9 year old wishes to enter verse speaking & prose reading at a local festival. any top tips?

Question

child did very well last year with little preparation but it became apparent that it wasn't a level playing field competition
virtually all the medal winners had undergone private coaching:-)
looking for tips/books/web sites on what examiners look for - not necessarily for child to win a medal but to provide them with more than a fair chance. thanks!

Answer 1

From what you've said, it sounds like your child will have to recite, and for that I would recommend some elocution and practice in projecting the voice. Get your child to read aloud for you and make sure that (s)he reads slowly, clearly and pronounces each syllable including the ends of words and putting the 't' in 'twenty' for example. If your child speaks with a strong regional accent, it might be an idea to try and encourage received pronunciation - depends how posh an event it is really.

Sit down with your child and read the verse with them. Encourage them to think about the meaning and how it makes them feel. Then try getting them to read it aloud putting expression into both face and voice, emphasising parts or changing the pitch on certain words.

Discuss how to stand - will they hold the book they're reading from, will they recite from memory or will the book be on a stand or table? This will affect posture. Encourage your child to stand up straight, shoulders back and if he's reading off something, to look up when speaking and look at the audience. A tip I was given was to pick out one person in the audience and keep eye contact with them. If holding the book, make sure (s)he holds it low down so that it doesn't cover child's face. If reciting from memory, make small flash cards for child to hold and give child small actions or hand signals to match the verse.

A smart appearance is always a good idea and make sure your child isn't chewing gum!

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

It's no fun to do something you are not good at. Keep encouraging her with great kindness. Let her see you reading and set aside a time every night that you all read books. My daughter reads before bed for 30 minutes a night. You might read a page, then let her read a page to you (which you complement at the end of for how well she's doing), then you read a page and so on. Take her to the book store and let her pick out her very own book. She'll get through this, and it's very good you are working hard on it now. Remind her she's very smart and she's doing very well getting this difficult task down. Remind her that one day she'll be able to read anything she wants most anywhere in the world and know what it says -- papers, magazines, the internet! Make a cake and celebrate the end of a great week of working hard on her reading. Let it be a way she earns lots of cheers and praise from you two. The day will come when she'll read fluently and these encouragements will be a happy memory for her.

Answer 3

Check with your local school system to see if they know of a speech/debate coach who will work with your 9 year old.