Speech Clarity for Class Presentations
Rehearsal protocol for carrying target sounds into a graded oral presentation.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Find the hard content words first. Every presentation has three or four subject-specific words that will be repeated a dozen times, and rehearsing those is worth more than rehearsing the whole talk. Record the sixty seconds and let the student rate it before you say anything — their rating is the skill and yours is information. Twenty minutes covers a rehearsal with a recording and a self-review.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentThe student works through the card on their own, listening for their target sound.Log as correct
- SignalUse a silent signal you agreed on, such as a tap on the table, when their target sound slips.Log as cued
- AskAsk 'Did that sound right?' and let the student try the word again.Log as cued
- ModelSay the word correctly; the student repeats it, then carries on.Log as cued
Adjust it
Slow the pace: the student plans each sentence before saying it.
Fade the signal. Record the student and have them count their own errors afterwards.
Matching IEP goal
During this activity, Student will produce their target sound correctly in structured conversation, self-correcting any error, in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than a nonverbal signal.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Eight rehearsal tasks aimed at a graded oral presentation: say your opening sentence three times, slower each time — which was clearest; present sixty seconds on a topic you know and record it; identify your three hardest content words and rehearse each five times; practise the transition, moving on to my next point; rate your own recording on rate, volume and clarity. A presentation is the highest-stakes speaking task in a school year.
What to listen for
Listen for rate rising under pressure. Almost everyone speeds up in front of an audience, and a student whose sound survives at a rehearsal rate and not at a presentation rate has a specific, predictable problem. Watch the transitions, which are the moments students look down at notes and lose their articulation entirely.
Carrying it home
Presenting to a family member is a real rehearsal and a genuinely different task from presenting to a mirror. One run-through with a real listener is worth three alone.
What's in this activity
- Say your opening sentence three times, slower each time. Which was clearest?
- Present sixty seconds on a topic you know. Record it and listen for your target sounds.
- Read your slide titles aloud with deliberate over-articulation.
- Identify your three hardest content words. Rehearse each one five times.
- Practice the transition: 'Moving on to my next point...'
- Answer an audience question in one clear sentence.
- Present standing, at conversational volume, watching your rate.
- Rate your own recording on rate, volume and clarity, 1 to 5 each.
Questions
- What ages is this for?
- Ninth through twelfth grade, for residual articulation errors heading into graded presentations.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all eight tasks are free to use with no account.
- Why focus on the content words?
- Because they repeat. Three subject-specific words said a dozen times each dominate how clear a presentation sounds, and rehearsing them is a far better use of time than running the whole talk again.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.