hugging and kissing has to be 365 days a year to make me truly successful in life. J

• Comments (0) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link