Public Speaking: Grades 4-5

Fourth and fifth graders are old enough to build an argument. So that's the work. They pick a position and find reasons for it. Then they say it out loud to a room that's allowed to disagree. The real skill is handling a question nobody warned them about, and then stopping when they're done. Nerves get named and worked with instead of hidden. A kid who can stand up and make a case at eleven is going to be a different teenager. Parents notice it at the dinner table first.