Curated OER
Delivering a Persuasive Speech
To prepare to deliver a persuasive speech, class members examine not only how to craft a speech, but consider body language, articulation, pronunciation, pitch, pace, and volume as well.
Curated OER
Understanding Stereotypes
Pupils confront age-related stereotypes, explore how stereotyping impacts their lives, and discuss how they can make changes to reduce over-generalizations, unfair assumptions, and critical judgments about people groups. They use a...
Curated OER
"All Together Now" by Barbara Jordan
Cover the topic of race relations with these questions that go with Barbara Jordan's persuasive speech "All Together Now." These reading questions ask readers to think about her speech in a variety of ways by analyzing particular words...
Curated OER
Critiquing A Speech Contestant
What makes a speech effective? Middle schoolers critique a speech for content and presentation. They view a video of a middle school student presenting an informational speech, They outline the content of the speech and critique the...
Curated OER
Paradise Lost: Problem Situation
Let your class voice their opinions with a group debate activity. Before reading John Milton's Paradise Lost, they work in small groups in assigned roles to form a position about authority and rebellion, comparing a teenager's punishment...
Curated OER
Recruiting a Few Good Citizens
Students write persuasive speeches to recruit soldiers for a Civil War company. In this Civil War U.S. history and writing lesson plan, students work in groups to create a recruiting poster and write a speech to persuade soldiers to join...
Scholastic
Debate Prompt
Should the government rate music? Are teen juries a good idea? Is space exploration worth the money? Your learners will think critically to tackle these interesting questions, and practice their ability to form persuasive arguments by...
US Department of Health and Human Services
Alcohol: Why Drink When You Can…
Prepare your learners to make good decisions about drinking by providing them with the real facts about alcohol and substance abuse. This resource includes several worksheets explaining how alcohol affects the brain, as well as a general...
Teaching Tolerance
Voting in Your Town
A socially important resource focuses on voter turnout and roadblocks to voting. Scholars review resources on voting stats, watch a documentary, and participate in group discussion regarding voting in their local communities. Academics...
3C Skills Collaborative
Skill 10: Present to Groups
After a brief class discussion about public speaking, individuals complete a handout that asks them to reflect on the best and worst presentations they've seen. The extension activity involves young scholars presenting to the class on a...
Curated OER
Convince Me!
Students use the Internet to learn the art of persuasive speaking in order to present a speech in a convincing manner. Students analyze the characteristics of a good speech, and then practice giving one.
Curated OER
Readers Theater
Students perform a reader's theater based on the Civil War. In this dramatic arts history lesson, students review the purpose of reader's theater and are given a script to read. The script can be based on an important Civil War figure....
Curated OER
ESL Holiday Lessons: Good Friday
For this language skills worksheet, learners read an article about Good Friday. Students respond to 6 matching questions, 29 fill in the blank questions, 30 multiple choice questions, 12 word scramble questions, 30 short...
Curated OER
Guest Readers
Young readers explore reading comprehension by creating a class presentation. In this storytelling lesson, puils read an assigned text in class and analyze the characters, settings and story. They create an illustrated presentation in...
Curated OER
Look Who's Talking To Me
Students listen to and evaluate other student speeches. They record their evaluation on a T-chart, and compare/contrast the effective and ineffective speaking behaviors.
Curated OER
Debating Ethics with Literature
Use group discussions, analysis, and ethical dilemmas to build critical thinking and an empathetic perspective.
Curated OER
American Veterans: Past and Present
Research groups present an audio report on modern veteran issues in a radio show format.
Curated OER
Stage a Debate: A Primer for Teachers (Lincoln-Douglas Debate Format)
For a comprehensive overview of debate styles and formats, look at this resource. It details the Lincoln-Douglas debate format (one-to-one debate with specific, timed rounds of points, cross-examination, and rebuttals). You can also find...
Curated OER
Debating the Issues: Ralph Bunche and Civil Rights
Synthesizing information from a PBS documentary Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey, its companion website, and several other resources (links to which are provided), high schoolers evaluate whether Bunche did all he could to advance the...
National Geographic
Rivers and the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Project
Damming rivers has been a case of necessity versus negative environmental impact since the process began. Kids take on the role of a stakeholder in the proposed damming of the Danube River. They begin by reading arguments for and against...
Curated OER
Topic: Persuasive Speech
Students examine what makes a speech persuasive. For this speech lesson, students recognizes what is needed to make a good persuasive speech and create their own persuasive speech about something related to the human body.
American Press Institute
High Five: Go to Press
High school scholars learn valuable information about how to run a newspaper in the third and final installment of a media literacy series. The unit scaffolds learners to success with background information before they plan for...
West Virginia Department of Education
Oral Health Education Resource Kit
Brushing, flossing, a healthy diet, and personal hygiene are keys to good oral health and the information, the activities, and the experiments included in this packet will go a long way toward encouraging your class members to develop...
Curated OER
Summarizing Story Events
Here is a way to build your pupils' public speaking abilities. The lesson describes a reader's report chair, which is used each week by a student who has just finished reading a book. The featured reader sits in the chair and talks about...