Students investigate how young people use words, evidence, and public speaking to create change, then apply those moves to an issue they care about at school or in the community. Through mentor texts, research, discussion, drafting, and revision, they build an evidence-based argument and turn it into a campaign kit, action brief, and polished speech for a real audience. The work helps students see how claims become action when they are clear, credible, and directed to decision-makers. By presenting to community leaders at the festival and reflecting through voice memos, students connect their own perspectives to authentic civic participation and next steps.

Students will analyze youth activist speeches and mentor texts to identify claims, reasons, evidence, and persuasive language, then apply those moves in their own argument writing and speaking. Students will conduct a short research project on a school or community issue, evaluate multiple sources, and develop a clear proposal with a strong claim, relevant evidence, and a call to action for a real audience. Students will strengthen discussion, collaboration, and presentation skills by building on others’ ideas, participating in critique and revision, and presenting polished campaign kits, speeches, and action briefs to community guests. Students will reflect on how their thinking changes by recording voice memos after activist studies and using those reflections to shape their final message and sense of responsibility to their community.

Students create a campaign kit that includes a persuasive poster, a short speech, and a resource flyer proposing one realistic change at school or in the community for a real community partner audience. They also develop a polished argumentative speech and a one-page action brief with a clear claim, reasons, evidence, and a call to action to present at the student-led festival. Throughout the project, students produce claim-building gallery walk notes, annotated mentor text analyses of youth activist speeches, a draft and revised final piece, and three quick voice memos naming one idea, one feeling, and one changed view after activist studies. All work is collected in a portfolio that shows research, feedback from a teacher conference, revision moves, and final presentation-ready materials.

Kick off with a Claim Jam Challenge: in small teams, students rotate through a gallery walk of youth activist quotes, images, speech excerpts, and evidence, then sort what makes each message convincing. Teams build and share a first claim answering, “What makes a student voice powerful enough to move others to act?” and defend it in a brief discussion. Close with a short whole-class debrief connecting the patterns students noticed to the campaign kit, speech, and action brief they will create for a real community audience.

Host an “Our Voices, Our Future Festival” with a student-led presentation circle where each student shares a polished argumentative speech, one-page action brief, and campaign kit materials with classmates, families, and invited community leaders. Set up gallery stations for persuasive posters and resource flyers, then have guests rotate, ask questions, and leave written or verbal responses about the strength of each claim, evidence, and call to action. Invite a city council member, nonprofit organizer, or school board representative to respond to proposals with authentic next steps students could take after the event. Include a closing reflection wall or audio booth where students add one final voice memo about what they learned, how their thinking changed, and how their voice can move others to act.