Brownie Speaker Badge

The Brownie Speaker Badge is one of the many badges a Brownie in the Uk can achieve.

To get the Brownie Speaker badge Brownies have to complete five tasks.

1. Prepare and present a short speech lasting about two minutes on one of the following:

• One of your hobbies.
• An event you have recently been to.
• Something you have done as a Brownie.
• A place you have visited.
• Your pet.

When you are giving a speech you must try to have a beginning, a middle and an end.

At the beginning you simply tell your listeners what it is you are talking about. For example;

Today I am going to talk about my dog. Her name is Robbie Rae and she is a Border Collie puppy who is six months old.She is mainly black but has a white front, white chin and white feet. She also has very big ears.

Next we need a middle. This is the main part of the speech and here we can say anything that we think out listeners would like to hear.

We had Robbie Rae when she was only 9 weeks old and on the day we bought her home she wouldn't lie down at all. She just kept running around and sometimes she sat down. The second day she slept nearly all day.
At night she sleeps in a crate in the lounge which looks cruel but she feels safe in it and there is plenty of room for her to stretch out and move around. She sleeps in her crate every night without waking up and it means we don't have to worry about her hurting herself on things. We also put her in there if we go out during the day.
She is full of energy and although she is still only a puppy she loves learning new things and she can sit, stand, lie down and roll over. If we take her for a run we can let her off her lead and she comes back when we shout 'Robbie - yes'. We then reward her with a bit of chicken.We are just teaching her to leave things and sometimes shes does and somethimes she doesn't.
She loves having her photo taken and every time she hears a camera being turned on or someone points a mobile phone with a camera at her she stops what she is doing and stares at the camera for a photo. This seems quite sweet but if we try to get a photo of her doing something funny she always stops and stares at the camera.
If one of us go out she jumps up on the window sill in the dining room to watch us go.

Now we need an ending.

Although having a puppy is hard work, Robbie Rae is already a great friend and I'm looking forward to playing with her for many years to come.

This speech is just under 2 minutes long (it takes me about 1 minute 58 seconds) and it's important when you say it to speak slowly and loudly so that people can hear you. When you get to a fullstop or a comma, say 'fullstop' or 'comma' to yourself so that you have a slight pause. You also need to make sure that you say the ends of all the words. Below I have written the first sentence of my speech.

Today I am going to talk about my dog. Her name is Robbie Rae and she is a Border Collie puppy who is six months old.

The first word 'today' should be pronounced 'tooday' not 'taday'.
The word 'about' should have a clear 't' on the end of it, the 'and' should have a clear 'd'.
If you go through your speech and make sure you say every 't' and 'd'. Remember to look at your listeners so that your words are directed where you want them to go. If you are reading your speech don't hide your face with your words and try to look up at the listeners on the important words.

You should now be ready for the second part of the Brownie Speaker Badge.

We should listen to people because

1. It is polite.
2. It might be very important information that we need so that we don't get hurt
3. We might learn something

We need to repond to people because

1. The person speaking wants to know we have heard them
2. The person speaking needs to know we have understood them
3. We might want to disagree with the speaker because we know thay are wrong
4. We might have something interesting or important to add to what they have said
5. We might want to ask a question

We can respond in different ways. Sometimes a nod of the head is enough, sometimes we need to answer the person, we might respond by asking a question or just adding something else to the discussion. We should always wait until the pther person has stopped speaking before we say our bit.

You should now be ready for the third part of the Brownie Speaker Badge.

3. Choose and read aloud a poem or short passage.

Below are a couple of simple poems you can read aloud. Remember not to go too fast and make sure that everyone can hear you. Pick out the important words and make them stand out and say every 't' and 'd' at the ends of the words.

My Puppy by S.G.

I love my little puppy
With his big brown fluffy ears.
I take him for a walk each day
But all he wants to do is play.
His little legs just run and run
Until it’s late and time for bed,
And then we snuggle up together.
He’s my best friend and will be forever.

I’d love to be a Pirate by S.G.

A pirate journey is thrill after thrill
With big strong waves (that make me ill).
The ride is bumpy but they still steer the ship,
Tie knots galore, wash decks, each trip.
Their reward is treasure, money and gold
that they love to count until they’re old.
Yes, I’d love to travel with Captain Nick,
But all that excitement might make me sick.

You should now be ready for the forth part of the Brownie Speaker Badge.

4. Ask permission to do something. Thank someone for a gift or for helping you.

Always be polite. Say 'Please may I ......' and perhaps explain why,. When thanking someone say what you are thanking them for and add a little comment at the end. For example ' Thank you for taking me to Disneyland Paris. It was wonderful and I really enjoyed myself.' or 'Thanks you for buying me that cake, it tasted lovely.'

You should now be ready for the last part of the Brownie Speaker Badge.

5. Listen to a message then repeat it to someone else without mistakes.

Listen carefully to the message and repeat it staright away to the person who has given you the message so that you make sure you heard it correctly. Then try to understand the message, it is much easier to remember something you understand. Check you know who you have to give the message to.

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