Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Your Talk: Delivering a Persuasive Speech”

In this activity, students will write a persuasive speech on a topic that they feel passionate about, then present their speech in front of their peers.

Imagine that you are given a 10-minute slot at an upcoming public talk to speak about a topic that you are passionate about, in a way similar to how Adichie spoke about feminism. In this Activity, you will have the opportunity to write and deliver a speech for this talk. Consider the following questions as you draft your speech:

• What topics are you passionate about?
• Why are you passionate about this topic?
• How has this topic affected you?
• What personal experiences do you have with this topic?
• In your opinion, what about this topic needs to be changed or transformed? How?

After each speech is presented, student audience members will provide feedback to comment on a detail they liked and information they learned. Students will also write a reflection or journal to respond to other students’ arguments. 

Teaching Suggestion: This activity encourages students to combine their creativity with their knowledge of persuasive speech writing.