Words are powerful and put in the hands of skilful orators, they can inspire, heal and change
our
world. Reading, watching and studying the rhetorical techniques speakers use to build and
support their arguments deepens will deepen our students' understanding of important messages
about gender and racial equality, climate change and environmental issues and other important
topics of our time.
Unit Overview
In this unit, students will develop their rhetorical analysis skills through analysing and
interpreting famous speeches. There are many possible focus topics. We consider a few: climate
change and saving the environment; education for girls and gender equality; racial equality; and
motivation.
What is the purpose of the unit?
Inquiry
Key Concept: communication Related Concepts: point of view, genre
Global Context Exploration: Orientation in Space and Time (exchange and interaction)
Statement of Inquiry: Specific genres may communicate points of view through exchange and
interaction.
Inquiry Questions:
Factual: What are some rhetorical devices?
Conceptual: How do speechwriters use rhetorical devices creatively to communicate specific
points of view?
Debatable: To what extent is the interpretation of a speech decided by the audience?
Suggestions for Resources
Below is a list of some speech suggestions for this unit. If you have taught speeches you can
recommend to us, please add them to the comments box below and we will add them to this list.
Texts to GO with Quizzes:
Climate Change and Environment
Greta Thunberg Speech - pdf
https://www.youtube.com/live/haewHZ8ubKA?feature=share
https://www.npr.org/2019/09/23/763389015/this-is-all-wrong-greta-thunberg-tells-world-leaders-
at-u-n-climate-session - News Article
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/classroom/2019/09/greta-thunberg-on-the-urgency-of-the-climate
-crisis/ - Assessment
How does Greta Thunberg use rhetorical and other language techniques to present
her ideas?
Gender Equality
HeForShe by Emma Watson - pdf
https://youtu.be/gkjW9PZBRfk
https://www.thoughtco.com/transcript-of-emma-watsons-speech-on-gender-equality-30262
00#:~:text=No%20country%20in%20the%20world,because%20I%20was%20a%20girl.
Malala's Speech - Pdf
https://youtu.be/MOqIotJrFVM - Malala speech
https://youtu.be/NKckKStggSY - Emma interviews Malala
https://malala.org/ - Malala Fund Website
How does Malala use rhetorical and other language techniques to present her ideas?
Racial Equality
I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King - pdf
https://youtu.be/vP4iY1TtS3s
https://youtu.be/mfzkkdFbSls
https://freedomsring.stanford.edu/?view=Speech
Analysis of I Have a Dream
Motivation
Text to GO: Self-Discipline by Will Smith - Pdf
https://youtu.be/ft_DXwgUXB0 - Video
Planning Summative Assessments
GRASPS Summative Assessment
Goal: To communicate in a speech a specific point of view e.g. your views on gender equality
Role: A famous person who is passionate about your topic e.g. a U.N. Goodwill ambassador
Audience: Your audience is the people who will hear you present your speech eg. the U.N.
Situation: You have been asked to give a speech in which you express your point of view about
a topic you are passionate about.
Product: Speech
Success Criteria: You will be assessed against Criterion B: Organising (i. ii), Criterion C:
Producing Text (i, ii, iii) and Criterion D: Using Language (i, ii, iii, iv).
More ideas for summative assessments:
The above GRASPS assessment can be adapted to whichever topic(s) you have focused on
during the unit e.g. climate change, poverty, education, e.t.c.
If you add a component where students perform their speeches, Criterion D: v. using non-verbal
communication techniques can be assessed.
If you add a component in which students write a short analytical reflection (250-300 words)
explaining their language choices and rhetorical techniques, Criterion A: i, ii, iii can be assessed
and A: iv if students evaluate similarities and differences by connecting features across speeches.
Link to online Summative Assessment task:
Speeches of our Time - GRASPS Summative Assessment
Student Task Sheet to Download:
GRASPS Summative Assessment
Approaches to Learning skills and the Learning Process
Communication Skills Communication Skills
Use appropriate forms of writing for different purposes and audiences
Use a variety of speaking techniques to communicate with a variety of audiences
Thinking Skills - Create original works and ideas
Teaching Strategy: read and analyse speeches, discuss and practice using rhetorical techniques
to express perspectives leading to students engaging with the creative process to write their
original speeches for different audiences.
Teaching and Learning through Inquiry
Action
Content
There are so many possibilities for choosing the content of this unit! I suggest that to start with,
you choose a specific focus e.g. gender equality or climate change, then find out from the
students if you don't know already what speeches they have already learned about in previous
MYP classes if they have analysed speeches before and which rhetorical devices they know and
can recognise already.
The next stage is to consider carefully exactly what it is you want your students to be able to
know, understand and do by the end of the unit. I have found that backwards planning of the unit
ensures the statement of inquiry is closely connected with the summative assessments and that
they are a performance of understanding of the SOI.
With all the above thought out, you are ready to begin to plan the unit. I have chosen a selection
of speeches to recommend to you from my list of teaching favourites, and I will provide you with
some suggestions for other speeches and resources. However, there are many other possible
angles and speeches you can choose, and if you have any personal favourites you recommend to
us, please post them in the comments below this post.
Formative Assessment
You will assess your students formatively throughout the learning process in the unit. We
constantly judge our students' knowledge and understanding during lessons and provide them
with positive verbal feedback. I recommend always preparing students for each summative
assessment, possibly by giving them a similar mini-formative assessment before the summative
assessment, for which you provide verbal and/or written feedback goals that your students can
work on.
Some ideas for differentiation
Content
Choose appropriate speeches to support or challenge individual student needs.
Process
Provide additional questions, explanations, scaffolds, vocabulary lists etc.
Product
Modify the final product in ways such as reducing the length of the speech, increasing time
allocation, providing additional clarifications or modifying the assessment criteria and strands in
Years 1-4.
Service Learning Links
If you choose to focus on environmental or social issues during this unit, there is a clear link with
the MYP Service Outcome: Engage with issues of global importance. Perhaps, your students
could write their speech to raise awareness about environmental issues or education for girls, the
plight of children living in poverty or those forced by war to migrate. Students can write and
present their speeches to others or create short films in which their speeches are presented with
appropriate visuals to create an impactful message for others.
Learner Profile Attributes Links
You can create links to many of the Learner Profile Attributes. Here are some of my suggestions:
THINKERS - analysing and interpreting speeches, connecting speeches to global issues.
COMMUNICATORS - students write speeches about global issues.
Reflecting at different stages of the unit
Use some questions below to support your reflection at different stages of the unit. A detailed list
of pre, during and post-unit reflection questions is available on this page. Below are just a few
questions to get you started.
Before the unit
• Why do we think reading, listening to and analysing speeches with global themes is important?
• What have students encountered in watching, reading and appreciating speeches before?
• What do we know about students’ preferences and patterns of interaction?
During the unit
• What resources are proving useful, and what other resources do we need?
• What student inquiries are emerging?
• What skills need more practice? e.g. rhetorical technique analysis skills
• How can we scaffold learning for students who need more guidance?
• What is happening in the world now with which we could connect teaching and learning in
this unit?
Following the unit
• What were the learning outcomes of this unit?
• How well did the summative assessment task distinguish levels of achievement?
• Was the task sufficiently complex to allow students to reach the highest levels?
• What evidence of learning can I identify?
• Which teaching strategies were effective? Why?
• How will I build on our experience to plan the next unit?
• How effectively did I differentiate learning in this unit?
• What can students carry forward from this unit to the next year/level of study?
