Curated OER
Persuasion as Text: Organizational, Grammatical, and Lexical Moves in Barbara Jordan’s "All Together Now"
A thorough lesson plan on persuasive writing takes middle schoolers through several activities, including group discussion, collaborative posters, and independent writing. They compare historical speeches and analyze the persuasive...
DocsTeach
Two Versions of FDR's Infamy Speech
Historians follow FDR's Infamy speech from rough draft to the official address to the Senate. An intriguing activity compares and contrasts FDR's original speech to the official version. Academics also listen to FDR address the Senate....
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....
Curated OER
Presidential Speeches
Listen to and analyze a presidential speech in order to explain the principles held by the president and the historical context in which the speech was made. Then hold a campaign and election simulation involving featured presidents.
National Endowment for the Humanities
García Márquez’s Nobel Prize Speech: “The Solitude of Latin America”
To conclude a study of One Hundred Years of Solitude, class members analyze Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Nobel Prize in Literature acceptance speech. After a whole-class discussion of the main ideas in the speech, individuals draft a...
Prestwick House
Reading Nonfiction: Analyzing Joseph McCarthy's "Enemies from Within" Speech
Looking for a activity that teaches class members how to analyze nonfiction? Use Joseph McCarthy's famous "Enemies from Within" speech as a instructional text. Worksheet questions direct readers' attention to the many historical...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Historical Time Periods
What do images tell us about history? Dress, setting, and actions all convey cultural norms, and in essence, give reference to historical time and place. Learners compare and contrast Kunisada's Actor with Flute in Snow to Hokuei's...
Curated OER
From Tinker to Fraser: Freedom of Speech in Public Schools
The Tinker and Fraser cases were taken the Supreme Court on the basis of the 1st Amendment right to Freedom of Speech. Learners discuss each case, the First AMendment, complete handouts, and conduct a role play activity. Handouts are...
C-SPAN
Historical Presidential Campaign Announcement Analysis
Using the announcements of presidential candidacies, pupils consider how contenders make their initial arguments to the public. A worksheet helps structure collaborative work to analyze 10 video clips. Writing prompts allow for extension...
Curated OER
The Art of Persuasion-Analysis of Argument
Analyze advertising techniques in order to pinpoint persuasive strategies that writers use. These same techniques are then examined in persuasive speeches. You will have to find your own advertisements, but speeches are included. Finish...
Curated OER
Historical Moments
Here is a lesson designed to be an ongoing task for the entire year. Each day of the week, learners must perform research to answer a simple historical question. This particular lesson covers the month of April, but the template...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
End of the Cold War
How significant was the Cold War during the 20th century? After reading and analyzing speeches by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, learners consider the historical context of foreign policy decisions made during the Cold War by both...
DocsTeach
The Path of Justice: Selma and the Voting Rights Act
The civil rights movement: An ongoing battle for change. The activity focuses on President Johnson's speech in response to the massacre at the Selma March. Academics study the speech, complete a hands-on-activity, and discuss President...
Curated OER
The Gettysburg Address
Who was Abraham Lincoln, and what is the Gettysburg Address? Sixth graders participate in a seminar where they read and analyze the Gettysburg Address and its importance. The role of Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War is also...
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Recipe for an Inaugural Address
An inaugural address represents the first moments of a new beginning. Using John F. Kennedy's speech as a model for guided practice, groups examine the ingredients of an inaugural address. Individuals then repeat the analysis process...
Curated OER
A Day of Infamy:Analyzing FDR’s Pearl Harbor Address
In 1941 FDR spoke out on the events at Pearl Harbor. The class will get to analyze word choice, word meaning, author's craft and structure by analyzing an actual draft of this speech. They will look critically at the words used,...
Curated OER
Can History Be Rewritten?
Can history be rewritten? Or, more precisely, is history documented accurately? High school juniors and seniors compare primary source material with secondary sources. For example, they compare President Roosevelt's December 29, 1940...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 14: Dedication
Connect Martin Luther King Jr's famous speech, "I Have a Dream," to The Cay by Theodore Taylor. Taylor refers to the speech in his dedication, which creates a natural segue into talking about the speech and how it relates to the novel....
Curated OER
History Personified
In 1856 Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beat Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts over the head with a cane. This event, which highlighted the acrimonious debate over the expansion of slavery, is the focus of a paper...
Curated OER
Remembrance of Things Past
Engage critical and social thinking by exploring the value of language and word choice. The class considers the article "The Silence of the Historic Present" and analyzes several presidential speeches. They engage in class discussion,...
Curated OER
Heroes in Art
Learners 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.
Curated OER
A Look Through My Antonia's Eyes
Thoroughly delve into My Antonia by Willa Cather with a plethora of activities. Engage scholars with videos and web sites in this week-long unit that explains the historical context and creates pioneers in the field of research. An...
Center for History Education
Speaking Freely In the Soviet Union's Autocratic Government
Speak your mind! The lesson explores the difference in free speech between the United States and the Soviet Union. Academics review the constitutions of both governments, political cartoons, and case studies to understand how freedom of...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Reading the Work of B. Franklin, Printer
Placing Ben Franklin’s ideas about a free press next to those embodied in the First Amendment sheds light on both. Learners interpret and compare two primary sources and then examine them in the light of a contemporary survey about...