Essay | Speech

New Voices

In this activity, students will compose an essay or speech to raises awareness of an issue that affects women in their own communities and to inspire positive change.

IDENTITY LESSON 2:
ESSAY / SPEECH

Time Required

1 class period (45-60 min) + written assignment or speech (optional 1-2 class periods)

Resources

VIDEOS: Feminist Icon Video and Transcript (as needed)
HANDOUT: Identity Unit Research, Handout 1 (as needed), Handout 2 (as needed)
WORKSHEET: Essay/Speech Worksheet
TEACHING PLAN: Essay/Speech Activity

Subject Areas

  • History and Social Studies

People > Women
Themes > Civil Rights
Themes > Culture
Themes > Modern World
Themes > Politics and Citizenship

  • Literature and Language Arts

Genre > Essay
Place > The Americas
Place > Modern World

Student Skills

  • Analysis
  • Critical thinking
  • Cultural analysis
  • Discussion
  • Expository writing
  • Gathering, classifying and interpreting written and visual information
  • Internet skills
  • Interpretation
  • Investigating/journalistic writing
  • Literary analysis
  • Making inferences and drawing conclusions
  • Media analysis
  • Online research
  • Oral presentation skills
  • Persuasive writing and speaking
  • Report writing
  • Representing ideas and information orally, graphically and in writing
  • Research
  • Summarizing
  • Synthesis
  • Textual analysis
  • Using secondary sources
  • Writing skills

Common Core Standards

  • ELA Reading: 1, 5-7, 10
  • ELA Writing: 1, 4-10
  • ELA Speaking & Listening: 1-6
  • HSS Reading: 1, 5-7, 9-10
  • HSS Writing: 2, 4-10

Extended Learning

  • Allow additional time for peer review, editing, and revision of work, or for students to evaluate the structure, style, rhetorical strategies, and conclusions of their finished pieces.
  • Add a visual or aural requirement, such as the use of images (for essays) or digital media (for speeches).
  • Increase the minimum length requirement for the essays or speeches, asking students to incorporate research on the social and political history of their chosen issue (see Identity Unit Research handout for resources).
  • Publish class excerpts in the school newspaper or literary/art journal, coordinate a class blog, radio segment, or podcast, or encourage students to submit their final pieces independently.