English 10 Honors Persuasive Speech
We ended our Science Fiction Voyage with Fahrenheit 451, a science fiction novel that depicts a dystopia where the written word was censored—where technology and “living in the fast lane” defines the society. Books are banned, and if any books are illegally discovered, firemen are responsible for extinguishing them. This mentality of censoring what is read exists in today’s society in education. Many school boards of education across the country have deemed many children’s chapter books, picture books, young adult novels, and classic literature as controversial and many have been banned from the classroom, media center, etc.
We have put together a list of either controversial or banned books. You will select a novel, series of novels, or a group of picture books and complete the following:
1. Thoroughly read or revisit your selection to find passages that would be considered “banned or
controversial” material. You are to select a book you haven't read, but if you choose to revisit a
book, it must be a series where you have to re-read at least 2 of those or 3 if less than 100 pages each.
Keep in mind that some of these books are banned for explicit content or language, so select a book that best fits
your preference, views, interests, etc. Due to the work days that will be provided, no picture books
will be allowed.
2. Consider why your particular selection could be labeled controversial and/or banned and
include this in your speech.
3. Research at least 4 sources to find out why your choice is controversial or banned, articles on author that tie
specifically to the reading selection, critiques on the content of the reading selection, and/or ideas of how to
incorporate the reading selection into effective teaching material . You could
use the following:
A. A school district board minutes discussing the decision of banning a book or series.
B. Other article, court case, etc. regarding the banning of a book or discussion of
controversy regarding a book or series.
C. Other article regarding a state, local school, or district banning a book or series.
D. Author site, interview with the author, or other accredited connection to the author
that discusses the controversy or banning of the book or series.
E. Accredited site discussing the controversy or banning of a book or series.
F. Sites that offer lesson plans and teaching ideas
G. Sites focusing on the author and his/her novels.
4. Using persuasion, you will convince your audience on why your selection should or should not be taught in the classroom. Consider the educational value or lack thereof and if you choose to argue for your literary work being included in a classroom curriculum, be prepared to argue why it should be, what lessons could be learned, what thematic units could be discussed, what literary devices could introduced or further developed, etc. Use very persuasive language.
5. Put together a topical outline that contains your complete intro and conclusion. Do not use any complete sentences in your outline except for your intro and conclusion. This is to be MLA formatted, and headers are used in the top right hand corner, you are to only use lower case roman numerals such i, ii, iii, etc.
Use parallelism in your outline.
6. Incorporate a visual aid that connects to your argument of whether this should or should not be banned in the classroom. Don’t just have pictures of the book cover or novelist. Be creative with your choice. You may or may not use technology. You decide. You must incorporate your selection into your speech. However, if you use a video clip, it must be less than 1 minute and will not be included in your time. Any poster boards must be decorative, neat, and easy to read.
7. Present this in a well-developed, energetic 5-7 minute speech.
You will be graded on your presentation, your visual aid, your research and how it was incorporated into your speech, your strong use of persuasion, your time, your outline following MLA guidelines and the order of your speech, and an accurate works cited page of all your sources including your selection.
Your outline will include the following:
A. 4 line heading on page 1 only
B. Original title
C. Complete introduction paragraph with hook and a thesis statement at the end
D. The body of the outline needs to be in Roman Numerals—for every A, provide a B;
for every 1, provide a 2; for every a, provide a b; and so on
E. Include all components that are listed in the guidelines above in your outline using
Roman numerals, capital letters, lower case letters, numbers, etc.
F. You may choose what order you arrange your outline; however, this must also
correspond with the organizational pattern of your speech.
G. Conclude your outline with a complete conclusion that wraps-up your speech,
creatively restates your thesis in different word choice and structure, and includes a
powerful, impacting clincher.
Your speech will be worth 100 points.
Due Dates:
1. Selection of book or books on Thursday, April 2, 2015
2. Must have book for silent reading days starting Monday, April 13, 2015
3. Work days in the Media Center April 15-16 and April 23-24, 2015
4. Annotated Bibliographies due Monday, April 20, 2015.
5. Research Notecards (25 + min. of 4 source cards) due Thursday, April 23, 2015
6. Draft of Outline due Monday, April 27, 2015
4. Hard copies of Final Outline and Works Cited due with Visual Aid due on flash drive in class (to be uploaded to my file) or on poster board to be stored in classroom--Due on Thursday, April 30, 2015.
5. Speeches will begin on a voluntary basis (then will be randomly selected if there are not any volunteers) on Monday, May 4, 2015, and will conclude no later than Friday, May 8, 2015.
***You may have 1 note card (front and back) with bullet points or direct quotes only
Banned Book List Choices
1.Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
2.Alice series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
3.The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
4.Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
5. The Wish Giver by Bill Brittain
6.I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
7.Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
8.His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman
9.ttyl; ttfn;l8rg8r(series), by LaurenMyracle
10.The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
11.Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers
12.It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
13.Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
14. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
15.Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
16.Forever, by Judy Blume
17. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
18.Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
19.Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
20.King and King, by Linda de Haan
21.The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
22. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
23.The Giver, by Lois Lowry
24.In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak
25.Killing Mr. Griffen, by Lois Duncan
26.The Pigman by Paul Zindel
27.My Brother Sam Is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier
28.Bridge To Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
29.The Face on the Milk Carton, by Caroline B. Cooney
30.We All Fall Down, by Robert Cormier
31.What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones (Poetry)
32.Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
33.Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson
34.The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
35.Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging, by Louise Rennison
36. Deenie by Judy Blume
37.It’s So Amazing, by Robie Harris
38.Arming America, by Michael Bellasiles
39.Kaffir Boy, by Mark Mathabane
40.Life is Funny, by E.R. Frank
41.Whale Talk, by Chris Crutcher
42.The Fighting Ground, by Avi
43.Blubber, by Judy Blume
44.Athletic Shorts, by Chris Crutcher
45.Crazy Lady, by Jane Leslie Conly
46.Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
47.The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcom X and Alex Haley
48.Rainbow Boys, by Alex Sanchez
49.One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey
50. Cross Your fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51.Daughters of Eve, by Lois Duncan
52.The Great Gilly Hopkins, by Katherine Paterson
53.You Hear Me?, by Betsy Franco
54.The Facts Speak for Themselves, by Brock Cole
55.Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Green
56.When Dad Killed Mom, by Julius Lester
57.Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis Klause
58.Fat Kid Rules the World, by K.L. Going
59.Olive’s Ocean, by Kevin Henkes
60.Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson
61.Draw Me A Star, by Eric Carle
62.The Stupids (series), by Harry Allard
63.The Terrorist, by Caroline B. Cooney
64.Mick Harte Was Here, by Barbara Park
65.The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien
66. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred Taylor
67.A Time to Kill, by John Grisham
68.Always Running, by Luis Rodriguez
69.Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
70.Harris and Me, by Gary Paulsen
71.Junie B. Jones (series), by Barbara Park (at least 3)
72.The Witches by Roald Dahl
73.Earth’s Children (series) by Jean M. Auel
74.The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold
75.Anastasia (series), by Lois Lowry
76.Lush by Natasha Friend
77.Crazy:A Novel, by Benjamin Lebert
78. Happy Endings by Margaret Atwood
79.13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
80.A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Newton Peck
81.Black Boy, by Richard Wright
82.Deal With It!, by Esther Drill
83.Detour for Emmy, by Marilyn Reynolds
84.So Far From the Bamboo Grove, by Yoko Watkins
85.Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, by Chris Crutcher
86.Cut, by Patricia McCormick
87.Tiger Eyes, by Judy Blume
88.The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
89.Friday Night Lights, by H.G. Bissenger
90.A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle
91.Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George
92.The Boy Who Lost His Face, by Louis Sachar
93.Bumps in the Night, by Harry Allard
94.Goosebumps (series), by R.L. Stine (at least 2-3)
95.Shade’s Children, by Garth Nix
96.Grendel, by John Gardner
97.The House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende
98.I Saw Esau, by Iona Opte
99.Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume
100.America:A Novel, by E.R. Frank
101. Cujo by Stephen King
102. Carrie by Stephen King
103. I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
104. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
105. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
106. Looking for Alaska by John Green
107. Fade by Robert Cormier
108. Guess What? By Mem fox
109. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
110. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
111. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
112. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
113. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
114. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
115. 19 Seconds by Jodi Picoult
116. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
117. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
118. That Was Then, This Is Now by S.E. Hinton
119. Jump Ship to Freedom by James L Collier and Christopher Collier
120. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
121. Stolen Children by Peg Kehret
122. Th Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci
123. Crank by Ellen Hopkins (Poetry)
124. Flashcards of My Life by Charise Mericle Harper
125. Taming the Star by S.E. Hinton
126. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
127. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (Graphic Novel)
128. Bone by Jeff Smith (Graphic Novel) 1 and 2 of series
129. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
130. Lord of the Rings by J.R. Tolkien
131. Persopolis by Marjane Satrapi (Graphic Novel)
132. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
You may choose a book not on this list with teacher and parent permission, but I removed many popular ones such as Harry Potter Series, Twilight Series, Hunger Games, etc. Some books are harder than others to research because they may have only been challenged and not banned or removed from school libraries. Due to these books being banned for unfounded reasons or what you may think is a valid reason due to the “serious” content, remember to look at the synopsis or brief summary on these books to get an idea if it would be something you want to read. Use Amazon or Good Reads to get summaries and reviews.
ENGLISH 10 HONORS MID-TERM SPEECH TIPS
- Make sure your intro includes an effective hook, your literary selection, the author, brief statements that you will further explain in your speech.
- Make sure your intro includes an effective, PERSUASIVE thesis.
- Your purpose is to inform your audience of the following:
- Brief background on literary work
- Why it has been banned or challenged—include age groups or grades
- Provide cited information on why it has been censored or challenged
- Your 2nd purpose, which should be at least half of your speech, is to persuade your audience of the following:
- Why this should or should not be taught in the classroom.
- You may argue certain grade levels to support your stance—Your argument needs to be age appropriate with the book. So, you would not argue why Lord of the Flies should not be taught in an elementary setting when the reading level is well above elementary grades.
- You are to prove your argument be stating specific reasons with details and cited support
- If you are arguing why your selection should be taught in the classroom, provide academic arguments—effective lessons, learning tools, learning skills, thematic ideas, etc. You need examples such as cool ways to teach the assignment through technology, hands-on activity, literary terms connections, etc.
- If you are arguing that your selection should not be taught in a classroom, then provide details why—inappropriate material, destroys family values, teaches inappropriate ideas, etc. This must be age appropriate for the reading level the novel is assigned.
- Your outlines are to be topical only with complete intros and conclusions. Don’t forget your 4 line heading on page one, and your proper pagination of lower case roman numerals only on all pages in the top right hand corner. You must include a well-developed intro and conclusion with hook, novel and author, thesis, wrap-up, restatement of thesis, and clincher.
- PLEASE CREDIT YOUR SOURCES WITHIN YOUR SPEECH.
- YOUR TIME IS 5-7 MINUTES. YOU MUST REACH 5:00 AND NOT EXCEED 7:15. YOU WILL LOSE 2 pts for every 5 seconds you are under or over .
- REMEMBER TO BE ENTHUSIASTIC, NATURAL IN YOUR MOVEMENTS AND GESTURES. DO NOT BE STIFF. AND IF YOU CHOOSE TO USE THE PODIUM, YOU MUST STILL BE ENERGETIC AND MOVE AROUND.