With 7 strong teachers and over 40 hardworking students, the Irvine Branch of AYLUS hosted the very first Speech and Debate class of its Summer Learning Experience on June 14, 2020! Through Zoom, passionate teachers taught inquisitive students ranging from grades first through sixth.
This course is built on encouraging students to gain better public speaking skills, teaching them the fundamentals of debate, and most importantly building self-confidence. Using breakout rooms to separate the grade levels, the first lesson for the lower grades covered the essential public speaking skills including enunciation, inflection, projection, pace, eye contact, posture, and more. Upper graders learned about the importance and overall basis of debate: to support your stance with both logical reasoning and evidence. They also continued to learn about the two styles of debate which they would encounter in their upcoming years in school and the ways clash occurs during a debate.
The lesson consisted of a balance between lectures and fun activities. One of which was an enunciation activity where students were told to talk with a pencil in their mouth and try to be as clear as possible. The end of the lesson was wrapped up with a Kahoot where students could test their mastery on the lesson.
With public speaking being one of the greatest fears, our goal is to shape these students to build a strong character and master this vital skill. We hope the students in this class continue to use these skills throughout their years of schooling and even as they grow into young adults in the real world.
Here are some pictures of the event:
Volunteers: Mannat Bawa (2 hrs), Aven Chew (2 hrs), Sarina Mody (2 hrs), Shaina Grover (2 hrs), Sunny Sun (2 hrs), Ayushi Kadakia (2 hrs), Brian Song (1.5 hrs).