"Wear Sunscreen" By Mary Schmich

Introduction

The graduation commencement speech to the class of 1997 by Mary Schmich is a famous speech that has relayed advice to many ears around the world, not exclusively those present for the ceremony. Today we will read her speech as a class and begin a group assignment.

 

Task

Your task is to read Mary Schmich's commencement speech, evaluate the speech by answering questions, and create a poster board that visualizes advice related to the text.

Process

Step 1.

Access this link to read "Wear Sunscreen" as a class, then split into groups of five.

 

Step 2.

As a group, answer the following questions on a sheet of paper (turn in one answer sheet per group):

1: What rhetorical appeal is primarily used throughout the speech? How do you know?

2: Why would the author use full sentences to push some points, while other points are made with a single word? How does this change the overall tone of the speech?

3: Choose one piece of advice provided by Mary Schmich, and in 4-5 sentences explain why the advice is important and relevant to you.

 

Step 3.

- Each person in the group will pick a different point covered in the speech and draw an example of it on the poster (ex: a person singing, dancing, flossing, etc.).

- Each person will then come up with a piece of advice they wish to give to their past self and write it somewhere on the board.

- Each person will then write one piece of advice they wish to give their future self somewhere on the board.

 

Step 4.

Students will present in groups to the class.

 

 

 

 

Evaluation
  15 points 10 points 5 points 0 points
Accuracy

Group questions are complete, in-depth, and correct.

Most questions are complete and correct.

Questions are not complete and only partially correct.

 Questions are not complete or correct.
Creativity Highly creative, engaging, and unique. Creative and engaging. Some creativity but lacks engagement. No creativity.
Presentation Clear, confident, and well organized. Clear and organized. Somewhat unclear or disorganized.  Unclear and unorganized.
Teamwork All members contributed to the project and questions. Most members contributed to the project or questions.  Some members contributed to the project or questions. No contribution from most members.

 

Conclusion

In this assignment, we read and discussed Mary Schmich's speech "Wear Sunscreen." We analyzed the main ideas of the speech and applied the information given to create a poster. We evaluated the speech through our understanding, representing ideas provided in the text and creating new ones for our future selves. To conclude this assignment, please enjoy a musical adaptation of this speech by Baz Luhrmann, 1999. Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen 

Credits
Teacher Page

Wear Sunscreen speech: Poetry - Mary Schmich - Wear Sunscreen - If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it

Step 2 question 1: "Analyze how an author establishes and achieves purpose(s) through rhetorical appeals" (ELA.9. R.2.3). ELA B.E.S.T. STANDARDS: ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

Step 2 question 2: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.4 Wear Sunscreen: A Satirical Take on the Time-Honored Graduation Speech This close reading lesson ...

Everybody's Free YouTube video: Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen