Name: ____________________________
Chapter 1 Task: Canada’s Next Prime Minister – Writing a Persuasive Speech
Your task: The Speaker of the House of Commons is holding a contest giving youth the opportunity to be prime minister for a day. The Speaker will select a group of young “next prime ministers” based on their knowledge of how Canada’s political system works and how they would use it to respond to issues that affect Canadians. You need to prepare a persuasive speech to convince the House of Commons that you belong in the group of “next prime ministers” who will make responsible decisions for all Canadians. Part of being an effective prime minister is being well-informed and understanding how the federal political system works and how to use it to respond to issues. Use persuasion in your speech to show how you would “make the system work” for all Canadians. Prove yourself by the thoroughness of your ideas and your compelling presentation. Your speech answers this question:
As Canada’s prime minister, how would you respond to what you believe is the most important issue about government today?
What you need to do: Write a persuasive speech that includes: o Knowledge of how the three branches of government work to respond to issues that affect Canadians. o The most important issue about government you feel that the prime minister should address. o An understanding of how the political system involves citizens in decision making and tries to meet the needs of all Canadians. o Facts and reasons supporting your judgements. Use the following assignment booklet to identify and summarize the main issues and challenges about Canada’s system of government. Add your ideas as you work through the chapter. The examples you collect will help you with your speech. Hand this booklet in after you present. Present your speech to the class. Part of your mark is based on your presentation skills. Focus on speaking clearly, using facial expressions and tone of voice. Include a Works Cited page for the resources you use to write your speech.
Format: You are writing a persuasive speech. Persuasiveness is the ability to convince someone of something. This will be your goal throughout your speech. You may use charts, visuals or other tools to help you communicate your idea. If you would like to use PowerPoint, the SMART Board or any other resources, please let me know. There are a number of resources that you can use for ideas such as your Issues for Canadians textbook or the Internet. Remember to watch for bias and the validity of your sources when using online information. Introduction: state your idea. First Body Paragraph: good point. Second Body Paragraph: better point. Third Body Paragraph: strongest point. Conclusion: summarizes your speech.
Due Date: _____________________________________________________
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Steps to Persuasive Communication
Step 1: State your idea.
What do you want to persuade others about? State your idea clearly.
Step 2: Know your audience.
No matter who your audience is, always be friendly and have their best interests in mind. Try to show how your idea connects to them.
Step 3: Support your ideas with evidence.
You can’t persuade anyone if you can’t back it up! Find at least three facts, examples or reasons that show why your idea is a good idea. Make sure your evidence is accurate.
Step 4: Choose formats that fit your evidence.
There are many ways to communicate your idea. Think about which ways would get your evidence across the best. State strong facts and reasons and use effective and convincing words that will make your audience want to listen. You can use charts, visuals or other tools to help you communicate your idea.
Step 5: Organize your points.
Organize your points in a logical order and present your most powerful point last. You can use charts, visuals, or other tools to help you communicate your idea.
Remember that a successful speech requires an interesting introduction (perhaps you would like to start it with a thought-provoking quotation or statement), engaging body paragraphs with detailed facts with evidence to support them, and a conclusion that wraps up your piece (try to leave your audience with a powerful last statement).
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Chapter 1 Task—Let’s get started!
Instructions: Keep track of the issues about government you read about in Chapter 1 and how they can create challenges and opportunities for Canadians. Add examples you find to the chart below. The examples you collect will help you with your speech. Afterwards, complete the questions on the next page to determine the issue on which you will develop a more informed response.
Inquire What are the issues about Canada’s government?
Examples
What challenges and opportunities do these issues create for Canadians? Why?
How will you use what you know about the political system to respond to the issues?
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In my opinion, the most important issue about government today is… ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________
because… ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________
I would use the system to respond to this issue by… ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________
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Organizer for Writing a Persuasive Speech
Use the organizer on this page to help you organize the content of your speech. Introduction
• Introduce the reason for your speech. • State your position.
Good Point
• Support your point with facts, evidence and examples.
Better Point
• Support your point with facts, evidence and examples.
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Strongest Point
• Support your point with facts, evidence and examples.
Conclusion
• Summarize your position and supporting evidence.
The tools I will use to get my ideas across (e.g., charts, visuals, multimedia, recordings)
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Name: ______________________________________
Reflecting on the Task: Self-Reflection
After you have finished the Chapter 1 Task, complete the following self-reflection and goal-setting questions.
1. I can appreciate the various effects of government policies on citizenship and on Canadian society because… ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Emerging issues about government affect quality of life, citizenship and identity in Canada because…
___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ 3. The skills that I think I have improved upon most are… because…
___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________
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4.
The areas that were challenging for me in this task are… because…
_______________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________
5.
What I would do differently next time:
_______________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________
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Name: ______________________________________ Mark: _____ / 32
Assessment Rubric: Chapter 1 Task Write a Persuasive Speech: Canada's Next Prime Minister
Criteria Understands the relationship between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government. x2 Understands how the political and legislative processes meet the needs of all Canadians. x2 Communicates in a persuasive and engaging manner through speeches. Excellent (4) Demonstrates a comprehensive, rich and detailed explanation of the relationship between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government. Demonstrates a comprehensive, rich and detailed explanation of how the political and legislative processes meet the needs of all Canadians. Has a strong attention grabber that is appropriate for the audience. Provides a powerful and convincing statement of the presenter’s position on the issue. Includes three or more engaging pieces of evidence that support the position on the issue. Information is presented in a logical order. The quality of writing is enhanced because it is essentially free of errors in usage and/or mechanics. References cited consistently and correctly. Very Good (3) Demonstrates an accurate explanation of the relationship between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government with some details. Demonstrates an accurate explanation of how the political and legislative processes meet the needs of all Canadians with some details. Has an acceptable attention grabber that is appropriate for the audience. Provides a clear statement of the presenter’s position on the issue. Includes at least three pieces of evidence that support the position on the issue. Information is presented in a fairly logical order. Emerging (2) Demonstrates a partial explanation of the relationship between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government with few details. Demonstrates a partial explanation of how the political and legislative processes meet the needs of all Canadians with few details. Limited (1) Demonstrates a superficial explanation of the relationship between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government with few or no details. Demonstrates a superficial explanation of how the political and legislative processes meet the needs of all Canadians with few or no details. Introduction is not related to the issue. Provides no position on the issue. Undeveloped issue with little or no supporting evidence. Information lacks logical order and/or organization.
x2
Has an interesting introduction, but the connection to the issue is not clear. Provides a basic and/or weak statement of the presenter’s position on the issue. Includes one or two pieces of evidence that support the issue. Information is presented in a slightly confusing sequence.
Grammar & Spelling
The quality of writing is sustained because it contains minor errors in usage and/or mechanics. References generally cited consistently and correctly with occasional and minor errors.
The quality of writing is reduced because it contains frequent errors in usage and/or mechanics. References contain inconsistencies and serious errors.
MLA Format Correctness
The quality of writing is minimized because it contains numerous and glaring errors in usage and/or mechanics. No references used when required (plagiarism).
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