University of North Carolina
Speeches
A handout on speeches, part of a series on specific writing assignments, helps individuals develop their speech-writing skills. The resource starts with a discussion on audience and purpose and ends with tips to engage the audience.
Curated OER
Rubrics for Assessing Student Writing, Listening, and Speaking Middle School
This is a fantastic collection of a wide variety of rubrics for writing, listening, and speaking! The resource contains over 14 rubrics for assessing such items as a summary, autobiographical sketch and narrative, speech, oral report,...
ReadWriteThink
Analyzing Famous Speeches as Arguments
A speaker, a message, an audience. After analyzing these elements in Queen Elizabeth's speech to the troops at Tilbury, groups analyze how other speakers use an awareness of events, and their audience to craft their arguments....
K20 LEARN
Speak Up! Four Categories Of Speeches
High schoolers examine the four major types of speeches: informative, demonstrative, persuasive, and extemporaneous. Groups then select one type and craft and share a presentation highlighting this format's characteristics. Finally,...
Curated OER
Speech! Speech!
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 Conventions.
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Persuasive Speech Assignment
Practice using concrete evidence from various sources to back up an argument. The instructional activity emphasizes the use of support in a persuasive speech, as well as the importance of appealing to an audience's logic and emotions....
Curated OER
What's in a Sentence? Getting to Know the Parts of Speech
What a kick! After examining the definitions and looking at examples of the different parts of speech, partners work together on a retelling of a famous nursery rhyme. For each sentence, they must select a word that matches the part of...
Curated OER
English Grammar: Parts of Speech
A good overview of the basic parts of speech, this presentation is ideal for a junior high class that likes flashy animation and bright colors. The concepts are complete, but simple enough to lend well to lecture notes. Use the slide...
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Simple, Compound, Complex, and Compound-Complex Sentences in Your Writing
Have you ever graded a stack of essays that felt like a series of bland simple sentences? A helpful grammar presentation will help learners spice up their writing by varying their sentence style, making them stronger and more attentive...
San José State University
Revising for Clarity: Characters and Their Actions
This handout offers a three-step process for revising sentences for clarity: diagnose, analyze, revise. After reading an example sentence revision with a detailed explanation, learners complete three sample sentences using the three-step...
K20 LEARN
The War of the Words: Grammar and Parts of Speech
Here's a activity that adds some zip to a study of parts of speech. Class members read two versions of the same article, one loaded with evocative nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, while the other is missing this sensory language....
University of Minnesota
Writing for Success
You can be a success! Scholars learn skills required for successful writing with a step-by-step process. They begin with the basics of parts of speech, such as indefinite pronouns, and writing a simple sentence. Individuals then build...
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum
Pearl Harbor Activity #2: Why Do Words Matter?
Words matter! That's the big idea behind an activity that asks scholars to replace words in FDR's "Day of Infamy" speech with synonyms. They then listen to a recording of President Roosevelt's address and compare his version to their own.
Curated OER
Parts of Speech
This online multiple choice quiz focuses on upper-level grammar concepts. In addition to covering simple parts of speech such as nouns, verbs, and adjectives, this resource also covers more advanced information, such as transitive vs....
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Revising Pronouns and Antecedents
Students choose better pronouns to use in their writing. In this pronouns in writing lesson, students identify pronouns in their writing, then replace second person pronouns to improve their writing.
ReadWriteThink
Style-Shifting: Examining and Using Formal and Informal Language Styles
Your high schoolers are probably versed in two languages: formal language, and informal conversation. Help them identify the correct language style for their audience and context with a thorough lesson plan and examples of different...
Curated OER
Techniques for Speech Delivery
Students write and deliver a short persuasive speech using the POAM method. They also incorporate one of the three persuasive appeals into a written speech. Students apply what they have learned about persuasion and speech presentation...
College Writing Center
Reported Speech & Direct Speech
Provide your class with this reference page on direct and indirect speech. The page includes definitions of direct speech and reported speech (also known as indirect speech). When writing, pupils can check the sample sentences provided...
Curated OER
Extemporaneous Speeches
Students perform the six steps of writing an extemporaneous speech including, choosing a topic, researching, writing, practicing delivering and processing.
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Organizing a Speech
Students discuss the elements of an effective speech. They use Inspiration to create a graphic organizer or map of how to effectively organize a speech. Students share their graphic organizer/map with the class.
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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.
Film English
Mixtape
A short film about music is the inspiration for a well-sequenced lesson that includes discussion, group work, and writing. After the whole class converses about music, small groups write narratives about a still from the film. Pupils...
Curated OER
Eloquent Words
Logan’s Lament, a speech delivered by Mingo Chief Logan in 1774, provides pupils with an opportunity to not only study the historical events surrounding the battle between Native Americans and the Europeans for the West Virginia...
Curated OER
Excessive Nominalizations
Eliminate unnecessary nominalizations from your middle schoolers' writing! After reviewing a reference page for the -tion ending (and when it can be excessive in writing), students rewrite eight sentences to change nominalizations to a...