Sample Student Speech

Caleb’s Persuasive Speech on Volunteering in Schools

https://mediaspace.minnstate.edu/media/CalebSP32018.MOV/0_j4cwct1x

OUTLINE WORKSHEET – MOTIVATED SEQUENCE DESIGN

Name: Caleb Christenson
Topic: Volunteers at School
Specific Purpose: You Should Volunteer at School

Thesis: You Should volunteer at a school because they are under staffed and kids learn better when it can be more individualized.

Add your Audience Analysis Report:

• A. What were the questions? “Have you ever volunteered at a school?” On a scale of 1-5 how important do you think volunteering is? Do you think volunteering at a school would be beneficial? (Specifically primary or elementary) Why or why not?
• B.  What was the mean (average) response of your fixed response and ranked question?   In general what did you learn from the open question? Most people have not volunteered at a school, average of ranked question was a 4. Everyone said yes because of things like it is helpful to teachers and students, volunteering with kids gives them role models, or it helps the community
• C. What did you infer about your audience from this data?  BE DETAILED…what did you guess about us?  What did you think we would think, feel, do, etc. about your topic? What about our demographics – what do you infer about us based upon who we are concerning how we’d listen to your speech, etc. I inferred that the audience thinks that volunteering is important and is beneficial. I also inferred that the audience will think that hearing reasons why you should volunteer will be somewhat interesting.
• D.  How did you use your data and inferences to adapt to your audience?   Who did you see as your “target audience” – why?  How did you select your sources based upon the audience? Address this thoughtfully in a paragraph. Be specific in your response.  I tried to make it more for an audience that knows volunteering is helpful and they might just need an extra “push”. I see college/high school kids as my target audience because that is a majority of the people in the class. I am trying to use my data to persuade why the class should volunteer at a school and what are benefits from it.

Add your Interview Summary:

• Who did you interview? What is their Expertise? Carrie P=, she is the teacher I volunteer for
• Contact Information for Interviewer:  deleted for sample
• Summary of Interview: I asked four questions, and basically Carrie’s response was: Volunteers can do many things from busy work like cutting/tracing paper for art projects to leading learning stations. Volunteers are always helpful as long as they come ready and eager to help (otherwise they become more of a student than a helper). All ages of volunteers help, but some parents tend to focus more on their child rather than all of the kids.

(I interviewed two people)

• Who did you interview? What is their Expertise? Conner Christenson, he has been volunteering at the Byron Primary School since November
• Contact Information for Interviewer: Deleted for sample
• Summary of Interview: I also asked four similar questions to conner and a quick summary of his response is: One of the main reasons he volunteers is to give back to the community, I have a sense of accomplishment after helping out, he does a lot of different things while helping, like correcting papers, or helping them read, and he says that he thinks he is a role model to them because they see him at sports games and so they look up to him.

How are you involved in your topic – what did you do that you are asking us to do?

• In a paragraph summarize whaa you have done.
• Who can verify this? Add their contact information. You can add photographs proving you did this instead. I have volunteered at the Byron Primary School for a few months now, usually once or twice a week for 1-3 hours. I have been helping out Carrie (Deleted contact information for sample). I have helped with things like art projects, playing games with the kids, and I have tried to be a role model for the kids.

Introduction

Attention Material: If you had the chance to make an impact on someone’s life, would you take that chance?

Gain Goodwill of the Audience: We can all do that by volunteering at a local primary or elementary school.

Credibility: I have been volunteering at the Byron Primary School since November.

Thesis & Preview: Schools need volunteers because volunteers can have a big impact, especially on younger kids, and because some schools are under staffed

(Transition: Volunteering at a school is very easy and does not take much time and it can have a big impact).

 Body

1. Main Point #1 (Need) Schools need volunteers.
2. Schools need volunteers because they are under staffed
3. Schools do not have enough teachers to help each individual student
4. Some students become worse, don’t try as hard, don’t get good grades
5. I have been helping a couple of kids at the Byron Primary School that don’t have the best home life and are troublemakers, but without my help, the teacher who’s class I help with would not have the time or man power to help these kids.
6. School aged kids, especially kids that are in primary/elementary schools need good role models or may need extra help with school
7. Some schools do not have the staff to help out each student individually, and they also do not have the budget to hire that many staff members
8. According to an article published by EducationBug.org in 2018, Little Rock School District in Arkansas saved over $9,500,000 because of the time spent by volunteers
9. When I interviewed Carrie Pompeii, who is the primary school teacher I volunteer for, she said that volunteers can help a lot in ways that are similar to that of what a teacher does.
10. Children who are in schools that are understaffed.
11. According to an article by the San Francisco Education Fund, which was published on November 22, 2016, there are about 30 students per class and every year, the SFEdFund receives more volunteer requests than they can fill
12. If schools do not receive volunteers, the teachers do not have enough time to help kids, especially if they are in the situation that I describe earlier with the two kids I am focusing on helping out and being a role model for them.

Summary: There is a problem in our schools.

Preview: What can we do about this?

1. Main Point #2 (Solution that Satisfies Need) It’s very easy to volunteer at a school.
2. All you have to do is coordinate with the teacher when they want you to come in, and then most schools have a sign in sheet for volunteers to help keep track of how long you have volunteered
3. Volunteering at schools helps kids/students perform better in school and can even give them role models and perform better in life
4. Volunteering satisfies the needs of more staff in school because if you’re a volunteer, it’s basically like you’re another staff member
5. Like I said, all you have to do is talk to the school you are interested in volunteering at and you can schedule a time to volunteer.

(i.) First decide upon a school.

(ii.) Follow the rules of the school.

Summary: You might have a job and so you might say you don’t have time to volunteer.

Preview:  but think about what happens if you don’t volunteer..

III. Main Point #3 (Visualize Results) – If we don’t volunteer, not much happens; When we do, lives are changed!

1. What happens if we don’t help out at schools?
2. If nobody volunteers, this will have the biggest impact at the primary/elementary level. This is because they can be helped the most by volunteers
3. Like I said earlier, San Francisco schools need more volunteers, but it’s not just them. It’s all schools that need volunteers.
4. All schools can use volunteers, and in my interview with Carrie Pompeii, she listed six things that volunteers could do, and there are many more a volunteer can do, but without the volunteer, these things cannot be done.
5. Everyone can do this, there is no reason not to, and if you don’t, you are in a way, limiting these kids’ potential. You might be thinking “I would volunteer but I just don’t have the time” It only takes an hour or two once a week to make an impact on the students you are helping.
6. There are expected results to this action:
7. If you start volunteering, there are many benefits to both you and the students. According to a research article by UCLA titled “Volunteers are and Important Part of a System of Student and Learning Supports” volunteers help create “a supportive and welcoming environment at schools and help facilitate students’ behavior and performance” According to an article by the San Francisco Education Fund that was published in November 2016, volunteering is directly correlated with positive physical and mental health
8. According to the same SFEdFund article, as a volunteer, you help students develop soft skills like leadership and teamwork and you can also develop your own soft skills at the same time.
9. According to Conner Christenson, whom I interviewed on March 27, 2018, when he has volunteered at the Byron Primary School, he has seen how he helps the teachers and students, and even he benefits from it too. He said, “The kids benefited by having me help them read, and I have benefited because I have developed some soft skills and I can put this volunteering on an application.
10. There are many positive results if you volunteer at a school, for the students and teachers at the school, and also for you. It helps younger students a lot because you can be a role model for them, and it helps the teacher because then there is not so much of the workload on them. It helps you because like I said earlier, volunteering has positive physical and mental health impacts, and also you can put that you volunteered on a job or college application and that can help you.

(Transition: so, we’ve covered a lot….)

Conclusion

Signal an End: : There are many reasons why you should volunteer at a school, I could go on and on all day about why you should.

Summary: It is important to volunteer at schools because some are under staffed, and even if they aren’t extra help is always nice. They are many benefits from volunteering at a school, whether the benefits are for the students, teachers, or you as the volunteer. Volunteering is also a great way to give back to your community.

Goodwill Audience Tie: There are many different schools in Rochester and the surrounding areas that you can volunteer at. This can have a huge impact on students’ lives, especially the ones in primary or elementary schools.

Concluding Clincher/Call to Action: (Remember to include a Call for Action!) I hope you take a chance at having a positive impact on someone’s life by volunteering at a school to help the kids.

Works Cited

Christenson, Conner. “Why do you Volunteer at School?.” 26 Mar. 2018.

Green, Jonathan, and Azzurra Campioni. “Volunteers Are an Important Part of a System of Student and Learning Supports.” University of California, Los Angeles.

Pompeii, Carrie. “Volunteers at School.” 27 Mar. 2018.

“Why Be a School Volunteer.” Education Bug – a Complete Listing of Educational            Resources, EducationBug, 2018, www.educationbug.org/a/why-be-a-school-volunteer.html.

“5 Reasons to Volunteer in a School.” San Francisco Education Fund, San Francisco        Education Fund, 22 Nov. 2016, sfedfund.org/2016/11/11/5-reasons-volunteer-school/.