Advanced

 Ask students to think about the political, economic, social, historical and cultural context of the piece. When introducing their piece, they should look to make connections about how the context shaped the text.  Encourage students to practise their piece often to develop a real understanding of it. Here, we are looking for a synopsis of the author’s use of language and how this language gives meaning to the piece. Reading the text on a regular basis will help students to gain a clear familiarity with, and knowledge of, the text.  When the piece has been memorised, encourage students to experiment with different ways of emphasising certain words or phrases. In addition to pitch, pace and tone, students can bring attention to a word or group of words by inflection, which is the slide or glide of the voice in an upward or downward direction.  Ask students to consider their breathing when preparing to deliver their piece. Breath control can play a very important role in adding emotion and feeling to a piece, such as happiness, relief or melancholy. It is worth encouraging students to practise increasing the amount of breath taken to sustain longer phrasing in speech.

18