Emma Pebley

I. Context:
This speech unit is designed for a ninth-grade English class at Central
Dauphin High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, my alma mater. I designed the
lesson to give students the tools and opportunity to examine persuasive speech in
order to better understand and decode persuasive messages throughout their adult
lives in the future. This skill set will be important to these students in college and
beyond, when the ability to discern the message behind persuasion could mean
significantly more than a grade on a paper.
The English department at Central Dauphin High School is large and well
funded, and teachers have the opportunity to spend time integrating practical skills
with literature, speech, and research skills. Students are required to take speech in
their freshman year, but the class is treated with disdain and most students claim
they get nothing out of it. This unit is designed to fit into this speech class, making
it more interesting and more accessible to the students.
Central Dauphin High School is a predominately Caucasian high school with a
significant African-American minority. There are approximately 450 students in a
grade, for a total of over 1,800 students. Classroom instruction is typically enriching
and engaging because teachers are given autonomy over lessons and text choices
as long as their students continue to pass the state-mandated examinations. The
school contains students from grades 9-12 and scored 70.4% in PSSA Math and
74.2% in PSSA Reading in 2008-2009.
My relationship to the school and to the class is that, as a student there, I was
required to take the freshman speech class, and I, like many of my classmates,
found it to be unhelpful and uninteresting. I went back after I graduated to observe
some classes when I was deciding on my major, and when I sat in on a speech class,
I noticed that the teacher was struggling to illustrate persuasive speech in a
meaningful way without simply requiring that students perform a speech.
This class takes place in groups of roughly 18 students. The students each
have access to a Mac Book for school projects that can connect to the classroom
network, allowing both the teacher and the students to use multi-media
technologies in the lessons and in projects. The podcasting project can take place
in class because of this technology, which is ideal in terms of assuring that group
work is completed. The desks, for the purposes of the numerous small group
discussions and the group projects, will be set up in groups of four or five,
depending on the number of students in the class. In addition to limiting the
amount of time in a class period that would be dedicated to moving desks, the
groups will allow students to become comfortable with their analysis skills without
experiencing the anxiety that can accompany testing new skills, like speech
analysis, in front of an entire classroom and teacher.

II. Rationale:
I feel this unit is important because, in speech classes, there is a disconnect
between speech in schools and the analytic speech skills that help people decode
and create persuasive messages in their lives. By providing students with examples
of successful persuasive speeches throughout history in both written and spoken
forms and helping them analyze the messages in those speeches, the divide
between “graded speech” and understanding and analyzing messages will be
bridged.
In this day and age, where media messages are almost always persuasive,
the skills to understand and evaluate these messages is paramount. Not only do
media consumers need to be able to make decisions about these messages, but
they should also be able to make these messages themselves to make points in
their school, work, and personal lives. Understanding how persuasion works is
paramount to being able to consciously agree or disagree with messages and make
decisions independent of manipulative words or tactics.
Specifically in terms of this speech class, I think a greater understanding of
the skills underlying persuasive speech will aid students’ confidence and
effectiveness when they actually are required to write speeches. Speech class
requirements center around the performance of speech, but without the
understanding of message and the ability to manipulate language, the skill of
speech is both incomplete and ineffective. By having students podcast their
analysis about a contemporary speech, they are given the opportunity to test out
their understanding of speech analysis before they have to write and perform
speeches themselves. This, in addition their two mini-analysis papers, will give
them a base from which to work confidently when, later in the curriculum, they are
asked to write and perform their own speech. This is a low-risk situation that is
important for students’ growth of speech skills that, unfortunately, is currently not
included in the curriculum for ninth-grade speech.

III. Objectives:
At the end of the unit, students will be able to:
• Analyze speech in both its written and audio-visual form, drawing
conclusions and outlining arguments.
• Create podcasts to succinctly convey an idea or perspective about a
topic.
• Develop and display critical thinking skills.
• Understand what makes an effective speech and how to utilize those
pieces in critiquing speech and creating their own.
• Identify differences in speech patterns and conventions across
cultures, dialects, and time periods in order to understand the different
forms similar messages can take.

IV. Standards
NCTE Standards
• NCTE Standard #4: Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and
visual language (e.g. conventions, style vocabulary) to communicate
effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes. (Student
podcasts and class discussions will demonstrate the ability to change tone
between audiences as well as their difference in vocabulary based on the
formality of the situation.)
• NCTE Standard #9: Students develop an understanding of and respect
for diversity of language use, patterns and dialects across cultures, ethnic
groups, geographic regions, and social roles. (By providing students with
speeches from the Civil War, the Civil Rights movement, as well as
contemporary speeches, students will be able to distinguish between the
different periods and purposes for speaking.
• NCTE Standard #12: Students use spoken, written, and visual
language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g. for learning, enjoyment,
 persuasion, and the exchange of information). (The podcast project will
provide students with the media for their exchange of information.)
PDE Grade 11 Standards
• R11A.2.3 Make inferences and draw conclusions based on text. (Class
discussions will illustrate this ability.)
• R11A.2.7 Evaluate text organization and content to determine the
author’s purpose according to the author’s thesis and logic, headings,
graphics and charts to derive meaning. (Both the podcast project and the
mini-papers will give students the opportunity to discuss the organization
of speeches in terms of purpose.)
• R11A.3.1 Analyze the uses and effects of dialogue, symbolism and/or
word choice as they contribute to the impact of a literary selection.
(Analysis, particularly of word choice, will be key to all discussions,
papers, and projects.)
Media Literacy Standards
• Content Standard 3: Students apply knowledge, skills and strategies to
design and create media messages. (Students will create their own media
message using podcast technology.)
• Content Standard 4: Students identify, analyze and evaluate the
impacts of media on individuals and society. (By analyzing messages from
speeches in class, students will be able to understand how persuasive
speech is designed to manipulate and impact individuals, and will be able
to gauge the effectiveness of these measures in sample speeches.)

V. Grade Level
This lesson is meant for ninth grade because, in the Central Dauphin School
District curriculum, “Basic Speech” is a graduation requirement executed in the
ninth-grade year of high school.

VI. Materials:
• Packet of Speeches to be Discussed in Class – The speeches in this
packet will form the basis for class discussion each day, with two
speeches comprising the class period and approximately 20 minutes
devoted to each. They will be presented in the order that they appear.
o “The Gettysburg Address” by Abraham Lincoln. (to be read in
class)
o “I Have a Dream” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (link to video,
subject of analysis #1)
o “Inaugural Address” by President John F. Kennedy (link to video
included, to be watched at home and discussed in class, subject of
analysis #2)
o “The Ballot or the Bullet” by Malcolm X (to be read at home,
excerpt of audio presented in class)
o “The Challenger Eulogy” by President Ronald Reagan (link to
audio included)
o “Quit India” by Mahatma Gandhi (to be read at home, subject of
analysis #3)
o “The Spanish Armada” by Queen Elizabeth I (to be read and
discussed in class)
 o “9/11 – Address to the Nation” by President George W. Bush (to
be watched and discussed in class)
• “What to Look for” (This handout will detail the components of speech
that will be the focus of class discussions, analysis papers, and the final
group project.)
• Notepaper and pencils/pens (Notes from class discussions about the
speeches will be imperative to writing successful papers on them at
home.)

VII. Technology Resources:

• MacBook w/ internet connection (Students will use the computers,
provided by the school, at home or in study hall to watch/listen to
speeches assigned as homework, as well as use them to write and submit
analysis papers. Podcast work will also be done on the MacBook.)
• Projector, Sound System, and Computer (In class, these resources will
be necessary to listen to/watch speeches as a class from the internet.)
• Problems of Practice:
o If a student’s MacBook does not work, they will be responsible
for using another computer to write and submit papers and do
outside work. (There are two full computer labs in the building open
to students during and after school.) Additionally, they will be
responsible for giving their MacBook (provided by the school) to the
computer technicians at the high school to be repaired.
o If some combination of the teacher equipment (projector, sound
system, and computer) do not work in a given class period,
students should volunteer to read part of the speech aloud to the
class so that the aural impact is not lost, and (if there is a video)
students will be required to watch it on their own time.

VIII. Pre-Activities:
1) Students will be given this prompt: “If someone is trying to
persuade you to do or think something, what do they do?” They will
have three minutes to write down everything they can think of.
(This gives the students an opportunity to begin thinking about the
process behind persuasive speech.)
2) At the end of those three minutes, students will be organized
into groups of four (these groups will become their podcasting
groups) where they will share their ideas about what tools are used
in persuasion, coming up with a group list over the course of five
minutes. (This gives students an opportunity to publish their
thoughts to a small group first, as well as forcing students to justify
their choices, thereby practicing persuasive speech).
3) At this point, the teacher will pass out “The Gettysburg
Address,” read it aloud to the class, and then give seven to eight
minutes for each group to conference about which of the persuasion
tools on their list show up in the speech. (This gives students an
opportunity to work with a sample persuasive speech and their self-
created lists, allowing for revision of the lists and expansion of their
definition of persuasion.)
 4) The group comes back together for the remaining five minutes
dedicated to the speech to discuss what they saw and learned.
(Students again have an opportunity to justify their responses and
their lists, this time using evidence from the speech to convince the
whole group.)
5) The “What to Look for” handout should be passed out at the end
of this activity, prepping students for the discussion on the first
analysis speech, “I Have A Dream.” End of pre-activity

IX. Preparation Time:

Each class period will be forty-seven minutes. Allowing up to ten minutes for
managerial tasks (including explanations of projects and papers, as well as
organizing the class and setting up the media), it would leave slightly less than 18
minutes to discuss each of the speeches.
Four class periods will be devoted to the study of persuasive speech (as
outlined above in VI. Materials), but a fifth class period will be necessary to allow
students to work on their podcast project in school. With both soundproof rooms
reserved for the class period, the groups should be able to finish their podcast
vocals in class and possibly begin the editing process. Final podcasts would be due
the following Monday, providing the unit begins on a Monday and the podcasting
day is Friday.
Outside of class, students will be expected to read, listen to, or watch the
speeches and complete their mini-analyses (1-2 pages double spaced). This work
should not take students more than an hour outside of class time because the
speeches that are assigned as papers will be discussed in class before the students
have to write the papers. Students will also have to decide, in groups, what speech
they will present in their podcast, as well as watch, read, and/or listen to it,
preparing their points for the podcast. An hour each night of the unit (4 hours)
should be sufficient time outside of class to complete the assignments.
The teacher will have to dedicate at least two hours a night to the grading of
these papers, with the intention of providing students with grades and feedback the
next day in class. Additionally, the teacher will have to make time to approve
speech choices for the group podcasting project, as well as to grade the projects
after they are completed.

X. Brief Review of Learning and Products:

• Students will respond to:
o Packet of Speeches – The speeches in this packet will form the
basis for class discussion each day. Included are “The Gettysburg
Address,” “I Have a Dream,” JFK’s “Inaugural Address,” “The Ballot
or the Bullet,” “The Challenger Eulogy,” “Quit India,” “The Spanish
Armada,” and “9/11 – Address to the Nation.” All speeches except
“Quit India,” “The Gettysburg Address,” and “The Spanish Armada”
will be accompanied by the speech in either its audio or audio-
visual form to enhance understanding of the spoken portion of
persuasion.
o “What to Look for” – This handout details the components of
speech that are the focus of the course. Students should use it as a
guide in their writing and podcasting.
 • Students will create:
o Three short (1 to 1 ½) page responses to a designated speech.
These speeches are “I Have a Dream,” JFK’s “Inaugural Address,”
and “Quit India.” Students will exhibit their understanding of
persuasive speech by exploring word choice, aural impact, cultural
norms, and other concepts covered on the handout.
o One group podcast. This podcast will require students to
synthesize the concepts discussed in class and in their response
papers and apply their new knowledge to a contemporary speech
not discussed in class.

XI. Procedural Description of Activities:

• Day One: What is Persuasive Speech?
o Necessary Materials:
 Students will need notepaper, their speech packets, and a
writing implement of their choice.
 The instructor will need a white or blackboard, its
appropriate writing implement, a computer with internet
connection, a sound system, a projector, and a screen on which
to project the images. In the event that the computer or any
part of the projection or sound system does not work, students
should be prepared to read the speeches aloud.
o Preactivity (8-10 minutes):
 Students will be given this prompt: “If someone is trying
to persuade you to do or think something, what do they do?”
They will have three minutes to write down everything they can
think of.
 At the end of those three minutes, students will be
organized into groups of four (these groups will become their
podcasting groups) where they will share their ideas about what
tools are used in persuasion, coming up with a group list over
the course of five minutes.
o “The Gettysburg Address” (10-12 minutes):
 At this point, the teacher will pass out the Packet of
Speeches, asking students to turn to the “The Gettysburg
Address,” read it aloud to the class, and then give seven to eight
minutes for each group to conference about which of the
persuasion tools on their list show up in the speech.
 The group comes back together for the remaining five
minutes dedicated to the speech to discuss what they saw and
learned.
 The “What to Look for” handout should be passed out at
the end of this activity, prepping students for the discussion on
the first analysis speech, “I Have A Dream.”
o “I Have a Dream” (15 minutes):
 Instruct students to open their packets to the “I Have a
Dream” speech so they can take notes while they watch the
speech. Remind them that this will be the subject of their first
analysis paper.
  Play the speech.
 When the speech is over, ask students about the effect
the speech had on them. Allow four to six minutes for these
initial impressions in whole group discussion.
o Explanation of Response Papers (5-7 minutes):
 On the board, write that students will be expected to write
at least one full page on one facet of the speech (word choice,
effect on audience, etc.), but more is encouraged. Papers will
be due at the beginning of the next class, and will be returned at
the beginning of the class following that. Open the floor to
additional questions.
o Explanation of homework (3 minutes):
 Remind students that according to the assignment sheet
(page one of the Packet of Speeches), they are to read JFK’s
“Inaugural Address” and “The Ballot or the Bullet” at home,
coming to class with impressions for discussion.
 Also, ask them to remember who was in their small group
earlier in class. With that group of people, ask them to choose a
persuasive speech not discussed in class, and bring that choice
to class with them tomorrow.
o Housekeeping (2-3 minutes):
 This time can be built into the beginning and/or end,
allowing students time to get settled in the beginning of class
and to pack up at the end.

• Day Two: Speech Choices

o Necessary Materials:
 Students will need their MacBooks, their speech packets,
and something to write with. Students who do not have their
MacBooks with them will need to share with another student
during group work.
 Instructors will need a computer with an internet
connection, a sound system, a projector, and a screen. In the
event that these things don’t work, students will volunteer to
read excerpts from the speeches.
o Collect Response Papers (1-2 minutes):
 When students enter class, they should put their “I Have a
Dream” responses on the teacher’s desk.
o Impressions of “I Have a Dream” (5-7 minutes)
 Ask students, in whole group, about the topics they
discussed in their papers. What did they think Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. did well? Did they think there were things that could
have been improved?
o JFK’s “Inaugural Address” (12 minutes)
 Ask students about Kennedy’s choice of words,
particularly in the last few paragraphs of his speech.
 After a few (3-4) minutes of whole group discussion, have
them break into groups, NOT their podcasting groups, to further
 discuss the choices Kennedy made in the speech. (As for the
decision to keep them out of their podcasting groups, I want
students to actually talk about the inaugural address during this
time, not the contemporary speech they’ve chosen for their
podcast.)
 After 6-8 minutes in small groups, come back to whole
group. Ask students to keep in mind the choices Kennedy made
in his speech when the class moves to Malcolm X. In this whole
group format, have a student from each group share what
conclusions they came to about Kennedy’s choices.
o Malcolm X’s “The Ballot and the Bullet” (15 minutes):
 Have students look over their notes silently for 2 minutes,
and then ask them to write, in no more than four sentences,
what Malcolm X’s goal was for this persuasive speech.
 Give students the opportunity to share these “gists” with
the group. After about 3-4 minutes of sharing, pose a new
question: How do you know what his goal was? How did he go
about achieving this goal?
 Play the audio excerpt from the speech.
 Allow students to discuss this for the remaining 5-7
minutes devoted to the speech. Ask students to consider his
position in the African-American community and the time period.
He was a contemporary of MLK, etc.
o Comparing choices (5-7 minutes):
 Bring the students back to whole group and ask students
to compare the word choice and audience focus between the
two speeches. What reasons might there be for the differences?
End the discussion with the point that, as these speeches
illustrate, persuasive speech is audience-centered.
o Group Meeting (remaining time):
 Allow students to meet in their podcasting groups and
finalize their speech choice. Before leaving class, students must
email the instructor with the name of each member of their
group, the speech they have chosen, and a link to a website
where the text, audio, or visual of the speech can be found for
approval, which the teacher will email back to the students
before the beginning of class the next day.

• Day Three: Audience Awareness

o Necessary Materials:
 Students will need their MacBooks, their speech packets,
and something to write with. Students who do not have their
MacBooks with them will need to share with another student
during group work.
 Instructors will need a computer with an internet
connection, a sound system, a projector, and a screen. A
white/blackboard and applicable writing implement will also be
necessary. In the event that these things don’t work, students
will volunteer to read excerpts from the speeches.
 o Response Papers (1-2 minutes):
 When students enter the class, they will be expected to
put their response paper on the teacher’s desk and go to their
seats, where their response paper from Day Two will be lying
face-down, graded. The board should note that the papers are
to be put away, not discussed, and not read during class.
o “The Challenger Eulogy” (17 minutes):
 Once class begins, play the audio of the eulogy. Students
will be expected to take notes during the audio. (4 minutes)
 Allow students to break into groups (again, not with their
podcasting partners) to discuss why Reagan made this speech.
They should also consider his decisions in tone, word choice, and
length. (8 minutes)
 For the last five minutes devoted to this speech, collapse
into full group discussion. Focus on the question of whether or
not all of the choices that the groups discussed were effective.
To whom did Reagan make this speech? Did the speech achieve
what President Reagan wanted it to? Why or why not?
o “Quit India” (15 minutes):
 Because students have read the speech for homework,
open with the same questions from the discussion of Reagan’s
speech: Why did he make the speech? What tools did he use
that were appropriate to his audience? Did it work? Why or why
not? Allow students to discuss in whole group for five minutes,
and have them research on their Macs quietly and begin their
analysis papers quietly for the remainder of the time.
o Podcasting Groups (10-13 minutes):
 For the remainder of the class, students should break into
their podcasting groups and begin deciding how to divide their
podcast, beginning a script and doing any additional research
they feel is necessary.
o Homework Reminder (1 minute):
 Remind students to take a few minutes to ask their
parents what they remember about President Bush’s speech to
the nation on September 11, 2001. Bring a few talking points or
memories to class the next day.

• Day Four: In the Face of Adversity

o Necessary Materials:
 Students will need their MacBooks, their speech packets,
and something to write with. Students who do not have their
MacBooks with them will need to share with another student
during group work.
 Instructors will need a computer with an internet
connection, a sound system, a projector, and a screen. A
white/blackboard and applicable writing implement will also be
necessary. In the event that these things don’t work, students
will volunteer to read excerpts from the speeches.
o Response Papers (1-2 minutes):
  When students enter the class, they will be expected to
put their response paper on the teacher’s desk and go to their
seats, where their response paper from Day Three will be lying
face-down, graded. The board should note that the papers are
to be put away, not discussed, and not read during class.
o “The Spanish Armada” (15 minutes):
 Give students the context of the speech: Queen Elizabeth
gave the speech to her army where the invasion of the Spanish
Armada was imminent.
 Read the speech aloud, asking students to think about the
context.
 Open the floor to discussion focusing on the importance of
context. Do her words matter more giving the imminent threat?
In her time, would they have worked? Do we still feel the effects
today?
o “9/11 – Address to the Nation” (15 minutes):
 Have students share the results of their homework. What
did their parents remember? How did that speech make them
feel? Do the students remember anything? (3 minutes)
 Break students into non-podcasting groups and have
them dissect the speech, considering how important it was that
President Bush persuaded the nation that we needed to act.
What did he do? Did it work? (8 minutes)
 Bring the group together and elect a representative from
each group to share their points.
o Podcasting Groups (remaining time):
 Students should break into their podcasting groups and
continue to work on their scripts and points for their podcasts.
 Remind students that they will need a completed script to
show the instructor in order to be allowed to record in the voice
studio the next day.

• Day Five: Podcasting

o Necessary Materials:
 Students will need their MacBooks for the recording of
their podcasts.
 Instructor will need to bring the response papers
submitted on Day Four to return to students.
o For the forty-seven minute class period, students will meet in
the basement classroom to record their podcasts in the sound
booths. Editing can also begin on their MacBooks once recording is
finished. The podcasts will be due three days later (On Monday if
this class falls on a Friday, for example).

XII. Intermediate Conclusion:

This unit gives students the opportunity to develop an understanding of
persuasive messages and the parts that go into them. Because they are required to
dissect speeches that have been successful, they can begin to understand how to
critically analyze messages and look for persuasion, as well as use these critical
 tools to craft their own messages. By providing students with a variety of speakers,
they will also gain an understanding of audience and how the culture and values of
an audience can shape the speaker’s words and message. They are also learning
how to publish persuasive messages through the use of podcasting, a skill that will
be valuable outside of the unit and the classroom.

XIII. Rubrics:

Written
Mini- Points
Analysis Beginning Developing Competent Exemplary Awarde
Papers d
Rubric
• A topic is
• A topic is
• No topic OR identified • A topic is
identified
Inappropriate • A thesis is identified
• A thesis is
topic present • A thesis is
present
Analysis of • Lack of thesis • Analysis does present
• Analysis
• No examples or not go beyond • Analysis
Chosen Topic the class supports thesis
supports thesis /10
support from
(10 points) discussion. • Examples from
text • Examples from
the text
• No personal • No examples or the text are
creatively
inferences support from poorly utilized
support thesis
• 0-3 points text • 7-8 points
• 9-10 points
• 4-6 points

• Discussion does • Discussion • Discussion

• Discussion
attempts reveals thought
not attempt to reveals thought
thought about about cultural
address cultural about cultural
Attention to elements of cultural elements of
meaning of
Critical elements of speech
speech speech
Consciousnes speech AND • Analysis reveals
• Analysis makes • Analysis
• Analysis makes an /8
s no attempt to attempts to
understanding
address the no attempt to understand the
(8 points) address the of the
manipulative manipulative
manipulative manipulative
elements of elements of
elements of elements of
speech speech
speech speech
• 0-2 points • 5-6 points
• 3-4 points • 7-8 points
• There are no
• There are a few • There are no
• Grammar more than two
grammar mistakes in
mistakes are mistakes in
mistakes grammar,
numerous. grammar,
• There are a few spelling, or
• Spelling and spelling, and
spelling and usage.
Mechanics usage mistakes usage.
usage mistakes • Examples from /4
(4 points) are numerous • Examples are
• Examples are the speech are
• Examples from cited and
quoted cited and
the speech are quoted
properly. quoted
misquoted. properly.
properly.
• 1 point
• 2 points • 4 points
• 3 points
• Paper does not • Paper is at least
meet the 1- one page
Length
page length double-spaced, /2
(2 points) requirement 12-pt font
• 0 points • 2 points
Turned in on • Paper was All Papers turned in after the beginning of class on the /1
turned in before assigned due date will receive no more than half credit.
 the beginning
of class on its
Time? assigned due
(1 point) date.
• 1 point
Total Points
/25
Earned

Group Points
Podcast Beginning Developing Competent Exemplary Award
Rubric ed
• Discussion does • Discussion • Discussion • Discussion
not cover any covers 1 topic in covers 2 topics covers at least 3
topics in depth depth and other from the “What topics from the
• Points are not topics briefly to Look for” “What to Look
well-made, and • Counterpoints Worksheet in for” Worksheet
counterpoints are ignored depth and 1 or in depth
Ideas and are nonexistent more topics • Points and
Content briefly counterpoints /50
(50 points) • One side of the are addressed
issue dominates
the discussion,
• < 30 points but
• 30-39 points counterpoints • 45-50 points
are present
• 40-44 points
• No audience is • Intended • Intended • Intended
discernable audience is audience is audience is
• Language is unclear implied, but not explicitly
inappropriate • Language is stated identified
Voice and for a school appropriate a • Language is • All language is
Audience project school project mostly appropriate for
/25
Awareness • Speech is • Speech is often appropriate to intended
(25 points) unclear and unclear or audience audience
hesitant hesitant • Speech is • Speech is clear
mostly clear and confident
and/or confident
• < 15 points • 15-17 points • 18-21 points • 22-25 points
• Discussion is • Discussion is • Minor breaks in • Discussion flows
fragmented and disjointed or discussion seamlessly
awkward. stunted during group between group
• Topics are between group member or topic members
presented members transitions • Topics are
Organization illogically • Topics are not • Topic order is presented in a
• No transitions presented logical. logical format.
and
facilitate the logically. • Grammar is • Transitions are /25
Mechanics move between • Transitions are mostly correct, used effectively.
(25 points) topics ineffective. with a few minor • Grammar is
• Grammar • Grammar errors. correct
mistakes are mistakes are
pervasive and frequent and
repeated repetitive • 18-21 points • 22-25 points
• < 15 points • 15-17 points
Effective Use • Dead space and • Editing leaves • Editing removes • Editing has /20
of Technology miscellaneous many pockets of most dead air removed dead
sounds dead air and and air, “uhms,”
(20 points) dominate the miscellaneous miscellaneous other
podcast sounds sounds miscellaneous
 Group Points
Podcast Beginning Developing Competent Exemplary Award
Rubric ed
• Jingles or songs • Jingles or songs • Jingles or songs sounds
are not used are not used to are used to • Jingles or songs
• Voices are both introduce introduce and are used to
inconsistent in and conclude conclude the introduce and
volume or are the podcast podcast conclude the
inaudible • Voices are • Voices are podcast
inconsistent in mostly • Voices are
volume, but still consistent in consistent in
audible volume volume
• < 12 points • 12-14 points

• 15-17 points • 18-20 points

• More than 4 • 3-4 minutes • Within two • Within 60
minutes under under or over minutes of seconds of the
or over time time assigned time. assigned 10
• Group members • Group members • Group members minute time
do not share share time more divide speaking period.
Time time evenly effectively, but more evenly, • Group members
(someone still imbalanced with each each speak
Requirements speaks more member roughly a
/10
(10 points) than half the speaking quarter of the
time, someone between 20- time.
doesn’t speak at 30% of the
all) • 3-6 points podcast.
• 0 points
• 7-8 points • 9-10 points
• No introduction • Students do not • Students • Students
to speech effectively introduce introduce
• No statement of introduce speech speech
discussion speech • No explicit • Introduce topics
topics • No statement of statement of for discussion
• No text is discussion discussion • Present text of
Presentation provided, nor is topics topics speech and
• Text is • Present text of
/20
(20 points) the speech’s explain its
importance presented, but speech and importance
mentioned importance is mention • Present podcast
• Podcast is not not importance
presented. • Present podcast • Present podcast
• < 12 points • 18-20 points
• 12-14 points • 15-17 points
Total Points
/150
Earned

XIV. Resources for the Unit Plan:

• Text for all speeches explored in this unit can be found at:
[Link]
• Video for “I Have a Dream” can be found at:
[Link]
• Video for JFK’s “Inaugural Address” can be found at:
[Link]
• Audio excerpt from “The Ballot or the Bullet” can be found at:
[Link]
 • Audio for “The Challenger Eulogy” can be found at:
[Link]
• Video for “9/11 – Address to the Nation” can be found at:
[Link]
[Link]
XV. Additional Resources for Development of Plan and Activities:
Podcasting tutorials:
• [Link]
• [Link]
on-garageband-143801/
Persuasive Speech Teaching Techniques:
• [Link]
[Link]/[Link]/teaching_public_speaking_classes
• [Link]
[Link]/[Link]/teaching_persuasive_speaking
• [Link]
[Link]