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Year 8

Writing speeches about supporting Victorian working class children

I can write a well-structure persuasive speech about supporting Victorian working class children.

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Year 8

Writing speeches about supporting Victorian working class children

I can write a well-structure persuasive speech about supporting Victorian working class children.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Open a speech in a dynamic way to engage your audience.
  2. Rhetorical devices should be used to support arguments in persuasive speeches.
  3. If you are trying to persuade a listener, include a call to action so they can make a tangible change.
  4. Punctuate speeches accurately to support with delivery.

Keywords

  • Destitue - destitute means extremely poor and unable to look after oneself.

  • Impoverished - a person or area that has been made poor can be described as being impoverished.

  • Desperate - desperate means a feeling that a situation is so bad it is impossible to deal with.

  • Civilised society - a civilised society is one that treats people who live there fairly, with a fair justice system.

  • Implore - to implore means to beg someone to do something.

Common misconception

Pupils start a speech by directly addressing the audience and explaining the purpose of the speech.

Ask pupils if the best method of getting your own way is by stating what you want straight away.


To help you plan your year 8 english lesson on: Writing speeches about supporting Victorian working class children, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Give your pupils plenty of time to write to ensure they have time to focus on the overarching structure of the speech.
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Teacher tip
content-guidance

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the following could not be used as a rhetorical question?
Should children really live like this?
How many children in London live like this?
Correct answer: What is the capital city of England?
Q2.
Which of the following is not direct address?
The great people in this room today should feel ashamed.
Correct answer: I feel ashamed that I have not done more.
You should feel ashamed that you have not done more.
Q3.
Which of the following does not use the word 'desperate' correctly?
The child was desperate with hunger.
The child was desperate for food.
The desperate child needed food.
Correct answer: The child needed food desperate.
Q4.
What is a topic sentence?
Correct answer: A sentence which explains the upcoming focus of a paragraph.
A sentence that signposts what comes next.
A heading for a piece of writing about a specific topic.
Q5.
When you urge the listener to take action during your speech, you are using a call to .
Correct Answer: action, Action
Q6.
If you describe a society as civilised, which two sentences below would make sense?
Correct answer: The society is one that is kind and respectful of others.
Correct answer: The society is more socially and culturally advanced.
The society is cruel and disrespectful of others.
The society is developing to become more socially and culturally advanced.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the most effective way to structure a speech? Place the sections in the correct order.
1 - A hook which engages your audience.
2 - Clear arguments supported by rhetorical devices.
3 - A cohesive conclusion which includes a call to action.
Q2.
Which two words mean poor.
Correct answer: Impoverished
Correct answer: Destitute
Affluent
Prosperous
Q3.
Why is using "Dear Members of Parliament" inappropriate for a speech?
The term 'dear' is too informal when speaking to politicians.
Correct answer: It sounds like you are writing to them, rather than delivering a speech.
You need to start with a more dramatic word than 'dear.'
Q4.
Which of the following is the most emotive sentence?
Correct answer: Innocent children perish on the streets.
Young children are left on the streets.
Children perish on the streets.
Q5.
Which of the following is the most emotive sentence?
Poor children cannot access education.
Impoverished children cannot access education.
Correct answer: Impoverished children are being denied access to education.
Q6.
Which of the following is not a justifiable reason for using accurate punctuation when writing a speech?
Correct answer: It separates your arguments into clear sections.
It can support with pacing the delivery of your speech.
It can indicate where you need to leave purposeful pauses.