0.1 Lesson 1: routines of reading, writing, thinking, and talking  (Page 5/5)

Preview the unit: content and habits of thinking

Read to get the gist: "ain't i a woman?"

Give students some contextual information about the speech they are about to read. Explain that it was delivered at a two-day women's rights convention in 1851 in Akron, Ohio. Many speakers, among them clergy members, argued against equal rights for women, claiming the superiority of men and using the Bible as evidence to defend their claims. Then Sojourner Truth, who had not been invited to the convention, stood up to speak without notes or a written text. Give no other background on Sojourner Truth; background will be built through answering the comprehension questions.

Write the following comprehension questions on the board:

• What is the speech about? What is the issue?
• Who is the speaker? What do we know about her? How do we know?

Ask students to read the speech silently.

NOTE: It is important not to read the speech aloud or have students listen to it on tape at this point. Later in the unit, students will be asked to deliver this speech themselves. If they hear it delivered by a professional now, they may view that reading as the correct way to deliver the speech rather than as one person's interpretation.

Discuss comprehension questions

Ask students to turn to a partner and discuss the comprehension questions for about three minutes. Then have a whole group discussion on the questions. Press students to cite evidence from the text to support their answers.

Give students an opportunity to ask any questions they have about the speech, the context, Sojourner Truth, etc. Encourage students to answer each other's questions; step in to provide additional information. Remind students of what you told them earlier about Sojourner Truth speaking out at this convention without notes. Explain to them that speaking without notes and advance preparation is called impromptu speaking.

Ask students to listen, inside and outside of school, over the next few days, for issues that affect a group of people, possibly people in their community (school, neighborhood, city, region) which they could speak out about in order to inspire change in their peers' beliefs or actions.

Explain to students that they will plan and deliver two speeches in this unit. Point out that this will build on the work students did with advocacy in 9th grade. The issues the class comes up with will be what they choose from as topics for their speeches. One of the speeches they will plan and deliver in 20 minutes with a partner; the other speech they will have two days to plan on their own. With that in mind, students should look for two different types of topics: (1) those that can be argued using the students' own experience as evidence, and (2) those that require print/media research. Suggest that students make notes in their Reader's/ Writer's Notebooks about the issues they are considering.

Ask students to give examples of issues they might know enough about that they could persuade others without library research, and those that will require research. Students should consider their audience (their peers), understanding that whether or not research is needed will depend on the audience's knowledge of the issue as well as the students' own.

The class will discuss their ideas in a later lesson in the unit. Every student should have at least two issues to share that day.