Lauren M.

Newman
YLP Rationale
Too often, I hear students having conversations that go something like this: What do you
want to do for lunch? I dont know, you choose. I dont care, whatever is fine. I have
noticed that students lack conviction in their speech, and this is a problem for students lives in
and outside the classroom. One of the most important skills students can learn is to speak, and
speak well. Students should understand different aspects of formulating an argument, such as
logos, pathos, and ethos, fallacies, audience, and considering the other side of an argument. In his
book, Kelly Gallagher explains that, Often, students rush to an opinion without thoroughly
considering the other side of the issue (Gallagher). Giving students the tools to effectively state
an opinion is pertinent to their ability to even formulate an opinion. The rhetoric of effective
speech is a skill students can take with them through school and beyond. In regards to an 8th
grade English classroom, my overarching concept of Stand with your convictions will aid
students to a better understanding of rhetoric and speech with two main aspects and lay the
foundation students need to progress into high school successfully.
While this might seem a little early in schooling for students to grasp certain public
speaking concepts, I believe that with very specific guidance in reading, writing, and grammar
skills, 8th grade students will demonstrate growth and successfully begin to understand elements
of speech. The first half of the year will focus on mediums through which you can speak in order
to give students the scaffolding of speaking, and the second half of the year delves into specific
topics others have spoken out against. The year is split into two specifically for scaffolding, and
for providing students with a solid framework to base their final speech on. Gallagher
emphasized that If we want out students to produce writing that proposes solutions, we must
first have them identify a number of problems to consider (Gallagher). By showing students
different mediums to use to speak out alongside different topics to speak out against, they will

Lauren M. Newman
YLP Rationale
have a more solid foundation to begin their own problem and solution argument. Finally, they
will end the year with a persuasive speech of their own, taking a stand on something of their
choosing.
The first half of the semester focuses on different mediums to speak through. These
include oral traditions/folklore, music, press, and social media. These are important because they
relate to students lives. The year begins with oral tradition/folklore to introduce students to a
text they encounter more often than they think they do. Urban legends are still widely popular
among students, and websites such as creepypasta.wikia.com are frequently searched and read by
students. These sites contain urban legends and scary stories that peak student interest. These
texts hold literary merit as well and scaffold literary genres by serving as the basis for many
genres of literature such as poetry, myths, and allegories/fables. Using them, along with wide
known oral traditions, will transition into the unit on music.
Music is also apart of a lot of students lives, and some students relate to music on a deep
level. Music is widely popular in todays society, and students are exposed to music and lyrics on
a daily basis. A unit on music will help students connect to the material, while also helping them
to think more critically about the music they hear and listen to daily. Similarly to the previous
unit, music also relates to poetry, which students encounter in school frequently. This serves as
an extension to student understanding and interpretation of poetry later in students schooling.
Considering musics heavy influence in society and popular culture, this leads into the press unit.
Students will switch from sonic pop culture to written pop culture and current issues to
better their understanding of media and journalism writing. This unit is important for students to
gain cultural understanding on national, local, and distant scales. While journalism is not
typically a writing genre taught in the common language arts curriculum, I believe it holds

Lauren M. Newman
YLP Rationale
significance in student lives because it helps them focus on current events, and also inquire about
the rapid decline of print media. Along with that, this unit will also focus on the current role the
press plays in todays society, and feature a field trip for students to tour a printing press. At the
end of the unit, students will explore whether or not the physical newspaper has a place in
society in an editorial. In turn, print media will guide the end of the semester towards the newest
form of media: social media.
Social media is arguably one of the most relevant topics for students today. This specific
unit includes technology, but more importantly, effective ways to voice an opinion on a platform
commonly misused. Social media can be a dumping ground, but students can better understand
rhetoric to pose questions, participate in debate, and debunk arguments in an online setting. This
relates to students current everyday lives, but also prepares them for the future. This type of
writing is becoming more and more common, and therefore, students are likely to encounter it in
college or their future career. This unit will present the good and bad of social media, as well as
effective ways to conduct themselves on social media so that they can use social media positively
in the future.
For the second half of the year, units will spotlight different topics that others have
spoken out against through literature. To begin the semester, students will learn about speaking
out against prejudice by focusing on journaling and using writing as expression in general with
the model text of A Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. The novel Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
will guide the next unit on speaking out against bullying. Then, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
will lead the discussion for the unit of speaking out for whats right. Finally, students will end the
semester by writing and performing their own persuasive speeches about a topic they feel
passionately about, and providing a solution. These novels supplement the topic of speaking and

Lauren M. Newman
YLP Rationale
standing with conviction by giving students models for others who have stood their moral
ground, and students can gather tools and strategies for their own speeches. These novels provide
students with topics they possibly encounter frequently in their own lives, and if not currently,
most likely will in the future. Similarly, reading young adult literature to supplement these
discussions provides students with relate ability on these topics with characters in their age
group. Also, in the English Journal article entitled Reading Pop Culture and Young Adult
Literature Through the Youth Lense, Calin Borsheim-Black supported using young adult
literature in the classroom by illustrating the importance of critiquing dominant images of
adolescence with secondary students because it has potential to empower students to question
underling ideologies of texts, reflecting on and perhaps resisting ways they, as adolescents
themselves, experience limiting notions of adolescents/ce in their own lives (Borsheim-Black,
30). This gives students another opportunity to critique something in their own society and build
their opinion and speaking skills with critical thinking and questioning. The hope is that these
topics will cultivate students thinking about topics they feel passionate about to argue for or
against.
The final speech is very important in order for students to learn valuable skills in
speaking. Speaking well, and with conviction, will help form students into more active
participants in their society, while also providing them with a skill they can use in any venture
outside schooling. This final unit does not have a novel, but is supported with texts and videos to
demonstrate effective rhetoric to students. A final project of a speech in front of their peers will
be difficult for many students, but majorly effective in exposing them to public speaking and
introducing students to successful rhetorical tools.

Lauren M. Newman
YLP Rationale
Works Cited
Borsheim-Black, C. (2015). Reading pop culture and young adult literature through the youth
lens. English Journal, 104(3), 75-80.
Gallagher, Kelly. Write Like This: Teaching Real-World Writing Through Modeling and Mentor
Texts. Portland: Stenhouse Publishers, 2011. E-Book.