English Language Arts · Grade 9

Active learning ideas

Analyzing Persuasive Speeches

Active learning works for analyzing persuasive speeches because students must hear, dissect, and perform rhetorical strategies to truly grasp their power. When learners act as analysts and speakers, they move beyond passive listening to identify how tone, logic, and emotion shape messages in real time.

Ontario Curriculum ExpectationsCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.3
30–45 minPairs → Whole Class4 activities

Activity 01

Jigsaw45 min · Small Groups

Jigsaw: Rhetorical Strategies

Assign groups one speech and one strategy (ethos, pathos, logos). Students highlight examples, discuss evidence, and prepare 2-minute teach-backs. Regroup to share findings across speeches. End with whole-class synthesis on a chart.

Evaluate the effectiveness of a speaker's delivery in conveying their message.

Facilitation TipIn the Role-Play Delivery activity, model a short speech yourself first, emphasizing how pacing and volume change meaning for listeners.

What to look forProvide students with a short excerpt from a persuasive speech. Ask them to identify one instance of ethos, pathos, or logos and briefly explain how it functions in the text.

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Activity 02

Think-Pair-Share30 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Speech Comparison

Provide two speeches on the same topic. Individually note similarities and differences in strategies. Pairs discuss and rank effectiveness. Share top insights with the class via a shared digital board.

Compare the rhetorical strategies used by two different speakers on the same topic.

What to look forPose the question: 'How might the audience's reaction to Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech have differed if delivered today versus in 1963?' Facilitate a small group discussion where students consider historical context and audience.

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Activity 03

Gallery Walk35 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Audience Impact

Post speech excerpts with predictions of audience reactions. Groups rotate, add comments on rhetorical choices, and vote on most persuasive elements. Debrief predictions versus historical outcomes.

Predict the potential impact of a speech on different historical audiences.

What to look forStudents watch short clips of two different speakers. In pairs, they use a provided checklist to compare the speakers' use of vocal variety and pacing, noting which speaker they found more engaging and why.

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Activity 04

Socratic Seminar40 min · Pairs

Role-Play Delivery: Echo Speeches

Pairs select key excerpts. One delivers with original strategies, the other modifies for a new audience. Class rates changes in impact and discusses adaptations.

Evaluate the effectiveness of a speaker's delivery in conveying their message.

What to look forProvide students with a short excerpt from a persuasive speech. Ask them to identify one instance of ethos, pathos, or logos and briefly explain how it functions in the text.

AnalyzeEvaluateCreateSocial AwarenessRelationship Skills
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Templates

Templates that pair with these English Language Arts activities

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A few notes on teaching this unit

Experienced teachers know that students grasp rhetorical concepts best when they see, hear, and do. Start with short excerpts to avoid overwhelm, then scaffold complexity by adding full speeches only after students confidently identify strategies in micro-moments. Avoid relying solely on definitions; instead, have students test strategies by applying them in their own speaking roles.

Students will confidently label rhetorical strategies in speeches and articulate how delivery techniques enhance them. They will compare speeches critically, predict audience reactions, and refine their own speaking through feedback and practice.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

  • During the Jigsaw Protocol, students may believe persuasion relies only on emotional appeals.

    Assign each group one of the three rhetorical appeals to research and present, then require them to find and explain logical or ethical support within their assigned speeches.

  • During the Role-Play Delivery activity, students may think delivery techniques do not affect message impact.

    Have students perform the same excerpt twice, varying only tone or pace, then poll the class on which delivery felt more persuasive and discuss the reasons.

  • During the Gallery Walk, students may assume rhetorical strategies work the same across all audiences.

    Provide varied historical audience profiles at each station and require groups to defend their predictions with evidence from the speech and historical context cards.

Methods used in this brief

More in The Art of Argument: Persuasion and Rhetoric

Introduction to Argumentation

Students will identify the basic components of an argument: claim, evidence, and reasoning.

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Rhetorical Appeals: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

Identifying and evaluating the use of logic, emotion, and credibility in non-fiction texts.

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Logical Fallacies and Bias

Detecting flaws in reasoning and identifying implicit bias in contemporary media and historical documents.

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Structuring a Formal Argument

Learning the components of a strong academic argument, including claims, evidence, and counterarguments.

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Crafting a Persuasive Essay

Students will draft and revise a persuasive essay, focusing on developing a clear argument and supporting it with evidence.

2 methodologies