kbutton Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I am considering doing a speech unit where we study historical speeches (or even utilitarian speeches). How tricky is this going to be if we don't delve into the surrounding history? Also, if you can think of some significant historical speeches that don't require a lot of background (background is familiar), I would love for you to list them. (I already have The Gettysburg Address and I Have a Dream on my list of potential ideas.) It would be nice if some speeches are relatively short, but any length is fair game. The students are middle school ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gil Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 We study speeches, the boys give a speech each week. I want them to learn to write and deliver speeches so this is a long term thing for us. What are you hoping to get out of your speech unit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted February 21, 2016 Author Share Posted February 21, 2016 We study speeches, the boys give a speech each week. I want them to learn to write and deliver speeches so this is a long term thing for us. What are you hoping to get out of your speech unit? This is for a tiny co-op. I think we want to talk about how speeches are structured, but also talk about persuasion, not just informative speeches. I guess maybe comparing and contrasting some types of speeches as well as looking at their structure and purpose. A couple of the kids in the group respond well to "reverse engineering" things--taking apart a speech would be almost essential for them to know how to put one together. Not all speeches are the same, so I guess we'd study genres of speeches and then choose one to imitate. I am partially trying to decide where to put this in my future scope and sequence--should I wait, or I should I work it in next year sorts of questions. The question about the historical context has to do with how much time and effort it would take to go broader than informative speeches to do a decent job. Ideally, I plan to use one of these units for at least one speech (http://www.rfwp.com/series/self-evident-truths-series-statements-of-equality), but we might study other speeches too. Or, I might do one of the units each year paired with some informative speeches (I might be following a similar format each year: novel, poetry, speech, short stories). We are not doing speeches this year because we are doing short biographies, and we are spending a fair amount of time on book talks--the kids will each prepare a presentation on a novel. We studied a novel together in the fall, and the group did a presentation on that novel in the same format they'll use for their personal presentations. The first time through, we worked on the elements together, and each student took responsibility for presenting just one portion. Next time, they will each do a whole presentation alone. They all have some kind of learning issues, so we scaffold this pretty carefully and take our time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gil Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I have no idea about working with a group of more than 2 kids. You might want to do half the term of informative speeches and half argument and persuasion. There is a book out there called "You Be the Judge" or something similar that is meant to be used by middle schoolers I think, that book gives you real cases for your group to debate and take sides on. I made a note to request it via ILL. In the mean time just watch speeches and debates on YouTube and talking about the delivery and body language of the speakers. There were some things that I book marked a while back, but I have like 1500 bookmarks on my internet browser so the odds of me finding them before you can find them via Google are slim. Search words to use are: middle school elocution, 8th grade speech, beginning debate, public speaking for teens, etc. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerileanne99 Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I have a dd6 who loves to memorize speeches, or parts of speeches. She first started when she was four and saw Barack OBama deliver Lincoln's Gettysburg Address as part of the Ken Burns documentary. One of the most fun things for her to do has been t watch lots of others, many of them Celebrities, deliver the speech and then pick apart what was effective/less effective, style. Etc. It has taught her so much about the art of delivering a speech and public speaking in general. would it be possible to pick only a small number of speeches and do this on a larger scope? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted February 22, 2016 Author Share Posted February 22, 2016 Some suggestions: Queen Elizabeth I Speech to the Troops at Tilbury Sojourner Truth Ain't I A Woman Tatanka Ioyatake (Sitting Bull) speech at the Powder River Council of 1877 Eleanor Roosevelt The Struggle for Human Rights Franklin D. Roosevelt Pearl Harbor Address John F Kennedy Ich bin ein Berliner Ronald Reagan Address on the Challenger Disaster Lou Gehrig Farewell to Baseball All of these sound great and give me a wide variety to think about. I think the two in bold would go over really well with my little audience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted February 22, 2016 Author Share Posted February 22, 2016 I have a dd6 who loves to memorize speeches, or parts of speeches. She first started when she was four and saw Barack OBama deliver Lincoln's Gettysburg Address as part of the Ken Burns documentary. One of the most fun things for her to do has been t watch lots of others, many of them Celebrities, deliver the speech and then pick apart what was effective/less effective, style. Etc. It has taught her so much about the art of delivering a speech and public speaking in general. would it be possible to pick only a small number of speeches and do this on a larger scope? That's a good idea. I think the books I want to use by MCT (maybe one per year) will look at style, effectiveness, etc. I am still trying to decide how much time to take, but something like this would go a long way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theelfqueen Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 There's a good compilation of speeches book called Lend Me Your Ears http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0393059316/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1456150020&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=lend+me+your+ears+great+speeches+in+history 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 This one? http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/churchill.htm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted February 23, 2016 Author Share Posted February 23, 2016 Great ideas and resources! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 There is a Lightning Literature Speech guide that uses Lend Me Your Ears. Lightning Literature and Composition Speech: Student Guide Regards, Kareni 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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