Augmind StudioThese are the two 12-week arcs we run in our own program — one for students who have never given a speech, one for a cohort preparing for its first tournaments. Both are built on the same principle: one skill per week, many reps per session, one recorded homework per week. Steal the arc, rename the weeks, adapt the events to your league.
The session shape (every week, both arcs)
Five blocks, 75–90 minutes:
- Warm-up (5–10 min) — voices on, bodies up, zero stakes.
- Mini-lesson (10 min) — one skill, taught small.
- Drill (15–20 min) — pairs or circles, high rep count.
- Performance (25–35 min) — everyone takes the floor; this block is untouchable.
- Feedback + homework (10 min) — one glow, one grow, and the week’s recording assignment.
Arc 1 — Foundations (true beginners)
The spine: comfort → one structure (PREP) → storytelling → persuasion → responding to others → impromptu → showcase. Weeks 3 and 7 deliberately repeat the prior skill — repetition weeks are where fluency actually forms.
| Week | Theme | The point of the week |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Get comfortable on your feet | Everyone speaks on day one; low-stakes reps kill the fear before technique starts. |
| 2 | The one structure (PREP) | Point → Reason → Example → Point. The single skeleton everything else hangs on. |
| 3 | PREP fluency (repeat week) | Same structure, new topics. Repetition is the feature — layer delivery on top of a known skeleton. |
| 4 | Make the example a story | Upgrade the E in PREP into a four-beat story: scene, problem, turn, takeaway. |
| 5 | Story II — open with the scene | Cold-open technique: start inside the moment instead of announcing the topic. |
| 6 | Same structure, now persuade | Turn opinions into claims with an explicit ask. |
| 7 | Persuade II — sharpen the ask | Build the speech backward from what you want the audience to do. |
| 8 | Explain an idea + capstone handout | Expository speaking; capstone topic goes home so families see the arc. |
| 9 | Add the other person (gently) | First taste of responding: restate what you heard, then answer it. |
| 10 | Respond II — steelman first | Make the other side sound reasonable before disagreeing — the debate gateway. |
| 11 | No prep, stay calm (impromptu) | The whole toolkit under time pressure; composure is the graded skill. |
| 12 | Showcase | A researched speech performed for families; before/after clips tell the growth story. |
Arc 2 — Competition season
For a cohort heading to local circuit or NSDA-style tournaments in events like Original Oratory, Declamation, and Storytelling. The mock tournament in week 8 is the engine of the whole arc — nothing motivates a rebuild like a real ballot.
| Week | Theme | The point of the week |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baseline + what a tournament is | Recorded baseline performance; demystify rounds, ballots, and judges. |
| 2 | Event sampler + pick your track | Stations for each event (e.g. storytelling, declamation, oratory); 1:1 conferences to lock each student's event. |
| 3 | Lock the piece + read the ballot | Piece selected and cut to time; students learn the exact criteria judges mark. |
| 4 | The first 30 seconds + impromptu engine | Drill openings until automatic; install the impromptu format as the weekly side-drill. |
| 5 | Voice + body: make choices visible | Layering runs — stop-and-fix on vocal and physical choices, peer spotting. |
| 6 | Full runs + blank-out insurance | Complete run-throughs; teach the recovery move for going blank mid-piece. |
| 7 | Polish: eyes, feet, hands | Dress-rehearsal flow; diagnose and rebuild each student's weakest 60 seconds. |
| 8 | Mock tournament (families invited) | Real check-in, two judged rounds, real ballots, awards — pressure-test everything. |
| 9 | Ballot decode + rebuild | Read every ballot together; translate judge comments into one rebuild priority each. |
| 10 | Level up + second-event seeds | Weak-section surgery; stronger students taste a second event. |
| 11 | Flex week | Holiday-week buffer: impromptu games, low-stakes reps, attendance-proof plans. |
| 12 | Peak + term showcase | Final performances at full polish; set goals for the actual circuit season ahead. |
The part that breaks: the weekly recording
Both arcs assume every student submits one recording a week and gets real feedback on it. That cadence — not the lesson plans — is what separates programs where students improve from programs where they attend. It’s also the first thing that collapses when one coach faces thirty videos (here’s the manual system for surviving it, and the rubrics we grade with).
Frequently asked questions
How long should each class session be?
75–90 minutes fits the five-block shape. With 60 minutes, cut the mini-lesson to five minutes and protect the performance block — reps on the floor are the part students can't do at home.
What if my students are complete beginners but the season starts soon?
Run foundations weeks 1–4 (comfort + PREP + story) compressed into two weeks, then jump to the competition arc at week 2 (event sampler). Structure-on-your-feet is the prerequisite; everything else can be learned inside event prep.
How much homework should a weekly class assign?
One recording per week, every week — same prompt family as class. The cadence matters more than the length: weekly recorded reps with feedback is where the actual improvement happens, and it's the first thing programs drop when grading time runs out.
Run the arc; let the grading run itself
Augmind Studio ships assignable curricula like these — one click assigns the week's homework, students record, AI drafts rubric-scored feedback, your coach signs. Free 21-day trial.