Mic for a classroom setting

[Hollywood]

I hope this is going to make sense:

My mom wants to do author visits to elementary schools.  Because a previous health issue, her voice is sometimes loud and sometimes very quiet and she has a hard time getting people to hear her.  It gets worse when she's nervous or stressed.  The problem has been fixed and her voice is slowly improving, but it still comes and goes.  Are there any cheap microphones that you could use in a classroom setting - so without much equipment?  Maybe a mic with a speaker on the other end that you can just flip the switch and turn on, or something along those lines?

[LievenDV]

I often plug in a small guitar amp that thas a microphone in too; handy for looking for a good mic setup while playing guitar and singing, getting used to singing in a mic while at home etc...

The Vox DA5 has a mic input with a gain control and when she doesn't need it anymore, you can use it as a portable guitar amp (has an ok reverb on it btw)

they don't sell that model new but bet you can find some secondhand.
it komes with a jack input, so you would need a XLR to jack cable and you can plug in any dynamic microphone you want. I'm sure there are other, compareable models out there.

you can go for a small, portable PA as well: http://shop.musix.ch/en/Behringer-EPA40.html?gclid=CK6m_pev1sECFZQZtAod8EQA8g     it comes with a cable and mic

[TB-AV]

Ideally she will want a wireless lavalier mic setup. The school should have some sort of amp/PA but if not she will need that too. The ones that have a tripod so the speaker is about head height is nice. 

Speaker at back of room. Mic clips on clothing. Transmitter clips on belt or in pocket.

But... I would ask the school first because they probably have all that.

[Borodog]

Given your mom's special requirements, you may want to investigate some sort of signal chain that would include compression. That will help even out the volume issues.

[DuckDive]

http://www.amazon.com/Portable-Amplifier-LoudSpeaker-Microphone-Presentations/dp/B00AH9HVYW

My daughter's kindergarten teacher a few years ago had a very soft voice (a result of a cancer battle) and used one of these every day.  Not exactly a high end piece of gear but it did the trick and was quite easy for her to carry around (she was a very small lady).  All self contained and ready to go if a full on PA/wireless system isn't available.  Obviously not recording quality gear but it certainly got the job done

[Hollywood]

Thanks guys!  DuckDive - that might be the best option money-wise.  Especially since it's a problem that's slowly improving, so she won't need it long. 

Plus I still need to order my own mic for music, which is probably going to be $50 to start with.  But that's really all she needs, just something small to use if she needs it.