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....

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...

Discuss the differences between the North and the South and how those differences led to the Civil War. Middle schoolers examine and analyze a famous speech or writing by President Lincoln in order to better understand the speaker's...

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. 

Engage your middle schoolers with Pastor Martin Niemoller's famous poem that begins, "First they came for the communists." Now that you have their attention, send learners to the various work stations you created to have them explore...

Want to teach your pupils about debate, effective speech techniques, propaganda, and the women's movement? The first in a sequential series of three, scholars analyze real propaganda images from the the historic women's movement, view a...

“Ich bin ein Berliner.” Here’s the full text of John F. Kennedy’s famous address delivered to the people of Berlin on June 26, 1963. The resource could be used as part of a study of Kennedy’s presidency, of rhetorical devices, or as...

Young historians examine Lyndon Johnson's vision for a rich, powerful, and upward society as detailed in this excerpt from his famous "Great Society" speech presented at the University of Michigan in 1964.

Young scholars examine the life, portraits and speeches of Frederick Douglass. They consider what made his speeches effective and why he is regarded as a national hero. They write an original speech.

The First and Second Amendments remain some of the most famous, even to this day. Learners read about several clauses from the US Constitution through a variety of captivating activities including before and after reading, group work,...

Students use a note card to record a direct quotation from a collection of famous speeches. The top right-hand corner should contain the name of the speaker, and the top left-hand corner should contain the name of the speech.

Students study the speeches of Frederick Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, and Chief Joseph. Students write a story set during the Nineteenth Century Era. Students present their story to the class. Handouts and worksheets are included in the...

Young historians will learn not to fear primary source materials (or fear itself, for that matter) thanks to this resource that uses Franklin D. Roosevelt's March 4, 1933 Inaugural Address to model how to conduct a close reading of such...

Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech provides the text for a study of how to analyze a speaker’s content, delivery and attitude. Visual learners identify specific lines that reveal King’s purpose and point of view while...

“Compared to war all other forms of human endeavor shrink to insignificance.” “War is not healthy for children and other living things.” These two views of war, embodied in George Patton’s statement and Lorraine Schneider‘s famous 1966...

Students examine Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech and see how it has been produced in China by reading an online article. They study discrimination in the world and write responses to the speech.

Students read articles relating to Jackie Robinson's breaking of the racial barrier in professional baseball. This leads to a deeper exploration of racism in the United States. They use a variety of worksheets imbedded in this plan to...

Pupils view and read portions of John F. Kennedy's Cuban Missile Crisis speech from October 22, 1962. Later in the year, students recall what they remember about the speech and use a Venn Diagram to compare it to Patrick Henry's...

Learners complete readings and mini-lectures to explore the life of Golda Meir, Israeli leader. They study her biography, discuss their research, write response journals and compare her government with its US counterpart.

Students write a proposal for a speech. Students prepare appropriate visuals for use in the proposed speech. Students produce one or more graphs that summarize the results from the experimentation. Students deliver an effective speech in...

Students investigate the role of women in leadership in history. They conduct research in order to find the real story. The lesson plan stresses the fact that women are not well known in history. There is a variety of activities in this...

Learners apply information found in Lincoln's speeches, especially The Gettysburg Address, to create a persuasive speech on a current topic.

Sixth graders study the various landmarks of the world.  In this Geography lesson, 6th graders write about these landmarks. 

Eighth graders complete a unit of lessons on the period of time from Reconstruction to the Civil Rights movement. They analyze and interpret political cartoons and editorials, conduct research on famous civil rights places, and complete...