English Language and Communications
4-H Communications Projects
Virginia 4-H Communications programs encourage students to develop research, organization, and public speaking skills. Each student makes a presentation or gives a speech in front of the class with a teacher, volunteer judge, or a pair of judges completing the score sheet. Students may advance to their respective 4-H District Contests, held in central locations each spring. There are also opportunities for competition on the state level at iCongress (for middle school students) and 4-H Congress (for high school students).
If you would like assistance implementing the 4-H Presentation or Public Speaking contest in your classroom, please contact your local 4-H Extension Agent.
SOL Correlations
4-H Communications projects help fulfill language arts standards across multiple grade levels. Many schools across the Commonwealth utilize the 4-H Presentations program to help meet SOL 4.1 and Public Speaking to help meet SOL 5.1. However, these programs are easily adapted to middle and high school standards. The score sheet and project guides give more information on requirements at each level.
Resources for 4-H Presentations
How to Sew a Button - Kaci Daniel, video example
Presentations Handout for Students - Jennifer Bowen, student handout
Recommendations for Foods Demonstrations - Jennifer Bowen, student handout
Sample Visuals - Fizz Inflator Presentation - Jennifer Bowen
Resources for 4-H Dramatic Reading
How we use our voices, faces, and bodies to say our words is called Paralanguage. Youth participating in the 4-H Dramatic Reading program build their public speaking skills by practicing the 10 aspects of paralanguage: pitch, volume, tone, articulation, speed, stress patterns, vocal quality, rhythm, road blocks, and pauses. Several school systems have incorporated 4-H Dramatic Reading into their language arts curricula across upper elementary, middle, and high school levels.
Pulaski County 4-H Dramatic Reading Information Sheet and Scoring Rubric - Chris Lichty
Dramatic Reading Summer Program Flyer - Maribeth Martin and Tyler Painter
Summer Dramatic Reading Program Video Series - Maribeth Martin and Tyler Painter