Part of being persuasive is making yourself trustworthy. This curriculum unit will begin teaching students to develop good character in order to persuade others to make good decisions. It will bring the ancient study of rhetoric into the 21 ^{s t} century by reminding students their purpose for learning is so they can talk about what they know and argue for something they want.

Students will discover how to develop a model ethos in order to be respected citizens in the classroom community and they will learn how to deliver speeches both written by others and by themselves.

Students will examine speeches and identify characteristics and organizations of them as outlined in this unit. They will use a graphic organizer and employ the writing process, described in the unit, to write their own speeches. Students will practice and memorize their speeches and eventually deliver it to an audience of their peers.

The strategies in this curriculum unit will be integrated into the subjects of reading, writing and social studies and will be taught over the first semester of the school year, starting with the very beginning of the year by encouraging students to develop into model citizens.

(Developed for Reading, Writing, and Social Studies, grade 2; recommended for Reading Writing, and Social Studies, grades 2-5)