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Elocution topics for kids

Elocution topics for kids

50+ excellent ideas for children's speeches

The 50 elocution* topics for kids on this page are a starting point to help you, help a child, choose a suitable speech topic.

Rather than make a final decision by yourself please do involve the person who is actually going to do the speaking - the child!

The best results come when the topic chosen is closely aligned with personal interests, passions and is "age-appropriate".

It's hard to be genuinely enthusiastic about, or sometimes understand, a topic that's been chosen for you - even if it's done for the best of reasons.

Graphic in a colorful whimsical font saying 50 speech topics for kids.

*What is elocution? Elocution is the art of effective public speaking, with particular attention to the clear, distinct, and socially acceptable pronunciation of words.

For more see The Art of Public Speaking - an essay by Richard Nordquist.

Resist the temptation to write the speech too

A note for parents

As a teacher I've seen too many children being used as mouthpieces by well-meaning adults.

I always wanted to hear what the child had to say, what words they chose, and how they structured their ideas - not what adults thought it would be advantageous for them to say. The result of that inevitably rang false. I could tell instantly I wasn't listening to something the child had put together.

I understand the desire to help. And I applaud it. I think it's great. However, please don't take over entirely by handing a child a script and then rehearsing their every gesture or nuance of delivery.

Talk the topics through. Show them how to brainstorm to generate ideas quickly. Encourage them to use their imaginations by asking open-ended questions.

Assist with structure - finding a good opening, deciding what the main points should be and what examples should support them, as well as how to end the speech well.

Just don't do it all for them, not matter how tempting that might be.

It's important for a child to develop confidence in their own skills and abilities. Helping and supporting them to become the best of themselves is the greatest service you can give them.

Elocution topics for kid's speeches

All the topic suggestions below begin with sentence starters.

Each starter has a selection of phrases to choose one from to complete the sentence, making a speech topic.

For example: Why I am glad not to be... is the starter. Example phrases to choose from are:

living in the 19th century
an only child
rich

The subject could be:

Why I am glad not to be living in the 19th century.

I am glad not to be living in the 19th century for three main reasons.

The first is that girls, unless they came from wealthy families, didn't have the opportunity to go to school. I talked about this with my grandmother, and she said very few girls from her village would have had any education at all in the 19th century. (Etc.)

Or Why I am glad not to be an only child.

Or Why I am glad not to be rich.

Jump to a sentence starter

Why I am glad not to be...

living in another era like the 19th century, the middle ages...
either a girl or a boy, depending on which gender the child is
an only child

a famous person
either blind, deaf or something else
either an insect, an animal, a fish or a plant
on another planet
singing this speech instead of speaking it
in XXX {insert the name of a city, town, area or country e.g. London, Trinidad...}
either rich or poor

I wish grownups would...

remember what it was like when they were young
properly explain the reasons behind telling me to do what they want
tell me more stories about themselves when they were children
stop being so serious

find more time to relax and play with me
help me understand why some things are the way they are
stop worrying about whether my face is clean and my shirt is tucked in
teach me the stuff I really want to know
invent a way to go back and forward in time
stop asking me what I want to do when I grow up

What I would change if I could and why...

Image: cartoon drawings of children of mixed races playing together. Text: I would change racial disharmony if I could.

racial disharmony
poverty
illness

discrimination against girls, caste or class differences
unequal educational opportunities
cultural misunderstanding
child labor
a historical event
the flow of time
my bed time
the law of gravity

I'm inspired by... because...

Image: young male doctor in scrubs with angel wings.Text: I am inspired by doctors and the work they do.

my mother/father or any other family member
a present day hero from any area: sports, culture, philosophy, arts (film, dance, theater, music, painter, etc.), medicine or any other branch of science, law, government, local...

a historical hero from any area (as above)
a fictional or mythic hero from literature, film, TV or cultural tradition
nature - the seasons, mountains, deserts, rocks, caves, stars, solar system, rainbows, rivers, animals, birds, plants, flowers...
art, film, TV, social media, the computer, music, sports of any sort, my hobby, my pet...
humor - cartoons, clowns, jokes, pranks, a funny TV show or film, a comedian
an inventor or invention - the car, airplane, internet, electricity, telephone, a vaccine...
movement of the wind, dancers, gymnastics, sea, rivers, cars, birds, runners...
color - red, blue, green, orange, yellow, purple, white, black...