Creating a Conclusion
MATERIALS: Paper, three note cards, and pen to write with during activity.
OBJECTIVE: The students will write a conclusion on a note card using their already-created introduction and body to their speech in order to wrap up the speech successfully.
STEPS:
1. Tell the class to gather up their pre-made introduction and body note cards
and divide the class into equal groups.
2. Instruct the students to each read their introduction card, following with their body note card. Discuss as a group how it sounded, not fully completing the speech.
3. Explain the importance of a conclusion to the class and how it wraps up the speech and sums up what has already been said in the first parts of the speech. Also explain to the students a conclusion should tell people what to do with the information they have given in their speech.
4. On paper, have the students write down examples of conclusion sentences that should come first in the conclusion to let the audience know it is time for the end. Have them choose the best one and put it first on their note card.
5. Tell the students to then write a main summary point on their note cards. Next, tell them to write a sentence or two to summarize each point in the body, and then to add the thesis statement, reworded, after those points. Last, instruct them to complete (or create a new) their attention getting devices as the very last part on their note cards.
6. Once they have a basic rough draft of their newly created conclusion, have the students once again read the introduction card, then the body card, and last, the conclusion card they just created in their groups.
7. Discuss once more as a group how a conclusion summarizes the important parts in the speech and what has already been said, but rephrasing it. Talk about how much better the speech sounds with an ending. Ask the class if there are questions.
RESULT: The students should have the ability to outline a conclusion for a speech and understand the importance of one. They will be able to also place the parts of a conclusion in a mannered order that fits the information in the speech. The next thing to do is have the students fully write out the speech on paper and completely write the conclusion at the end to sum it all up. Have them staple note cards together in order from beginning to end and hand them in.
Conclusion Jeopardy!
What is a…conclusion method, Alex?
Objective: The students will be able to identify the various conclusion methods and effectively apply them to their own speeches by the end of this lesson.
Materials: Power point presentation with conclusions or selections of conclusions made by teacher before beginning of class time, extra examples not included in the power point, dry erase markers, erasers, and small marker boards, depending on class size, and bags of hard candy in accordance with school policy.
Steps:
1. Before class begins, prepare a power point with selections of conclusions or short conclusions. They can be from famous speeches, newspapers, past speeches that students have given, or simply just the imagination. Make sure there is plenty of each type: summary, quoting someone, personal reference, call to action, offering of a utopian vision, anecdote, and rhetorical question. More or less types can be used according to the teacher’s preference. Have each conclusion on a different slide, in a simple and easy to read layout and design. Make sure it is ready to go before beginning class.
2. At the beginning of class, ask students to think of different ways that a person can end a speech. Write examples on the board that students are willing to give.
3. Next, start discussing the various methods they might use. If some of the examples are on the board, begin with them, as they are more familiar to the students. Spend a little more time explaining those that they may not have given examples for, such as offering a utopian vision. Give an example that is not used in the power point, or ask students to think of examples for each type on their own.
4. After spending some time talking about the different types, divide the classroom into two teams by numbering them off.
5. Members from each team will take turns going up to the board to compete against a member of the other team. All students are required to participate. When the students at the board are ready, click to show the next conclusion. The first student to read it and write what type it is wins points for his/her team. The points are determined as follows:
– 100 points for rhetorical question and quotation conclusions
– 200 points for summary, personal reference, and anecdote conclusions
– 300 points for call to action and offering a utopian vision conclusions
If the classroom is not equipped to project the power point so that students can easily see it, the teacher should just read the conclusions aloud. In this case, students may not begin writing their answer until the teacher is done reading. If they begin too soon, they are disqualified for the round and the remaining student still has a chance to answer the question. If neither student at the board gets the conclusion method correct, both sit down. The next set of students will be given a different conclusion after the teacher states the correct answer.
In the case that the class is too big to divide into just two teams, have the groups sit together and give each group a dry erase marker and small marker board. As the conclusion is either shown or read, the groups can discuss with each other and the designated writer will write the group’s answer on the marker board. After giving about 30 seconds to come up with an answer, have each group raise up their board for all to see. Groups with the correct answer get points, while those with incorrect answers do not.
6. Quit the game when either questions or time are up. Allow the winners to take some candies if school rules do not prohibit them. If candy is prohibited, reward each of them with five bonus points instead. For homework, ask the students to look for the different types of conclusions in newspapers, magazines, and/or on the internet. Have them bring their findings to class the next day.
Results: Students will be able to decide what kind of conclusion would be most effective for ending the speech that they are currently working on.