Abraham Lincoln is responsible for uniting the states during the most tumultuous periods in American history, and for his elegant oratory that kept the Union believing in its cause. Young histoians analyze various speeches by America's...

Practice using concrete evidence from various sources to back up an argument. The lesson plan emphasizes the use of support in a persuasive speech, as well as the importance of appealing to an audience's logic and emotions. You could...

Explore non-violent protest in this social values and world history lesson. After viewing the movie Gandhi, and discussing important events in Gandhi's life, young orators write a speech defending Gandhi's position on the value of...

Invite your class to investigate racism and civil rights by analyzing the great Dr. Martin Luther King's speech. Your learners will read the words from the "I Have a Dream" speech and analyze the political and racial overtones. They will...

“America herself is an improbable journey.” So is Deval Patrick’s journey from the South Side of Chicago to the governorship of Massachusetts. The complete text of Patrick’s inaugural speech, delivered outdoors facing Boston Common,...

Critical thinkers consider how word choice in speeches impacts the meaning and effectiveness of the message being presented. They examine and respond to some of the speeches made at the 2004 Republican and Democratic National...

Improve high schoolers' public speaking with an engaging activity. Class members select three personally relevant quotes from a list. They then write a short speech for each quote, explaining how the quotes are personally relevant....

Reinforce the importance of the writing process with this publication lesson. Elementary and middle schoolers compose a parts of speech book which includes one page each for nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions,...

Students research and investigate what laws exist about freedom of speech. They write an article about this topic. Students interview the students at their school on this topic. They take a stand and support their stand with facts.

Students conduct research into looking at a free-speech issue. They role play the events surrounding a court case. The lesson includes guiding questions to help create context and determine areas of further study. The presentation...

Pupils create multimedia speeches of introduction which focus on women and Hispanics. They introduce their famous person and, using a video camera, video tape their speeches. 

Students perform the six steps of writing an extemporaneous speech including, choosing a topic, researching, writing, practicing delivering and processing.

Ronald Reagan's 1983 speech to the National Association of Evangelicals (also know as the "Evil Empire Speech") offers readers with an opportunity to practice their skills at reading informational text, specifically primary source...

What a lovely way to incorporate artwork into your language arts instructional activity. View artwork in illustrated manuscript pages, depicting insects, animals, plants, flowers, and ornate writing in the Getty Museum. Practice using...

Students are introduced to the various parts of speech. Using construction paper, they make their own parts of speech staircase and use markers to write the different parts of speech on different flaps. To end the lesson, they write the...

Look at different case studies to discuss the ethics of journalism. Twelve real-life events are written up and your learners get to be the editors. Encourage your class to think about the implications of publishing decisions. After each...

Students see the difference between protected and prohibited speech as guaranteed by the First Amendment. They explain why free speech is essential to a democracy and consider how best to deal with speech they find offensive.

Young historians use the prompts on a worksheet to analyze President Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech. They identify the intended audience for the speech, the devices FDR used to persuade his audience, the responses promoted, and the...

Has society progressed to the dream Martin Luther King Jr. expressed in his famous address during the civil rights movement? Learners work with a partner to analyze one excerpt from King's "I Have A Dream" speech and find a current...

Students describe the contents of the First Amendment while telling about an example of speech that is protected by the Constitution and that which is not. They attempt to apply the First Amendment to situations that could occur in their...

Use this communication skills lesson to emphasize evaluating a speaker's main point and argument. After reading Martin Luther King's, "I Have a Dream Speech" and John F. Kennedy's speech, "I Believe in an America Where the Separation of...

Students write dialogue. For this character development lesson students use direct or indirect speech to include a confrontation between two characters in their story. Students portray the emotions of the characters in addition to what...

Determine how African-Americans have broken barriers in this history lesson. Middle schoolers discuss the 15th Amendment and the American civil rights movement prior to analyzing Barack Obama's speech "A More Perfect Union," taking care...

Scholars use technology to explore poetry and its related elements, such as theme, figures of speech, and other literary devices. They complete four poetry projects including a poem analysis with a concept web, an interactive poem...