Totally Unbelievable Speaking Club! Role Descriptions

1) Chairperson/Président(e) ● You are the Master of Ceremonies. You are responsible for

keeping the presentations in order and on track. Complete the script attached in this package.

● Be sure to fill in the names of the students for each role. (see teachers)

● Practice your script so that you are comfortable leading the TUSC meeting.

● Feel free to add your own sentences to your introductions. (e.g., I love soccer, I can’t wait to hear the sports announcements today!)

2) Artist/Artiste:

● Share and discuss a piece of art. ● This can be a piece of art you have created or a video (dance,

orchestra, opera…) or picture of a painting or sculpture. ● Explain why you chose the art form (dance, visual art, sculpture, symphony). ● What do you like about it? ● Does it tell us a story? ● When was it created? By whom? Where? ● Who has this artist been influenced by?

3) Book or Movie Reviewer/Critique de livre ou de film ● Choose a favorite book or a movie to share at the meeting. ● Why did you choose this book/movie? ● To whom would you recomend this book/movie? ● Give a summary of the book/movie (e.g., character/setting/plot), BUT don’t

spoil the ending! ● What was the message/moral of the story?

4) World News Reporter/Journaliste du monde:

Choose 2 important events from around the world that are current and topical. ● Remember the 5Ws (Who, what, when, where, why?) ● Where is this location on a map? Where in

the world is this happening?

● Your personal opinion: Could this event have been prevented? How? ● In what way(s) does this event impact us here

in Canada? 5) Storyteller/Conteur(euse) d’histoire: ● Prepare ahead of time. Share a story that you’ve read, heard or remember. ● Make sure the story has a strong beginning, middle and end. Practice your

story so you can tell it without the use of cue cards. ● Use rich words and complete sentences. ● Remember expression and gestures.

6) Citizenship/Citoyenneté:

● Watch your classmates the week prior to TUSC. Watch for acts of kindness, kind words towards others, or any other deeds that you believe make a good class citizen. ● CREATE CRITERIA (e.g., honest, supportive, forgiving,

helpful…) Try to think of criteria that are unique and different from previous Citizenship speakers. ● Explain your criteria to the audience before

presenting the award. ● Create an award to present to the recipient. ● When the recipient comes up, be specific about

when you saw the citizen demonstrate these positive characteristics.

7) Demonstrator/Démonstrateur/Démonstratrice: ● Demonstrate how to do something in front of the class. This can be

something that you already know how to do that you think would interest the class. It can also be something new that you have learned how to do yourself in preparation for this role.

● Have the steps to the demonstration clearly written out for the audience to see and follow along with you as you perform the demonstration. (e.g., chart paper, poster, slide)

8) Travel Agent/Agent(e) de voyage: ● Introduce us to a great place to visit. It should be somewhere we haven’t

heard of in a previous TUSC meeting. Pick a country/city that the class probably hasn’t learned much about.

● Research the travel destination and share your information with the class. ● Show us where it is on a map. How would

someone travel there? How long would that take? Show us images (not just one) of this location. What is there to do there? What is the climate? The landscape? etc.

9) Zoologist/Zoologiste:

● Pick an animal that is on the WWF endangered, vulnerable or threatened list. OR Pick and animal not yet on the endangered list but that is vulnerable. ● Describe the animal’s characteristics, its habitat,

its food source. ● Why is this animal vulnerable or threatened? ● Where in the world is its habitat. Show us on a map, use pictures. ● What is the WWF saying should be done to help this animal?

10) Healthy Lifestyle/Conseiller en mode de vie sain:

● Choose something to speak to the class about that is to do with a healthy lifestyle.

Choose from: ● Healthy eating, nutrition, physical exercise ● Mental health (e.g., What if we feel like something

is really weighing on our mind. Who should we talk to? What are some good strategies to deal with friendship conflicts?)

● How to stay physically healthy 11) Class Comedian/Comédien(ne): ● Tell 2-3 appropriate riddles or jokes. ● Encourage audience participation, but don’t let it get

out of control to the point where you continue speaking and no one can hear. Take charge in a respectful way.

12) Musical Moment/Pause musicale:

● Choose a piece of music to share with the class. The music can be from any genre (e.g., classical, Franco-Ontarien, opera, jazz, rock…)

● Share the title of the piece, the artist etc. ● Why did you choose this piece? What do you like about it? Why is it

interesting? ● What instruments are used? ● What is the piece about? Is there a message, a story or a theme? ● Play an excerpt of the music (NOT the whole piece) for the class at the end

of you presentation. 13) Historian/Historien(ne): ● Research the date of the day you are presenting at theTUSC meeting back

through history. ● Choose one significant event that happened around this date and explain it

in detail. ● Feel free to use media to share your event.

14) Website/App Reviewer/Technophile:

● Find a website or app that performs a task that is new and interesting (no games please)

● Why was this website/app created? How did you find out about it? ● What uses might it have in business, education, sports…?

15) Sports Reporter/Journaliste sportif ● Choose a current Canadian sporting event. ● Remember the 5Ws (Who, what, when, where, why?) ● Where in Canada is it happening? What were the results? ● Your personal opinion: Tell us about the sport. How do you

feel about the outcome of this event? ● What (if anything) are they talking about in the media regarding this event?

16) Chef:

● Share a favourite recipe with the class. ● Briefly list the key ingredients and how to make it. (You don’t need to

be specific about cups and tablespoons etc.) ● Talk about when/where/for whom you would prepare this rec

● Try looking into foods originating from around the world to find a recipe that may be new to the class.

It is optional to include a sample. (Peanut free items please.)

17) Biographer/Biographe: ● Choose someone from history or current times who has had an impact in

their chosen field (e.g., medicine, education, politics, science, engineering, communication…)

● Provide an image of this person and discuss his/her early life, but focus on the events that have ultimately led to making them famous.

18) Seventh Inning Stretch/Le septième tour de batte: ● Lead the class through some stretches because we’ve been sitting for a

while. ● Make sure that they don’t need lots of space, or have to get down on the

floor; there’s just too many of us in this room. ● Try and be creative with how you get the class to do the stretches. (e.g.,

count out loud, tell us why this stretch is useful, give us interesting information while asking us to hold a stretch, etc..)

● Make it fun! 19) Community Correspondent/Correspondant communautaire: ● Share 2 community events or news items with the class. These

can be events that just recently took place or are upcoming. ● If there is nothing of particular interest to you happening

here within Riverside South, look to the broader community of Ottawa. It is not acceptable to say that “nothing has gone on.”

20) Invention Trends Reporter/Journaliste des tendances de l’invention: ● Present an invention that has made an impact on our world. ● Show pictures. Are there pictures you can show of the

earliest version and how it has changed over time? ● Describe who invented it and why. ● Explain why you think it is an important invention and how it affects us today

in 2016/2017.

21) Commercial Break/Annonce publicitaire: ● You are advertising a product or service that would be of interest to a grade

4 target audience. You must create your own commercial and perform it. ● The product/service that you choose is up to you. You could create a

commercial for a product that already exists, or you could make up a product to advertise.

● Remember that this is a break for the audience, so make it entertaining! Feel free to use props/costumes/music/etc.

22) Optimist/Optimiste: ● Talk to the class about what makes you happy or why you are

grateful. ● Spend time telling us why it makes you happy, or why you

appreciate it. ● How might the rest of the class also find happiness or appreciate

things more? 23) Talent/Animateur/Animatrice: ● Show your talent (something you can do well) and perform

it for the class. ● Explain how you came to be talented in this way. ● How much practice did it take to get so good? ● When did you start learning your talent? ● Is this something you hope to continue in the years ahead?

24) Pollster/Enquêteur(euse): ● Decide on a topic/issue about which you want to know more about. ● Make a prediction about how you think people would

answer or respond to this topic before you survey people. Why do you think they would respond this way?

● Why did you choose this question? How would you respond?

● Survey at least 10 people prior to your TUSC presentation. Collect and manage the data and create a data organizer (tally, chart, graph) to share with the class. Talk about your results and share your conclusions.

25) Controversial Issue/Ma bête noire: ● Pick a controversial issue to speak about (an issue that

people have different, strong opinions about). This is your chance to give your opinion about this issue without being interrupted by anyone else. It can be about something that is being debated in current events right now, or maybe something that could affect SMPS. OR

● Pick one of your “pet peeves” (something that drives you crazy). For example, when you hold the door a little for someone following after you and they just walk through it with no thank you. What’s yours? Why?

26) Thanker/Mot de remerciement:

● Play close attention to all the speakers. Keep this role sheet handy while people are presenting.

● Prepare a few sentences to thank all the presenters and the audience at the end of the TUSC meeting. This would be a general thank you/well done note that will be prepared before the meeting. You may like to have some fill in the blanks to complete while you are listening.

● Be prepared to take notes during the presentations. Choose 3 people who did their role well today and say why. What specific skills were well done today? (e.g., attention grabber? Memorable ending? Gestures? Engagement with audience? Props? Images?)