When You Grow Up

Click HERE to see quotes by Shel Silverstein.  

Choose one quote that you like best and respond to it in your journal.  How does it make you feel?  How will this quote help you make a decision about your career as an adult?  

This is Shel.  Try not to mess with him.  

Revising Your Speech

Here's how to revise your speech: 

1. COMPLETE YOUR FIRST DRAFT!

2. Examine the grading rubric below.  Compare the expectations for a level 4 in each category with your first draft.  Ask yourself what you can do to improve on each section.  Make changes as necessary.  

3. Ask someone you trust to read through your first draft and give you SPECIFIC, DETAILED, feedback about each category and what you can do to improve your writing. 

4. Go back to your draft to re-write, edit, and make changes to improve your writing.  

After you've gone through this process several times, with several different people reading your work, you should be able to produce a REVISED DRAFT that is ready for proofreading.  

Creating an Outline!

After you've finished brainstorming using the steps in our last blog post, you are ready to create your outline.

There are many ways to create an outline.  Honestly, you can do it however you want... but here is a suggestion that I found on the blog of a speech writer: 

1. Introduction (tell them what you’re going to tell them)
1. Open with a quote or personal story
2. State the main reason for your speech
3. Summarize your three principle points
1. First point
2. Second point
3. Third point
2. Body (tell them)
1. First point – start with your strongest point. Give your listeners something to grab on to.  Provide reasons and/or evidence to support your first point.  
2. Second point – this is the weaker or weakest point. Sandwich it between the stronger points.  Provide reasons and/or evidence to support your second point.  
3. Third point – come back with another strong point.  Provide reasons and/or evidence to support your third point.  
3. Conclusion (tell them what you told them)
1. Re-state your three main points
1. First point
2. Second point
3. Third point
2. Summarize the idea you’ve presented
3. Conclude with a compelling remark or a call to action

If this format doesn't seem like it's going to work for you, search the internet for other ways to outline your speech.  Remember, if you don't create an outline... this will happen to you: 

Brainstorming for Writing a Speech!

TASK:  To write a speech that answers the following question:  How will we ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering?

In order to answer this question, you must first determine the following:

1. Audience - Who are you writing to?  You must have a particular group of people in mind when writing a speech in order to choose the right words that can motivate them.

2. Topic - What particular kind of suffering is this group the victim of?  You must have a topic in mind in order to address the specific concerns of your audience.

BRAINSTORMING

Respond thoughtfully to each of the following bullet points in your journal.  This is the first step in gathering ideas for writing your speech.  Before moving on to writing the first draft, you must conference with Harrison/Silvia about your journal responses:

• Describe your audience.  Who are you writing to?  This must be a specific group of people that you personally care about. 
• Describe your topic.  What kind of problem does this group of people suffer from?  Why do you care about this problem in the world?  
• Summarize your speech in a few sentences.  What are you going to say to your audience to convince them that you "know the way to the center of the labyrinth?"  

RESOURCES

You may research ideas for your audience/topic on the internet.  You can choose a historical situation, current event, or even a personal problem to focus on for the topic of your speech.

For help thinking of a topic: Persuasive Topics

For help organizing the speech: Writing Center

For ideas on how to write a great speech:  Forbes

For help on how to win a Cannoli eating contest, ask this guy:

AFTER conferencing with Harrison about your topic: 

Find a speech or essay online that addresses the same topic and audience you chose.  Read this text carefully and do the following:  

• List three main points that the writer was trying to make 
• For each point, explain the reasoning and evidence that the writer provided 

Finding a Hero!

Task:  Use your iPad to research a HISTORICAL person that you can identify as a HERO using the criteria we developed in class: 

• Experience personal suffering
• Take a risk: face FEAR
• Accomplish a great task for the sake of others

Once you have found a person that fits this description, find the text of a speech that demonstrates their leadership qualities and use it to complete the following assignment. 

Click HERE to access the assignment!  

Dalai Lama's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech

Click HERE to take the quiz 

When you are done, click HERE to continue watching the film Kundun.

High School Survey

Click on the link:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/J3RQNZW