AP Lang: Power of Speeches Abdication Speech Detailed intro, Essay prompt

Inspired by the movie WE and then dozens of biographies and research, I wove my knowledge and fascination with the controversial "greatest romance of the century" into this unique AP English Language & Composition lesson.

In 30 slides, I have embedded 17 personal audio clips (timed on the slides with images) of me providing the necessary background information as I tell the very interesting story of The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. You could remove the audio clips if you want. After sparking students' interest through my story telling, images and some embedded video clips (two are brief scenes from the movie WE--you could practice Rhetorical Analysis of film here) and the other is a clip from an interview with the actor who plays King Edward VIII, I then include the abdication speech scene, along with a linked google doc of the actual speech. If interested, I also have embedded the actual speech King Edward himself broadcasted over the radio in 1936.

Application: I have included an AP essay style prompt (based on the College Board's Rhetorical Analysis formula) for the students to use as they write their own essay. This content here is much more of a "bundle" but I wanted to make it all accessible in just one resource.

The unit is fully remote-able and could be simply shared with students as independent work. It is unique because as far as I have looked, you cannot find an example prompt for the abdication speech, and certainly not the personalized story of introduction. Students are sure to create their own original essays. From start to finish, I usually spend 2 classes here. You could extend the time by having students share their essays (or sections of them) as you workshop them together. I've found the method of creating one shared google slides presentation for students to upload their writing to work well.

If you want to continue this theme of famous speeches as you prepare students for the AP exam, please see other resources I have listed in this unit Here.

You can see my ultra detailed 16 page College Board Approved Full Year Syllabus Here. I have included the code you need to claim the syllabus for your College Board approval (you are allowed to "claim" an already-approved syllabus). The course is divided into thematic units and it is fully remote-able (all links provided; no specific textbooks needed).

If you like using songs to teach ELA, I've created a full course elective called "The Literature of Music" here or see some of the individual units here:

Dueling Ballads

Murder Ballads

Graphic Organizer for Analyzing Songs

Youtube Ambience Blackout Poetry

Lana Del Rey Music is Poetry

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

The Dark Side of Oz

The Phantom of the Opera

The Rhetoric of Music Unit

I'm Obsessed with this Song

Youtube Ambience Poetry Activity

Lyrics as Poetry Assignment and Rubric

Classic 1970s songs

Elvis Movie Soundtrack Assignment

2 Songwriters who are Poets

Podcast Unit

The 2 Most

Lyrics Mashup Patchwork Quilt

U2 Running to Stand Still

Update My Playlist

Lyrics that are LIES

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