Speak Up: Speeches, Podcasts and Pepeha

You need: hook-type cards: question, bold statement, fact, mini-story, poem · your topic · a timer

1. Write a one-sentence hook for your topic for each card, one minute each.
2. In fours, read each hook aloud. Listeners hold up a thumb if they want to hear more.
3. Keep your two best and add the angle sentence: 'This speech is really about…'.
4. Underline the shortest sentence. Is it doing a job?

How you'll know: Listeners can tell you the angle of your speech after hearing only the introduction.

Go further: Add a concrete detail (a colour, a place, a named object) to make your hook more specific.

You need: role cards: facilitator, speaker, listener, questioner, summariser · a discussion question · observer checklist

1. Five students sit in the inner circle with a role card each. Everyone else sits outside as observers.
2. Discuss the question for eight minutes. The listener must paraphrase at least twice: 'So you're saying…'.
3. Observers tick what each role did and note one moment the group moved forward.
4. Swap so a new five take the roles, and repeat with a new question.

How you'll know: The summariser can state where the group agreed and where it differed, and everyone was heard.

Go further: Take the facilitator role and bring a quiet member in without putting them on the spot.

You need: PEEL strips in four colours · the school-garden example paragraph · your speech angle

1. Label the example: which sentence is the Point, Evidence, Explain and Link?
2. Write your own four sentences on the four coloured strips.
3. Mix up your strips and ask a partner to put them in order. If they can't, a link is missing.
4. Glue the paragraph into your book and read it aloud.

How you'll know: A partner can reorder your strips correctly, and your Explain sentence adds something new rather than repeating.

Go further: Write a second PEEL paragraph using evidence from someone else's experience.

You need: your pathos paragraph · a partner · a highlighter

1. Write a flat, general sentence about your topic ('Some people get left out').
2. Rewrite it as an 'Imagine…' or 'Picture…' sentence that puts the listener inside one specific moment.
3. Add a short sentence straight after it for impact.
4. Read both versions to your partner. Ask which one they felt, and which word did it.

How you'll know: Your partner can name the feeling and the word or image that caused it.

Go further: Use sensory detail (a sound, a smell) in your 'Imagine…' sentence.

You need: three bare facts about your topic from trusted sources · connective cards: that means, because of this, as a result, that's not opinion

1. Write each fact on its own line, with its source.
2. Add an Explain sentence to each using a connective card.
3. Add a Link sentence that ties it back to your angle.
4. Choose the strongest one for your logos paragraph.

How you'll know: Each fact is followed by what it shows and why it matters to your angle.

Go further: Answer the 'that's just your opinion' objection in one confident sentence.

You need: A3 paper and coloured pencils · guidance from whānau or the school's te reo lead · Te Aka Māori Dictionary for pronunciation

1. Draw the places you belong to or stand in now: a maunga, an awa, a lake or the sea, your home, your family's heritage lands.
2. With whānau or your te reo lead, check which parts of a pepeha or mihi fit you, and what each line means.
3. Write your introduction line by line, and practise each te reo Māori word with the audio.
4. Say it to a partner, then to your group, standing tall and making eye contact.

How you'll know: You can say your introduction clearly, explain what each line means, and know that every connection in it is true for you.

Safety: Never guess or borrow iwi, hapū or waka connections. If you're not sure of your heritage, introduce yourself through the place you live and the people you are with now.

Go further: Open a class event or welcome a visitor with your mihi.

You need: a device with a voice recorder · headphones · a planning grid with three segments · a quiet corner

1. Plan three segments (for example an intro chat, an interview, a 'did you know?' fact) and who speaks in each.
2. Write signposts for each change: 'Coming up…', 'So that's the first thing…', 'Before we go…'.
3. Record each segment, keeping it conversational. Re-record anything that sounds read out.
4. Listen back with fresh ears and note one thing to cut and one thing to explain better.

How you'll know: A listener from another class can tell you the three parts of your episode and one thing they learned.

Safety: Use first names only. Don't say where anyone lives. Get whānau consent before any episode is shared outside the class.

Go further: Add an analogy that helps listeners picture something tricky ('It's like…').

You need: one line from your speech · a partner · a pencil to mark your cue cards

1. Say your line five ways: fast, slow, loud, soft, and with a pause before the key word.
2. Your partner says what each version made them feel or notice.
3. Mark your cue cards with symbols: / for a pause, underlining for stress, an arrow for speeding up.
4. Add one gesture that fits a key moment, and try it with your partner watching.

How you'll know: You can explain where and why you change pace, volume and pause, and your partner notices the effect.

Go further: Deliver your conclusion with no cue card at all.