Aside from the student speeches, we’re most excited to find out how teachers, family members, and mentors nationwide will present the Make Your Speech contest to their learners, adapt it to fit their curriculum, and use it to teach a variety of lessons in Social Studies, English, Speech/Debate, Public Speaking, and Drama classes. If you want to share the unique way your community approached this contest, please let us know! Below, find some standards-aligned ideas for bringing Make Your Speech into your classroom.
- C3 Framework and Common Core Standards Alignment for Contest Participation
- Speech Analysis Contest Introduction Lesson Plan
- C3 Framework and Common Core Standards Alignment
- 40-minute Activity
- Student Print Outs
Make Your Speech Contest Standards Alignment
When your learner participates in the Make Your Speech contest, they’re working toward achieving education standards outlined in the nationally recognized College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework and Common Core ELA standards:
C3 FrameworkD4.3.6-8. - Present adaptations of arguments and explanations on topics of interest to others to reach audiences and venues outside the classroom using print and oral technologies (e.g., posters, essays, letters, debates, speeches, reports, and maps) and digital technologies (e.g.,Internet, social media, and digital documentary).D4.3.9-12. - Present adaptations of arguments and explanations that feature evocative ideas and perspectives on issues and topics to reach a range of audiences andvenues outside the classroom using print and oral technologies (e.g., posters, essays, letters, debates, speeches, reports, and maps) and digital technologies (e.g., Internet,social media, and digital documentary).D4.6.6-8. - Draw on multiple disciplinary lenses to analyze how a specific problem canmanifest itself at local, regional, and global levels over time, identifying its characteristics and causes, and the challenges and opportunities faced by those trying to address the problem.D4.6.9-12. - Use disciplinary and interdisciplinary lenses to understand the characteristics and causes of local, regional, and global problems; instances of such problems in multiple contexts; and challenges and opportunities faced by those trying to address these problems over time and place.D4.7.6-8. - Assess their individual and collective capacities to take action to address local, regional, and global problems, taking into account a range of possible levers of power, strategies, and potential outcomes.D4.7.9-12. - Assess options for individual and collective action to address local, regional, and global problems by engaging in self-reflection, strategy identification, and complex causal reasoning.Common CoreCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.4 - Present claims and findings, sequencing ideas logically and using pertinent descriptions, facts, and details to accentuate main ideas or themes; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.5 - Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, images, music, sound) and visual displays in presentations to clarify information.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.4 - Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.5 - Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.6 - Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating a command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. (See grades 11-12 Language standards 1 and 3 here for specific expectations.)
Make Your Speech Introduction Activity
Lesson written for 8th/9th grade, adaptable for lower and higher levelContent StandardsC3 Framework
- D4.4.6-8 - Critique arguments for credibility.
- D4.4.9-12 - Critique the use of claims and evidence in arguments for credibility.
- D4.5.6-8 - Critique the structure of explanations.
- D4.5.9-12 - Critique the use of the reasoning, sequencing, and supporting details of explanations.
Common Core
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL. 6.2 - Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.3 - Delineate a speaker's argument and specific claims, distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.2 - Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.3 - Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used.Learning GoalsBy the end of this lesson I will…
- Identify the use of rhetoric (diction, tone, rhythm, and body language) in political speeches.
- Evaluate how different rhetorical moves support speakers’ arguments and how they are received by the audience.
- Brainstorm how I can use similar rhetorical devices in my speech to make my argument and engage my audience.
Opening Hook
Students jot down what they notice in these two video clips:
- The final three minutes of Barack Obama’s 2009 inaugural speech | Transcript
- A clip from Franklin Roosevelt’s 1945 inaugural address (begin at 1:20) | Transcript (recommended to supplement unclear audio)
Students share some of their observations, and note the aspects of the speech that stood out the most. Read aloud to students:
Politicians’ speeches are known not just for what they say, but how they say it. The tone of someone’s voice, whether their voice stays on the same note, or goes up and down, makes a difference in how listeners feel.
President Obama’s speeches were well-known for their rhythm and tone—repeating words and phrases for emphasis that often sound like music, reminding listeners of ministers from the Black church, or civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr.
Harry Truman, who grew up in the Midwest in the early 20th Century, had a very different tone. Instead of using imagery and personal stories to persuade listeners, his approach is much more direct and honest—his tone is almost a monotone, it doesn’t sail up and down but stays in place. His rhythm is clipped instead of musical, and Truman chooses to emphasize the words of his speech without emotion.
Ask students to specifically share how Truman and Obama used movement and word choice, and how these rhetorical choices work for their audiences?
Introduction: Inaugural Addresses
As a class, read the passage on the student handout. Lead classroom discussing differences and similarities between the two speeches, as well as discussion of the impact these choices may have on listeners/viewers.
Next, read the Make Your Speech contest page so students know what they are working toward by analyzing these speeches.
40-minute activity
Speech Analysis In pairs or small groups, students watch 1-2 of the speeches below and identify, compare, and contrast their use of rhetoric and audience impact. Students may use Venn diagrams or other graphic organizers to take notes. Share Out Students introduce the speaker and share their analysis of the speech. ApplicationStudents take time to silently journal about which rhetorical moves they could emulate in their own speeches, which they’d like to avoid, and what impact they’d like to have on their audience. Share out if there is time. Assessment (optional)Play a video of a previous winner of the Make Your Speech Contest. Ask students to write down a good use of rhetoric, and why it was effective. Collect as an exit slip to end class.
Michelle Obama at the Democratic National Convention, 2024
While Michelle Obama has never run for a political office, she was the First Lady when her husband, Barack Obama, was president from 2009-2016. She gave a political speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.In this speech, notice how the former First Lady takes one phrase, “Do Something”—and weaves it throughout her speech. “Do Something” is used as a simple phrase to inspire Americans to become civically involved, including voting, volunteering and bringing positive change to communities.
“If things don’t go our way, we don’t have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead. No. We don’t get to change the rules, so we always win. If we see a mountain in front of us, we don’t expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top. No. We put our heads down. We get to work. In America, we do something.”
Nikki Haley at the Republican National Convention, 2024
In 2024, Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, was running for the Republican presidential nomination against President Donald Trump. After she didn’t receive much support, she dropped out of the race.
In this speech at the Republican National Convention, notice how Ms. Haley uses negatives and turns them into a positive, when endorsing her adversary, President Trump. She highlights the areas they disagreed, then focuses on areas where they do agree to persuade voters to vote for Trump.
While there were lots of areas where she and Trump disagreed, “we agree on making America safe, and keeping America strong,” she said.
“We should acknowledge that there are some Americans who don’t agree with Donald Trump 100% of the time. I happen to know some of them, and I want to speak to them tonight. My message to them is simple. You don’t have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him. Take it from me. I haven’t always agreed with President Trump, but we agree more often than we disagree.”
President Ronald Reagan’s first inaugural speech, 1981
When Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1980, America had been suffering from economic problems like unemployment, gas shortages and inflation.
Reagan’s inauguration speech used simple, everyday language to get his message across. He doesn’t spend any time on personal stories or emotional language at the beginning of the speech, often used to draw listeners in. Instead, Reagan gets right to his message: the way the government operates is going to change. His sentences are short and easy to understand, and he keeps flowery language and big words to a minimum.
“We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow,” was his straightforward message to citizens.
“You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited period of time. Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we're not bound by that same limitation? We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow. And let there be no misunderstanding: We are going to begin to act, beginning today.”
Mitt Romney’s presidential stump speech, New Hampshire, 2012
When former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney was running against Barack Obama for the presidency in 2012, his stump speeches—the ones he gave on the campaign trail in different states—focused on one thing: voters had a choice to make between him and the current president.His speeches used the compare and contrast technique, taking the laws and policies Obama had done as president, and comparing and contrasting them to how differently he would do it when he was president.
“Obama says he wants to fundamentally transform America” Romney says in this speech, “but I want to restore America to our founding principles.”
Embed Video: https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000001249362/mitt-romneys-iowa-stump-speech.html“Many of you felt that way on Election Day four years ago. Hope and Change had a powerful appeal. But tonight I'd ask a simple question: If you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn't you feel that way now that he's President Obama? You know there's something wrong with the kind of job he's done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him.”
Jennifer Pierotti Lim at the Democratic Convention, 2016
In 2016, lifelong Republican Jennifer Pierotti Lim decided to break with her political party and vote for the opposite party’s candidate—in this case Hillary Clinton, who was the Democratic nominee for president in 2016.
In her political speech in support of Clinton, Pierotti Lin uses the element of surprise, often saying the opposite of what the audience expects her to say, to persuade listeners.
“We’re not just Democrats and Republicans, we’re Americans,” she says.
“When it comes to campaigning, I have done it all: phone banked voters and knocked on so many doors. I bet a lot of you did the same. One difference though: I campaigned exclusively for the GOP…until this election. I've voted Republican my entire life. I believe in the bedrock values of the Republican Party: liberty, equality, and the idea that there are individual rights that cannot be taken away. These are values to be proud of. And because the Republican party has abandoned those values this year, this Republican is voting for Hillary Clinton.”
Make Your Speech Student Handout
After a president is elected, they are expected to give an inaugural speech—a speech at the beginning of their four-year term in office. Most often, presidents use this speech to lay out their vision of what they’d like to accomplish over the next four years when it comes to what laws and policies they’d like to see passed in Congress. The inaugural speech is a message about the future.
To get their message across to listeners, presidents and other politicians like congresspeople, senators, mayors and governors use rhetoric in their speeches—special language intended to inspire and motivate citizens not only to believe in their vision, but also to act in ways that align with that vision.
Throughout history, political circumstances affected the kinds of speeches newly elected presidents made. The content of Franklin Roosevelt’s inaugural speech during World War II in 1945 is very different from Barack Obama’s 2009 speech on recovering from economic recession. Yet in content and form they’re also remarkably similar—while the times were different, elements of the speeches like language, tone and rhythm, and the need to inspire Americans that the future would be better, are largely the same.
Discuss: Think back to the clips you watched at the beginning of class. Compare and contrast Obama and Roosevelt’s rhetoric.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tools and resources for teachers, parents in Make Your Speech contest
