Unit Overview: Speech Analysis Unit
Essential Question:
1. What elements make a persuasive text great?
Learning Targets:
1. I can learn and take ownership of new vocabulary terms so that I can work towards identifying
and analyzing their use in what I read. (Literary Devices)
2. I can strengthen my analysis of a text by supporting my analysis with evidence from that text.
3. I can identify, analyze, and evaluate the persuasive techniques in a speech.
4. I can define logos, ethos, and pathos.
5. I can identify and analyze the use of logos, ethos, and pathos in speeches.
Day One: Introduction and Clueless Speech
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Students are given a copy of the Speech Analysis Questions. They will be answering these
questions about each speech we read/watch. Students read through the questions and point
out words that are new to them.
Speech Analysis: Students watch Cher’s speech. The first time they just watch it. The second
time they are told to pretend they are the teacher and must assign a grade to her speech. After
watching it the second time, they choose the grade they would give her.
The students travel to the letter grade (posted throughout the classroom) they would give her.
In their groups, they must defend why she deserves that grade. For example, if they give her a C
they must explain why she did not earn a B, but what she did that was better than an D.
The students pick one speaker to represent their argument to the class.
Class Discussion: The speaker presents their reasoning to the class. The class then has a
modified form of a debate over the grade.
As the discussion continues, the teacher builds off of students responses by directing students
to consider the audience reaction during at the end of the speech. Students will also be directed
towards thinking about her delivery. Also, an in depth look at the analogy she makes will
happen. Students will also be asked to consider her use of language. (After each one of these
points, students will look to the question that is associated with on the Speech Analysis hand
out they have).
Days Two and Three: Winston Churchill’s “Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat.”
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Students are given the characteristics of persuasive speeches handout. They take notes over
inductive and deductive arguments, logos, ethos, pathos, etc.
Students are given the Speech Analysis Questions handout.
Author Study: Winston Churchill. Students watch a video on Winston Churchill.
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Background of Speech:
o First speech he gave as prime minister
o It is about the coming War (WWII)
o The previous prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, had been cool with German
expansion under Hitler’s rule. In 1938, for example, Chamberlain agreed to allow Hitler
to invade Czechoslovakia which had a formidable arms industry that Hitler used to
further build the German army. Chamberlain explained that by doing so, he had created
‘peace for our time.” But, on May 10, 1940 three days before Churchill gave his speech,
the German army invaded Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg, and Northern France. After
parliament voted “no confidence” in Chamberlain, Churchill became prime minister.
o As Churchill gave this speech, British troops were being evacuated from Norway and
Belgium. Across Europe the British were being routed by the Germans. Germany
seemed poised to take over all of Europe.
o Imagine you are a member of Parliament worried about the coming way.
Listen to the speech: First time just listen and circle any unknown words.
Define unknown words and give a summary of each paragraph so students understand speech.
Analysis Activity: Listen to speech again then:
o Highlight all memorable or repeated words or phrases
o Mark all examples of logos with pencil in margins
o Underline examples of ethos.
o Draw a line through the part in which a shift takes place.
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT:
Student’s responses to the Speech Analysis Questions are taken up as a Formative Assessment for this
unit. Before students can revise or retest, they must have a perfect PA on this formative assessment.
Days Four and Five: Closing Argument by Atticus Finch in To Kill A
Mockingbird
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Students are given a copy of the speech.
Students are given highlighters.
Students listen to the speech being read once.
Students listen to the speech a second time and highlight all emotionally charged words
(pathos).
Discussion over emotionally charged words and their impact on the speech.
Students then complete questions 1-6 of Speech Analysis handout
Class Discussion: discuss question 6
o What is the difference between this speech and Churchill’s? PERSUASIVE
o In what ways in this speech obviously persuasive?
o How do these differences show in the structure?
Groups: In small groups students complete question 7
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Group share: the groups are called upon to answer the parts of 7
Video: Watch presentation of speech before completing 8-14.
On their own students work through questions 8-14. **stress number 10 and 11
Discuss the use of Logos, Ethos and Pathos in the speech.
Review their summaries, write an example summary on the board!
Days Six and Seven: “Once More Unto The Breach” by William
Shakespeare
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Students are given a copy of the speech.
The teacher reads the speech aloud one time.
The teacher then leads the class through a line by line paraphrase of the speech. It is very
important for students to copy down the paraphrase as we go, as they will be asked to analyze
this speech tomorrow. You can’t analyze it if you don’t understand what it is saying.
After the line by line paraphrase is complete, the instructor reads the speech aloud one more
time. The teacher asks: “What differences are there when comparing the first reading of the
speech to now?”
Punctuation Trail: Pass out highlighters. Have students read through speech and highlight all
punctuation. Students then stand in a circle around the room. One student reads aloud until
they reach a punctuation mark, then the other student takes over.
Once the punctuation trail is finished, students are to answer the question at the bottom of the
page asking what the punctuation trail revealed about the speech.
Literary Devices: students are given time on their own to find literary devices.
Discussion: discuss all literary devices found in this speech. Compare the amount in this speech
to previous speeches we have read, what do you notice?
Rhetorical Devices: Students then look for examples of Logos, Ethos, and Pathos. Discuss the
examples they have found.
Speech Analysis Handout: Students are then asked to go through the speech analysis handout
and answer the questions. The teacher can decide, based off of behavior and participation in
discussion, if these questions are answered orally or written down.
Day Eight: Summative Assessment: “We Were Soldiers”
Students are given a copy of the speech and the Speech Analysis Handout. Read the speech aloud once,
then show the video two times. Students then answer, on their own, the speech analysis questions.