Person of historical interest

Your task is to present to a small group an informative speech about a famous historical person.

Your teacher will give you a list of possible people and tell you how long your speech will need to be.

Choose a topic from the list.
Carry out some research to find out about your historical person.
Write the main ideas of your speech on a cue card to help you remember. Do not write out all of the words in your speech.

You can use visual resources such as photos as part of your speech. These will help keep the audience interested.

A helpful checklist

Have you:

researched your topic?
prepared cue cards to help you remember the main points?
selected photos or other visual resources?
practised speaking with a clear voice?
practised speaking without reading your cue cards?
timed your speech so that it fits into the set time?

Does your speech:

have a beginning, a middle, and an end?
entertain or interest your audience?

Possible historic people for research

James K Baxter - writer

Howard Morrison - singer

Patricia Grace - writer

Sir Edmund Hillary With Tenzing Norgay - first to climb Mt Everest

Billy T James - entertainer

Colin McCahon - painter

Chew Chong - merchant

Jack Lovelock - athlete

Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana - prophet

Robert Muldoon - politician

Hone Tuwhare - poet

Margaret Mahy - writer

Kiri Te Kanawa - opera singer

Charles Upham - soldier

Sir Apirana Ngata - Māori leader

Jean Batten - aviator

Richard Pearse - pioneer in aviation

Sir Maui Pomare - Māori leader

Jonah Lomu - rugby player

Whina Cooper - Te Whaea o te Motu ("Mother of the Nation")

Lord Ernest Rutherford - first to split the atom

Hōne Heke - Māori leader

Kate Sheppard - women's suffragist

Choie Sew Hoy - gold prospector and leader

Richie McCaw - rugby player

Historical person II