National Endowment for the Humanities
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nonviolent Resistance
Was nonviolent resistance the best means of securing civil rights for black Americans in the 1960s? In this highly engaging and informative lesson, your young historians will closely analyze several key documents from the civil rights...
Scholastic
Narrative Writing
If you're looking to start a unit based around narrative writing, make sure to consider this resource while you're planning. This book covers five topics: writing personal narratives, writing narratives about others, writing narratives...
Shakespeare in American Life
"We Few, We Happy Few": Motivational Speech in Henry V
Class members may "think themselves accurs'd" when they first hear of an assignment that asks them to create a motivational speech. After studying the Saint Crispin's Day speech from Shakespeare's Henry V; however, they will count...
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
“Just a Minute” Focus: Adapting Speech
A little bit complicated, but a whole lot of fun. Show your class an episode of the British television game show Just a Minute. After an explanation of the rules (no repetition, hesitation, or deviation) groups develop topics, based on...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit 3 Assessment, Part I: Short Constructed Response and Organizing Notes for a Public Speech
It's time to put pen to paper. Scholars complete the first part of the mid-unit 3 assessment, writing a short constructed response about international aid following a natural disaster. Next, pupils use informational texts and note...
Tobii Dynavox
Sono Flex
Empower nonverbal learners with the gift of gab using this speech and language application. Offering hundreds of picture-supported words and phrases, it's easy for students who struggle with verbal communication to have meaningful...
Curated OER
Impromptu Speech
Polish proper public speaking skills! Each speaker makes a short speech without getting the opportunity to rehearse it. There are 46 topics on small cards which can be cut apart, put in a hat, and drawn out to be used as a speech topic....
Curated OER
Irony in "The Gift of the Magi"
Use O. Henry's ubiquitous tale of love and poverty to explore irony. After reading the story, middle schoolers identify examples of all three kinds of irony in the story. With partners, they brainstorm original examples of irony. Then...
Curated OER
Creating Civic Awareness Through Artistic and Literary Forms
Interpret current events using editorial cartoons and other print media. Middle schoolers explore the meanings of literary and artistic terms such as satire, irony, and caricature. They visit internet sites to develop an understanding of...
Curated OER
Exploring Contrasts in "The Lanyard" by Billy Collins
Middle schoolers analyze the speaker's ideas and tone in the Billy Collins poem "The Lanyard." After identifying how each of the five senses is addressed in the poem, they compare images to draw conclusions about the speaker and his...
Museum of Tolerance
Developing Media Literacy
To protect young people from questionable content, many schools limit access. This resource suggests that because learners can so readily avail themselves to unrestricted Internet access, it is vital for 21st century learners to develop...
Curated OER
Gerunds and Infinitives
Delve into the world of gerunds and infinitives with this detailed powerpoint. Each slide provides examples and corresponding images. Stopping throughout the presentation would allow for guided and individual practice. This could also be...
Curated OER
Impromptu and Extemporaneous Speeches
Students brainstorm and agree on a topic that is interesting to both the speaker and the audience and research it with both tradition and non-traditional sources. They write and outline the body of the speech and translate the speech...
Curated OER
Free Speech Questions
In this First Amendment worksheet, students respond to 14 short answer questions about freedom of speech and restrictions of speech.
Curated OER
Use Parts of Speech to Improve Sentence Beginnings
Students demonstrate the parts of speech in sentences. In this grammar lesson, students highlight and identify the parts of speech in sentences.
Curated OER
The Power of Speech
High schoolers prepare and deliver a speech on equal rights. They explore equal rights issues as they practice the skills necessary for public speaking.
Curated OER
Write Your Own "I Have a Dream" Speech
Students listen to King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech. They use a fill-in-the-blanks worksheet to express their dreams for the world in a format similar to King's speech.
Curated OER
Preparing for the Informative Speech
Students read an outline on how to prepare an informative speech. In this informative speech lesson plan, students read an outline and then prepare a speech.
Curated OER
Develop a Paragraph
Need a recipe for a paragraph? Young writers cook up the opening paragraph for a speech on food preparation. They prepare by reading the directions and cutting out the provided sentence strips. Then, they mix up the strips and paste the...
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....
EngageNY
Including Multimedia and Visual Displays in Presentations: Prioritization of Relief Aid after Natural Disasters
It's time to put the plan into practice. Using their plans from the previous lesson plan, scholars create multimedia and visual displays for their opinion speeches. Next, they watch videos of speeches and use a presentation rubric to...
International Debate Education Association
Speaking Across the Curriculum
With the focus on 21st century skills it is even more important that all teachers incorporate listening and speaking activities into their curriculum. Here's a packet of practical ideas appropriate for any classroom.
Deliberating in a Democracy
Freedom of Expression
Should democracies include hate speech as a protected right? Scholars analyze the rights found under the First Amendment to the Constitution through researching evidence. Freedom of expression becomes the focal point of the...
State Bar of Texas
Schenck v. US
Freedom of speech is absolute—or is it? The Supreme Court case Schenck v. United States has learners research what free speech really looks like. A short video along with paired work creates open discussion and thought on what speech is...