Connect 9 Student's Book/Web

CONNECT 9

Emily Haegi, Tone Madsen, Siri Mohammad-Roe, Lena Smith Boysen & Hanne Ray Pedersen

FOCUS WORDS 

Dear Reader, Welcome to Connect 9

CONNECT 9 is the third book in the Connect series. In this third and final book, we have put together four chapters for you about different topics. Each chapter consists of various texts, including a model text. The Connect website offers more texts to extend your reading.

Every chapter introduces important words into your vocabulary. These words will be a focus throughout the chapter, so you can learn to use them with confidence.

BEFORE READING 

These tasks help you to prepare your reading.

MODEL TEXT 

By reading the model text and working with the tasks, you will be guided in writing a certain type of text yourself. The book will introduce you to: a speech excerpt, an informative article, a discussion text and a persuasive text.

The end of each chapter offers reflection on both your learning process and what you have learnt by working with each chapter.

Throughout the book you will find these different symbols when you work with the tasks:

Tip to help you complete or understand the task.

Find a worksheet on the Connect website to solve the task.

Find writing guidelines and a workspace on the Connect website to do the task.

Watch a film connected to the chapter.

At the end of the book, you will find a Grammar section offering you a brief overview of the word classes and grammar topics related to your learning in the different chapters. You will find more grammar practice and training on the Connect website: connect.alinea.dk

We hope you will enjoy learning more English with Connect!

model text model text model text

Contents

CHAPTER 1 LEADING AND FOLLOWING 6

Focus words vocabulary 8

You’ll Never Walk Alone (Oscar Hammerstein II) song lyrics 10

Rubyfruit Jungle (Rita Mae Brown) novel excerpt 14

How to win an audience informative article 22

I Have a Dream (Martin Luther King, Jr.) speech excerpt 26

Harlem (Langston Hughes) poem 32

Teacher Man (Frank McCourt) novel excerpt 36

Pause and reflect 42

CHAPTER 2 EARTH UNDER PRESSURE 44

Focus words vocabulary 46

War on waste informative article 48

The sustainable traveller column 52

Freaking Green (Laura Sanchez) novel excerpt 54

Conzoomerism informative article 58

A question of food blog post 64

I am the Earth (Anonymous) poem 68 Black summer photograph 70

Good news for a change letters 72

Pause and reflect 76

CHAPTER 3 DEMOCRACY AND CITIZENSHIP 78

Focus words vocabulary 80

Nobel Lecture, Dec. 10, 2014 (Malala Yousafzai) speech excerpt 82

Should voting be a choice or a duty? discussion text 88

Chaos and anarchy (Emily Haegi) eyewitness account 92

My body, my choice informative article 98

The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood) novel excerpt 100

School shootings #NeverAgain informative article 106

Tweeting Uvalde tweets 110

The Truth in One Nation (Amanda Gorman) poem excerpt 112

Pause and reflect 114

model text

CHAPTER 4 WALLS AND BRIDGES

116

Focus words vocabulary 118

Educated (Tara Westover) memoir excerpt 120

The walls we build persuasive text 126

The Hate U Give (Angie Thomas) novel excerpt 130

Black Lives Matter (Tom Hunt) comic strip 136

Refugee Blues (W. H. Auden) poem 138

Brits struggle to pay for food informative article 142

Marcus Rashford calls for free school meals feature article 146

Pause and reflect 148

GR AMMAR SECTION 150

Udsagnsord (Verbs) 152

Navneord (Nouns) 154

Tillægsord (Adjectives) 156

Biord (Adverbs) 157

Stedord (Pronouns) 159

Bestemmelsesord (Determiners) 160

Forholdsord (Prepositions) 161

Forbindere (Linking words) 162

Leading and following 1

Most people are born with a desire to belong – to a family, a group of friends, a community, a team, a country. We tend to look to those we can agree with. While there is nothing wrong in wanting to follow other people, sometimes it is important to stop and think for yourself, to dare to ask critical questions. In fact, you might say that positive change only comes about because people dare to question certain ideas or stand up for what they believe in. So, consider this: Who do you follow, and how can you lead the way?

Main targets

• to express your thoughts, feelings and opinions

• to practise persuading an audience

• to write and deliver a speech

Language and grammar

• antonyms and synonyms

• adjec tives and adverbs

• subjec t-verb agreement

Model text

• speech

a)

• Why do you think the girl is dressed up in this costume?

• Do you remember who you wanted to be when you were a child?

• How do you think this photo relates to the topic of the chapter? Discuss with a partner.

b) Watch the intro film.

FOCUS WORDS persuade

UNDERSTANDING

1 Work with the focus words

Read the text.

This year is your last year in lower secondary school. In the months ahead, it is important to stay focused, even if certain topics don’t appeal to you. Your teachers’ purpose is to lead you and support you in the best way they can, but in the end, your education, your learning, is in your hands. You might already be convinced about which line of study you want to choose for next year, while your family or friends may try to persuade you to choose differently.

Remember that it is perfectly okay to have an opinion of your own. You don’t have to follow in the footsteps of others.

a) Write down the focus words you find.

b) Which of the focus words are missing? Write them down.

c) Choose three focus words and explain in your own words what they mean to you. Use the three focus words in one sentence each.

TALKING

2 Work with words

Get a worksheet from your teacher.

 Cut out all the words, four instructions and the ten focus words, along the lines on the worksheet.

 Place the paper slips with the instructions face down in one pile and the paper slips with the focus words face down in another pile.

 Take turns picking one paper slip from each pile and follow the instruc tion for the focus word.

3 Work with verbs

Work with a partner.

Cut a sheet of paper into six pieces. Write each of the following six verbs on the paper slips, one on each.

to persuade to lead to speak to convince to support

to appeal

Put the paper slips face down on the desk in front of you. Take turns to draw a paper slip and conjugate the verb on the slip in the past simple and the present perfect. Then use the verb in a sentence. You can use any of the three forms in your sentence.

Infinitive Past simple Present perfect

to follow followed has/have followed to think thought has/have thought

GRAMMAR

4 Tell the difference

a) The word appeal can be both a verb and a noun. Write two sentences, one using appeal as a verb and one using appeal as a noun.

b) Why do we use the article an in front of the noun appeal? Write a short explanation.

BEFORE READING 

Look at the photo. Why do you think the song title is used on a gate?

You’ll Never Walk Alone

by Oscar Hammerstein II

When you walk through a storm Hold your head up high And don't be afraid of the dark

lark lærke toss her: kaste rundt blown her: blæst bort

At the end of a storm There's a golden sky And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind Walk on through the rain Though your dreams be tossed and blown Walk on, walk on With hope in your heart And you'll never walk alone

Walk on, walk on With hope in your heart And you'll never walk alone

You'll never walk alone

Walk on, walk on With hope in your heart And you'll never walk alone

You'll never walk alone

UNDERSTANDING

5 Work with the lyrics

Answer the questions below. You can write your answers in keywords or full sentences.

a) What is the message in this song?

b) Who do you think the narrator is?

c) Who do you think the audience is?

Compare your answers with a partner.

6 Reflec t on the anthem

You’ll Never Walk Alone became the Liverpool Football Club anthem in 1963.

Work with a partner and discuss the following questions:

a) Why do you think Liverpool Football Club wants to have this song as their football anthem? Is there anything in the lyrics that you think might appeal to players and supporters? Find examples in the lyrics and prepare to share in class.

b) How can a song like You’ll Never Walk Alone help after tragedies like the one at Hillsborough Stadium?

c) In what other situations can music bring people together?

TALKING

7 Present a song Songs can mean different things to us and affect us in different ways.

a) Give an example of a song that you loved listening to when you were younger. Write down a few keywords to explain why you liked this song so much.

b) Think of a song that you love listening to today. Write down a few keywords to explain why you like the song so much.

c) Explain to a partner which songs you have chosen, what the songs are about and why you like them so much.

In 1989, the worst crush disaster in British sporting history struck Liverpool supporters at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield. 96 people died and hundreds were injured in the chaos. The song has been sung on numerous occasions to remember the victims of this tragedy.

BEFORE READING 

Read the introduction. What expectations do you think American girls and boys were faced with in the 1950s or ´60s? despite til trods for defiant trodsig makeshift midlertidig leftover til overs red-neck bondeknold clothespin tøjklemme collar krave gap kløft distinct tydelig leer kigge sjofelt

Rita Mae Brown (born 1944) is an American writer, activist and feminist, best known for her debut novel, Rubyfruit Jungle (1973). Although a controversial novel at the time, it received great reviews.

Rubyfruit Jungle

by Rita Mae Brown

Rubyfruit Jungle tells the story of Molly Bolt who is adopted into a poor family. Growing up in 1950s and ‘60s America, she finds it difficult to live up to the expectations of what a girl should be like. Despite an underprivileged background, she is ambitious, defiant and not afraid to be “different”. Her cousin Leroy, on the other hand, desperately wants to fit in.

[…]

That September I went to Naval Air Junior High School, a makeshift school in navy barracks leftover from World War II. The teachers were leftover too, and I was bored out of my mind. I kept to myself to see who was who in that place before I made any friends. There were a fair amount of rich kids at Naval Air. You could tell them by their clothes and the way they talked. I knew enough from English lessons by this time to know they had good grammar. They held themselves away from the red-neck kids. I didn’t mix with anybody. I knew I wasn’t rich but then I wasn’t walking around with little plastic clothespins on my collar like all the red-neck girls either. The boys were much worse than the girls. They had long greasy hair and wore denim jackets with bloody eyeballs drawn on them. Hot as hell they’d wear those denim jackets and black motorcycle boots and they were dirty mouthed to go along with it.

Back in the Hollow we were all the same. Maybe Cheryl Spiegelglass had a little more, but the gap didn’t seem so wide. Here it was a distinct line drawn between two camps and I was certain I didn’t want to be on the side with the greasy boys that leered at me and talked filthy. But I had no money. It took me all of seventh grade to figure out how I would take care of myself in this new situation, but I did figure it out.

scholarship stipendium

Carrie Molly’s adoptive mother rapidly hurtigt appearance udseende power plant kraftværk hum summen, brummelyd snots snobber ixora en type blomst tub her: tyksak d.a. forkortelse for ”duck’s ass” (anderumpe – en populær frisure i 1950erne) flunk out droppe ud af skolen take the strap to slå med et bælte cock lægge hovedet på skrå

For one thing I made good grades and they counted for a lot. You couldn’t go to college without good grades. Even in junior high school, the rich kids talked about college. If I made those grades, I’d get a scholarship, then I’d go too. I also had to stop talking the way we talked at home. I could think bad grammar all I wanted, but I learned rapidly not to speak it. Then there was the problem of clothes. I couldn’t afford all those clothes. The next fall, when Carrie took me to a Lerner Shop for my wardrobe, I told her I didn’t want two-dollar blouses from Lerner’s. She didn’t get mad like I expected. In fact, she seemed pleased that I was taking an interest in my appearance. It gave her hope for my femininity. She agreed that I could buy a few good things from a better store. Kids at school may have noticed that I wore the same things a lot, but at least they were good things. And I knew I couldn’t make my way by throwing parties. What would we all do, dance to the power plant hum? Anyway, I wasn’t up for bringing those snots home. I decided to become the funniest person in the whole school. If someone makes you laugh you have to like her. I even made my teachers laugh. It worked.

It was about this time during the last of eighth grade that Leroy and I began to understand we weren’t going to run away together and become famous actors. One Sunday when the ixora were in full bloom and everything was bright red we went up to Loxahachee. Leroy and I were down by the canal at Old Powerline Road, fishing. Leroy wasn’t a tub anymore. He had grown his hair into a d.a. that curled over his denim jacket with the bloody eyeballs on it.

“Hey, is it true you’re flunking out this year?”

“Yeah, the old man is ready to take the strap to me but I don’t give a damn. School’s stupid. There’s nothing they can teach me. I want to go make money and buy me a Bonneville Triumph like Craig’s.”

“Me too, and I’d paint mine candy apple red.”

“You can’t have one. Girls can’t have motorcycles.”

“Fuck you, Leroy. I’ll buy an army tank if I want to and run over anyone who tells me I can’t have it.”

Leroy cocked his slicked head and looked at me. “You know, I think you’re a queer.”

“So what if I am, except I’m not real sure what you mean by that.”

“I mean you ain’t natural, that’s what I mean. It’s time you started worrying about your hair and doing those things that girls are supposed to do.”

“Since when are you telling me what to do, lardass? I can still lay you out flat.” Leroy backed off a few paces, because he knew it was true and he wasn’t up for no fight especially since we were near a bed of sandspurs. “How come you’re all of a sudden so interested in my being a lady?”

“I dunno. I like you the way you are, but then I get confused. If you’re doing what you please, out there riding around on motorcycles, then what am I supposed to do? I mean how do I know how to act if you act the same way?”

“What goddamn difference does it make to you what I do? You do what you want and I do what I want.”

“Maybe I don’t know what I want,” his voice wavered. “Besides, I’m a chicken and you’re not. You really would go around on a candy apple red Triumph and give people the finger when they stared at you. I don’t want people down on me.” Leroy started to cry. I pulled him close to me, and we sat on the bank of the canal that was stinking in the noon sun. [...]

UNDERSTANDING

8 Work with the quote

In the excerpt, Molly says, “It took me all of seventh grade to figure out how I would take care of myself in this new situation, but I did figure it out”.

a) What did Molly figure out to do in order to fit in and get acceptance from the teachers and the other students? Reread the excerpt to find at least two examples and write them down.

b) What do you think you would have done in a similar situation? Write a couple of sentences to explain. Share your thoughts in class.

lardass fedtbjerg lay somebody flat tæve nogen sandspurs stikkende ukrudt waver her: sitre get down on someone blive sur på nogen bank her: bred

’’

Why fit in, when you were born to stand out?

Dr. Seuss

9 Describe the main characters

Work with a partner.

Readers get to know a character not just through direct description of the person, but also through their words, voice and actions.

a) Take turns guessing a character. Student A says a sentence about one of the characters. Student B tries to guess which character the sentence describes.

Example:

This person decided to become the funniest person in school. This person wants to drop out of school.

b) In the dialogue, Leroy says to Molly, “I mean how do I know how to act if you act the same way?”

What do you think he means by that? Discuss with your par tner, take notes and prepare to share in class.

TALKING

10 Give your opinion

It seems that Molly is not afraid of being different from others, whereas Leroy does not want others to dislike him.

a) What do you do to fit in/stand out? Consider the following:

clothes hairstyle political views sports attitude towards school

b) Prepare a one-minute talk and share your thoughts in a Double circle.

If you like, you can start like this: I tr y to stand out by … I try to fit in by …

11 Reflect on the topic

Work with a partner and discuss the following question: How does this excerpt from Rubyfruit Jungle connect with the topic of the chapter? Prepare to share your thoughts in class.

If you like, you can start like this: I believe that … In my opinion … I think that …

WRITING

12 Write about being new

How does it feel to be the new girl or boy?

a) Write an email to a friend about your experience of being new. Make sure that your email answers the following questions:

– What was the situation?

– How did you feel?

– How did you handle it?

– What did you learn from the experience?

b) Work with a partner. Read your emails out loud to each other. Are there any similarities between your experiences?

GRAMMAR

13 Work with contractions

Read the text:

Leroy cocked his slicked head and looked at me. “You know, I think you’re a queer.”

“So what if I am, except I’m not real sure what you mean by that.”

“I mean you ain’t natural, that’s what I mean. It’s time you started worrying about your hair and doing those things that girls are supposed to do.”

A contraction is a shortened combination of two words. Write down the contractions you find in the text. Then, write each of them out in two words.

Example: I’m is the short form of I am.

14 Work with adjectives

Read the text:

I knew I wasn’t rich but then I wasn’t walking around with little plastic clothespins on my collar like all the red-neck girls either. The boys were much worse than the girls. They had long greasy hair and wore denim jackets with bloody eyeballs drawn on them. Hot as hell they’d wear those denim jackets and black motorcycle boots and they were dirty mouthed to go along with it.

a) Find at least five adjectives and write them down.

b) Conjugate and write the adjectives in the positive, and superlative forms. Compare your notes with a par tner’s.

Example:

15 Adjectives and adverbs

Read the sentences:

I would take care of myself in this new situation. She didn’t get mad as I expected. One Sunday when the ixora were in full bloom and everything was bright red, we went up to Loxahachee.

a) Find the adjectives in each sentence and write them down. Write the corresponding adverbs next to the adjectives you found.

Example: quiet (adj.) - quietly (adv.)

b) Write sentences of your own using different adverbs.

Example: He talked quietly so he wouldn’t draw attention to himself.

Adverbs

An adverb is a word that describes or modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb.

Examples: He talks happily about his childhood – the adverb describes a verb. The very handsome boy sat next to me – the adverb describes an adjective. He talks very happily about his childhood – the adverb describes another adverb.

Many adverbs end with -ly: slowly, quickly, brutally, beautifully, strangely

Adverbs can also show where something happened (here, in, somewhere) and when something happened (tomorrow, now, always).

BEFORE READING 

For what occasion would you deliver a speech?

investigate undersøge persuade overbevise purpose formål audience publikum whether om, hvorvidt persuasive overbevisende

How to win an audience

We speak to communicate our thoughts, feelings and opinions. We speak to connect with others, to entertain, investigate and persuade. Most of the time, we do this without even considering how we go about it. However, sometimes we need to prepare to make sure we say exactly what we want to say.

Purpose and message

A speech is a prepared talk delivered to an audience. We give speeches on many different occasions: political meetings, demonstrations, weddings and birthdays, to name a few. The purpose of a speech, whether it is to inspire or entertain, is always closely linked to the occasion and the audience. So, what do you need to consider when you want to persuade or motivate an audience?

With a persuasive or motivational speech, you want to convince your audience of something or you want to change the way they look at something.

You want to get support for your views, or you might want to inspire your audience to act in some way. For example, perhaps you want to persuade a group of students that voting is not only a right, but a duty, and so inspire them to vote. Or you may want to motivate them to recycle.

Structure

Although a speech is a text meant for performing, you have to structure your thoughts. A speech should have an introduction, a body and a conclusion. In the introduction, you can open with a quote or a relevant fact to catch people’s attention. You then state the main reason for your speech in an interesting way. In the body of your speech, you present three main points or arguments. In addition to arguments, anecdotes and stories of personal success might also work well on an audience. In the conclusion, you summarise your arguments. For effect, you can end the speech with a call to action, or get the audience thinking with a rhetorical question.

Language

The language you use is the key to getting your message across and captivating your audience. Using the personal pronouns I and you lets the audience know it is a direct message from you to them. Us and we are especially valuable for including your audience in the issue. In addition, you can use emotive language to strengthen your message and sway your audience’s feelings about your point. It is also common to repeat words or phrases to make your message completely clear and memorable. This is helped by the rhythm that repetition can bring. The use of poetic devices, such as similes and metaphors, is valuable too. They create images for your audience, making your language come alive.

support støtte state udtrykke call her: opfordring captivate fortrylle, fascinere emotive følelsesladet sway påvirke memorable uforglemmelig poetic device poetisk virkemiddel An anecdote is a short, amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person.

We use emotive language to create an emotional response in an audience. Compare these examples:  “These trees have stood for hundreds of years.”  “These majestic trees have stood for generation upon generation.”

We use inclusive language to encourage the audience to see their role in an issue but to not feel singled out or blamed. Compare these examples:  “If you all do just a little bit more …”  “If we all do a bit more …”

Simile: The trees stood as tall as towers.

Metaphor: The circus was a magnet for the children.

Performance

Last but not least, you have to consider your performance. It is difficult to persuade or motivate people if you don’t convince them that this is important to you. Think about how you use your voice. You can stress words or phrases that are important and you can pause for effect or to let your message sink in. Think about how you can get your message across with body language, through gestures and facial expressions. Finally, don’t be afraid to look at your audience – after all, your purpose is to make them feel they can trust you.

UNDERSTANDING

16 Work with words

Work with a partner.

a) Agree on a definition in English for the following terms: opinion occasion introduction body paragraph conclusion message Compare your notes.

b) The first paragraph Purpose and message contains five of the focus words in this chapter. Find them and write them down. Then, make a new sentence with each focus word.

17 Organise information

Work with a partner.

Summarise the text. Read and follow the instructions on the worksheet.

stress fremhæve gesture håndbevægelse facial expression ansigtsudtryk

TALKING

18 Make up arguments

Work with a partner.

From the text, you have learnt that in the body of a speech, you present three main points or arguments. Imagine that you are going to deliver a persuasive speech about the following topics:

· Gaming should be a school subject!

· School should start at 10 a.m.!

· Homework should be banned!

a) Think of three main arguments that you would like to include for each of the three topics.

b) Prepare to explain your arguments in class.

GRAMMAR

19 Identify subjects and verbs

Study the sentences and identify the subject (s) and the verb (v) in each of the sentences.

Example: S V

The purpose of a speech is to entertain.

The language you use is the key to getting your message across. Anecdotes are valuable in a speech. Rhetorical questions are useful tools for a speaker.

If you write sentences in the present simple in English, you must add an -s to the verb in the third person.

Example: S V I often speak to an audience.

S V

He often speaks to an audience.

main argument 1

TOPIC 1

main argument 2 main argument 3 Subject-verb agreement

MODEL TEXT 

Martin Luther King (1929 – 1968) was an African American priest who believed that peaceful protest was the most effective weapon against racism and injustice. In 1963, he organised a march against racial discrimination. 200,000 people took part in the march. After the march, King gave his famous speech I Have a Dream. In 1964, racial discrimination was made illegal, and King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1968, he was assassinated by a sniper in Memphis, Tennessee.

I Have a Dream

Martin Luther King, Jr. was not only an influential leader, he was also a great speaker. In 1963, he delivered his speech, I Have a Dream, outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The speech became a turning point for the Civil Rights Movement and is, to this day, regarded as one of the greatest American speeches ever given.

score snes (tyve)

Emancipation Proclamation erklæring om slaveriets afskaffelse momentous afgørende decree bekendtgørelse beacon ledestjerne sear svitse withering knusende crippled lemlæstet manacles lænker segregation raceadskillelse vast enorm prosperity velstand, fremgang

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of

Martin Luther King Jr. addresses the crowd after delivering his famous I Have a Dream speech during the 28th August 1963 Civil Rights march on Washington DC.

material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

[...]

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal”.

languish sygne hen creed tro, overbevisning self-evident indlysende

swelter lide, gå til oppression undertrykkelse vicious ondsindet interposition spærring nullification ugyldiggørelse prodigious fantastisk the Alleghenies navnet på en bjergkæde curvaceous kurvet molehill muldvarpeskud hamlet flække Gentile ikke-jøde spirituals religiøse sange

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

[...] And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

The governor of Alabama at the time, George Wallace, tried to stop black students from entering the University of Alabama. In his own speech as governor, he called for “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.”

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lockout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring. And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every State and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

UNDERSTANDING

20 Write notes

The occasion and the audience are closely linked to the purpose and the content of a speech.

Read the speech closely and use the categories below to write notes about I Have a Dream. You can write keywords or sentences. Prepare to share your thoughts in class.

Occasion Audience Purpose Content

21 Identify the structure

Work with a partner.

Scan the excerpt and try to identify the structure. Consider the following:

Introduction:

• Martin Luther King, Jr. opens his speech with historical fac ts. Which facts?

• Later, he states the purpose of his speech by saying why they have all come to Washington. What is the purpose?

Body:

• King presents his main arguments. What does he dream of?

Conclusion:

• King ends his speech with a call to action. What does he want all Americans to do?

22 Work with language

Work with a partner.

Read the speech closely to find examples of language techniques and fill out the worksheet.

In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation declaring that all slaves “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” The 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, was passed in 1865. However, it would still take many years until black Americans were given the same rights as white Americans.

TALKING

23 Prepare an interview

Work with a partner.

Prepare an interview in which one of you is a reporter and the other is a person in the crowd who heard the speech. Your interview should include answers to the following questions:

• Why are you at this demonstration?

• Have you ever experienced any racial discrimination?

• What is your opinion of Martin Luther King?

• What part of the speech made the biggest impression on you?

• Why?

• What did you feel when King delivered his speech?

Feel free to make up more questions of your own. Rehearse your interview and perform it for another pair.

WRITING

24 Write a speech

With his speech, King wanted to persuade the people in power to give equal rights to all American citizens. He also wanted to motivate the African American community to work together peacefully to be “free at last”. Now you are going to write your own persuasive speech. What change do you want to see in the world?

Before you begin, consider the following questions:

• What is your topic?

• Who is your audience?

• What is the occasion?

• What would you like to persuade or motivate people to do?

• What arguments could you use to persuade or motivate your audience?

Examples of topics could be:

How to structure a speech

Example: Why recycle?

Introduction

Start with a quote: “There is no such thing as ‘away’. When we throw anything away it must go somewhere.” (Annie Leonard, The Story of Stuff).

or

Start with a shocking fact: More than eight million tons of plastic are dumped in our oceans every year.

and Find an interesting way to state the main reason for the speech: Saving the environment is everyone’s business.

Body

Present three main points or arguments:

• to conserve resources

• to save energy

• to protect the environment Conclusion

Summarise your arguments: End with a rhetorical question: Or should we just let our oceans choke on plastics?

or End with a call to action: Bring your own shopping bag and say no to straws!

TIPS

Speech performance

» Don’t rush – take your time.

» Speak clearly.

» Use your voice to stress important words.

» Seek eye contact with your audience.

» Use gestures and facial expressions.