How to Teach Students to Craft a Persuasive Speech
When it’s time to teach your students how to craft a persuasive speech, you need to help them with topic selection, encouraging them to choose a topic that they are interested in AND that they can find good sources to back up their claims. It’s a good idea to curate a list of approved topics for your students; try to choose a wide variety of subjects. Lately, the impact of AI and the ethics of animal testing or zoos have been popular topics with my students. (My unit includes a list of 30+ topics 11th graders love!)
Approving and Refining Topics
Once they’ve chosen a topic, have them show you what they want to do so you can either “ok” it or suggest another avenue if necessary. Then, it’s off to the races, I mean, the research! They will need to find evidence to support their thesis (whatever stance they’ve taken on their topic). Your role will be to help them find strong sources and encourage them to evaluate the credibility of the sources they find. I do this by having my kids fill out “Web Evaluations” that help them judge their sources. If you make your own “Web Evals,” make sure to emphasize the importance of using reliable and up-to-date information, reinforcing the need for a strong foundation of evidence to make a compelling argument. This part will elicit tons of questions from them at first, as they are often unsure of what’s up to snuff and what’s not. (Web eval pages are also included in my unit!)
Effective Note-Taking and Organization
I also encourage them to take notes (and make sure it’s clear what source each batch of notes is from). You can’t really enforce this unless you make it worth points, so I have notes pages in their unit packet that they have to fill out and submit for my review (this also helps me see in advance if they are struggling, and I can intervene and help them before it’s waaaay too late). You could also have them keep their notes on a Google Doc or the “Sticky” application on their computers & then just show them to you or submit them for your review.
Structuring the Persuasive Speech
After all this, the pre-writing stage should focus on organizing the material and planning a logical flow for the speech. Each body paragraph must begin with a claim that supports the thesis, followed by evidence and logical reasoning. It’s a good idea to give your students graphic organizers for this part, as a more structured approach will ensure that their speeches are coherent and effectively convey their intended message. Even 11th graders struggle with organization & structure, so don’t be afraid to help them out. It is OKAY to scaffold for them if and when they truly need it! (An alternative can be teaching them to make an outline; my free handout for outlines can be found here.)
Drafting and Citation Process
The drafting process should stress the importance of citing sources properly. As teachers, we know how crucial it is for our students to maintain accuracy and integrity in referencing the sources to not only strengthen the credibility of the speech but also lay the foundation for academic honesty & ensure OUR kids never get caught up in a plagiarism debacle!! Make sure you REALLY stress this stuff throughout the unit! (Need materials for teaching MLA citation?)
Practice and Refinement
The final stages of your unit plan should involve as much practice and refinement of the speech as you can fit in. My materials contain handouts and rubrics focusing on things like vocal and physical delivery, reducing filler words, maintaining eye contact, and presenting with confidence. I give my kids multiple peer-evaluation forms so they can receive valuable feedback for improvement and fine-tune the speech before their speech day to ensure their best work. (I also tell them it’s okay to have a parent or a friend from another class fill these out, if that feels more comfortable or if their parents just want to help out!) It’s also a REALLY good idea to kind of “ramp up” to the speech by having them practice alone, then with a buddy, then group two pairs together so they are giving it to 3 people, and maybe even do that one more time (so they give it to 5 people) before they give the speech to the whole class. This can REALLY cut down on their apprehensiveness before the big day.
(Note: Some students will have an IEP or a 504 Plan that says they cannot do a speech for the class. Alternative assessment could look like you letting them do it for just you or for you and a teacher/counselor they trust, or perhaps even video recording it & just you watch it.)
Conclusion: Building Persuasive Communication Skills
Your persuasive speech/research unit should emphasize critical thinking, research skills, and effective communication, culminating in a persuasive speech that is well-supported, logically structured, and confidently delivered. We all know that being a persuasive communicator is so important for our students! To convince others, shape public opinion, and drive change in their own way, they will need these skills! Students tend to really buy in with this unit because they get to argue for (or against) something they are passionate about. They LOVE the chance to present on a topic they care about, and they appreciate the chance to improve their persuasive communication skills as well.
Materials
- Want my full unit packet? Click Here!
- Example 1: Problem — Full Disclosure; Solution — Elect Trustworthy Leaders
- Example 2: Problem — The Fur Industry Is Cruel ; Solution — Don’t Buy/Wear Fur.
- How to Cite Orally
- Sample Persuasive Speech on Recycling
- Famous Speeches
Leave a Reply