Speech Task Orientation

Overview

In this lesson, students are introduced to the formal speech assessment for the unit Voices of Courage and Resilience. They will unpack what the task requires, examine an annotated model of a strong speech, and begin planning a persuasive or analytical argument about a complex character from The Diary of Anne Frank.

Learning intentions

• Students will understand the purpose, audience, and expectations of the speech assessment task.
• Students will identify how language features and structure shape meaning for an audience.
• Students will use brainstorming to develop a clear claim about a chosen character’s complexity.
• Students will begin applying assessment criteria to their own emerging ideas.

Success criteria

• I can summarise what my speech must do (type, focus character, and message).
• I can identify at least 2 language and structural choices that help a speech persuade or analyse.
• I can state a preliminary claim about my character and support it with at least 2 key points.
• I can explain what “complexity” means in relation to my character.

Curriculum links

• EN5-ECA-01: Students craft personal, creative and critical texts by experimenting with and controlling language forms and features to shape meaning for an audience.
• EN5-ECB-01: Students use planning, monitoring, revising and reflecting to purposefully refine composition of texts.
• EN5-URA-01: Students analyse how meaning is created through increasingly complex language features, structures, point of view and characterisation.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Unit hook + lesson aim. Teacher shows the class a prompt on the board: “What makes someone’s courage complex rather than simple?” and links it to speeches as a persuasive/analytical form. Students quick-write for 2 minutes, then share one idea with a partner.

2. 5–12 min · Unpack the assessment task. Teacher explains the speech task requirements: a persuasive or analytical speech on a complex character from The Diary of Anne Frank, delivered to a specified audience; focus is on shaping meaning through language choices and coherent structure. Students annotate a student-friendly task brief (teacher-provided) with three questions they need answered (e.g., “What counts as complexity?” “How long?” “What should I include?”).

3. 12–22 min · Model and annotation. Teacher displays an annotated example speech (short excerpt) and explicitly “thinks aloud” while pointing to features:

• clear opening that engages an audience
• thesis/claim stated early
• evidence/ideas linked to character traits and turning points
• language choices (e.g., contrast, rhetorical questions, figurative language where appropriate, purposeful tone)
• signposting and concluding impact Students complete a “Model Find” sheet: they choose two moments where the speaker clearly controls audience effect, and explain why those choices work.

4. 22–30 min · Assessment criteria discussion (guided). Teacher and class co-construct a checklist based on common success indicators: clarity of claim, depth of characterisation, relevance and explanation of evidence, language control for audience, and speech structure (intro–body–conclusion). Students “traffic-light” each criterion as: green (I’m confident), amber (I’m unsure), red (I need help), then identify one criterion to prioritise today.

5. 30–40 min · Character selection + complexity brainstorm. Teacher sets a structured brainstorm: students choose a character (e.g., Anne, Miep, Otto, Margot, Peter, or another supported figure) and draft a “Complexity statement” using this frame: “I argue that my character is complex because they show ____, even while ____.” Students fill a worksheet:

• Character + one-sentence complexity statement
• Two supporting ideas (not full quotes yet)
• One language/technique they could use to persuade or analyse (e.g., contrast, cause/effect, comparison, irony/tone)

6. 40–45 min · Exit ticket + teacher feedback plan. Students submit an exit ticket:

• Their chosen character
• Their preliminary claim
• Two key points they will research next lesson Teacher scans for misconceptions about “complexity” and the difference between “persuasive” vs “analytical” approaches.

Resources

• Teacher-prepared task brief (student-friendly, no hyperlinks)
• Annotated model speech excerpt (printed or on screen)
• “Model Find” sheet (2 audience-effect examples + explanation)
• Assessment checklist (teacher co-constructed or pre-made template)
• Character brainstorm worksheet with sentence frames
• Exit ticket slips or digital form
• Highlighters and pens for annotation

Assessment

• Formative: teacher observation during partner share and checklist traffic-lighting.
• Formative: “Model Find” responses showing students can identify audience-focused language/structure choices.
• Formative (end of lesson): exit ticket reviewing character choice, clarity of claim, and two supporting points.

Differentiation

• Support: provide sentence starters for complexity statements and claim writing; offer a mini word bank for language choices (contrast, develops, reveals, tension, responsibility, perspective).
• Support: allow students to choose a character they already discussed in earlier lessons; pre-teach what “complexity” looks like (contradictory traits, growth, conflicting motives, different contexts).
• Extension: students select a perspective for the audience (e.g., “persuade teenagers that…”, “analyse what the diary reveals about…”) and add a tentative rhetorical strategy for the opening (hook question, anecdote, or contrast).
• EAL/SEN: sentence frames, reduced cognitive load worksheets (fewer boxes), and allowance to draft bullet points instead of full sentences for early planning.