PROJECT SOAPBOX
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The soapbox speech originates from the days when speakers would elevate themselves to an audience by standing on a wooden crate, or soapbox, to make an impromptu speech about a political topic or community issue. In Project Soapbox, students present a speech of two minutes or less that addresses the project’s driving question. This speech is an opportunity to persuade the audience to understand, care, act, vote, or speak out on an issue that affects their community. In preparing their speeches, students identify an issue, research and obtain evidence on the issue, address their speech to a specific audience, and offer a call to action. As a result of the participating in the project, students are able to speak up about problems that matter to them and engage in a meaningful discussion about what can be done about those problems.
STUDENT WORK
Click on the links below to view example speeches by students..
Lucas P. - Robotics Education
Hannah M. - Youth Suicide
The soapbox speech originates from the days when speakers would elevate themselves to an audience by standing on a wooden crate, or soapbox, to make an impromptu speech about a political topic or community issue. In Project Soapbox, students present a speech of two minutes or less that addresses the project’s driving question. This speech is an opportunity to persuade the audience to understand, care, act, vote, or speak out on an issue that affects their community. In preparing their speeches, students identify an issue, research and obtain evidence on the issue, address their speech to a specific audience, and offer a call to action. As a result of the participating in the project, students are able to speak up about problems that matter to them and engage in a meaningful discussion about what can be done about those problems.
STUDENT WORK
Click on the links below to view example speeches by students..
Lucas P. - Robotics Education
Hannah M. - Youth Suicide
TEACHER REFLETION
I was impressed by how much students invested in their topics by writing their speeches about personal issues (suicide, drug addiction, violence in their community). This project was a great way for me to get to know my students and create a meaningful opportunity for them to share their ideas with a larger audience. Furthermore, this project evolved from a partnership with the non-profit Mikva Challenge, who provided curricular resources, webinar trainings, and access to a nationwide contest where the winners received a trip to Washington, D.C. The resources and trainings helped me to structure the project and rely on proven scaffolds to support students in creating their speeches, but I think the contest was most important because it was an authentic task that motivated students to work hard and elevate the quality of their work.
NEXT STEPS
In the future, I would like to see students engage more deeply with issues in their communities. While their speeches were very strong, most students spoke about issues that were very personal to them, rather than an issue that affected their community at large. I'm curious if I presented students with more example speeches from community organizers or leaders in history, then they might be more inclined to pick a broader topic. Also, I would like to work on the connection that I made between the project topic and the novels we studied during the project. Many students worked very hard on their speeches, but were less engaged in the work we did related to the novel. I'd like to work on creating more opportunities for students to interact with each other and discuss the reading and how it applies to their communities. Perhaps this would also encourage students to look at more external information when deciding on their speech topics.
I was impressed by how much students invested in their topics by writing their speeches about personal issues (suicide, drug addiction, violence in their community). This project was a great way for me to get to know my students and create a meaningful opportunity for them to share their ideas with a larger audience. Furthermore, this project evolved from a partnership with the non-profit Mikva Challenge, who provided curricular resources, webinar trainings, and access to a nationwide contest where the winners received a trip to Washington, D.C. The resources and trainings helped me to structure the project and rely on proven scaffolds to support students in creating their speeches, but I think the contest was most important because it was an authentic task that motivated students to work hard and elevate the quality of their work.
NEXT STEPS
In the future, I would like to see students engage more deeply with issues in their communities. While their speeches were very strong, most students spoke about issues that were very personal to them, rather than an issue that affected their community at large. I'm curious if I presented students with more example speeches from community organizers or leaders in history, then they might be more inclined to pick a broader topic. Also, I would like to work on the connection that I made between the project topic and the novels we studied during the project. Many students worked very hard on their speeches, but were less engaged in the work we did related to the novel. I'd like to work on creating more opportunities for students to interact with each other and discuss the reading and how it applies to their communities. Perhaps this would also encourage students to look at more external information when deciding on their speech topics.