persuasive speech topics for middle school
Persuasive Speech Topics for Middle School
The elocution or a speech competition is one of the most common competitions for school students. It helps improve your child's speech, social and leadership skills when they have to stand up on that stage, and deliver a speech that makes the audience want to hear more. This article has some persuasive speech topics for middle schoolers.
When I was in school, there would always be this one kid every year in the annual elocution competition, who would belt out that overdone bit about 'I Have a Dream'. No offense meant to Martin Luther King or his rather soul-stirring speech, but I have to admit that it used to get a bit too irritating hearing the same thing over and over. And I used to think back then, why don't people come up with some original topics, and not the done-and-dusted ones about coming to bury Caesar and not to praise him?
So I had a dream myself to come up and suggest persuasive speech topics for middle school students. I can understand that perhaps at that age, they may not have the maturity to come up with topics of their own. So they can read on here, to get some really original speech topics that are not only interesting, but quite contemporary, too. And, if you write something on your own, rather than just blurting out another person's speech, even the judges might find it quite impressive.
Preferred Topics for Middle School Students
A good speech idea is one on which the students write on their own; something which is very contemporary to them, and they can easily connect with. It should be a topic, which students themselves feel very comfortable with, and hence they can speak about it better.
Current Affairs
Current affairs make really good speech topics because, along with the elocution abilities of the student, they also bring out their thought process and thinking abilities. Here are some speech topics for current affairs.
- Isn't Health Insurance the Right of All Americans?
- Should Violent Video Games be Banned?
- Is Death Penalty Inhuman?
- Euthanasia and the Right to Die
- Some Thoughts About Human Cloning
- Pros and Cons of Adoption
- The Grim Reality of Climate Change
- Should an Extra Language be Made Mandatory in Schools?
- Should Hunting be Made Illegal?
- Should Sportsmen be Allowed to Use Steroids?
- Is it Right to Ban Fur Clothing?
Student Life
There are some students who prefer talking about issues that are specific to people of their generation. This is because, students can directly associate with some of these things, and for them, such topics tend to become an interesting subject to talk about.
- Are Websites like Facebook or MySpace Substituting Face-to-Face Social Interaction?
- Should Homework be Banned?
- Television is a Bad Influence
- Pros and Cons of Co-education Schools
- Importance of Finding a Career
- Is There a More Effective Punishment than Grounding?
- Should Schools Make Uniforms Compulsory?
- Sex Education in Schools
- Teen Pregnancy
- Best TV Shows for Middle School Students
- Should Students' Lockers be Checked?
- Does Television have a Positive Influence on Students?
- Should Exams be Replaced by Other Forms of Testing Performance?
- Is Internet Dating Harmful?
- Should Cell Phones be Allowed in School?
- Should the Minimum Wage be Changed for Adolescents or Teenagers?
- Should Teachers be Paid on the Basis of Performance?
- School Violence
- Homeschooling
- Internet Chat Rooms
- Dating Campus Issues
- Academic Dishonesty
Funny Topics
There are some students that just cannot pull off the intensity, which is needed for serious topics, and it would be best that they don't try those. So here are some light-hearted yet funny topics for a middle school speech.
- Unusual Career Choices
- Why Some Brands are More Popular in Schools than Others?
- Some Funny Experiences of the Last Year
- Celebrities Who Have the Greatest Pull on American Students Today
- A Critical Evaluation of Our Superheroes: Batman, Spider-man or Superman?
- What if There was No Harry Potter/Twilight?
- When I Grow Up ...
- Stupid Things My Pet Keeps Doing
- Is There Life After Death?
- Is There Life on Mars?
- Are Vampires Real?
- Do Aliens Exist?
- Do Ghosts Exist?
Social Issues
According to the current scenario of the world, a student must be well-informed regarding the issues related to our society. They must be well aware of the evils of society that affect lives of people to a great extent. The middle school students would definitely like to speak on such topics, which will not only be informative for the other students, but also create an impression on judges.
- Abuse of the Elderly
- Abused Women
- Women's Rights
- Working Women
- Age Discrimination
- Aging Population
- AIDS/HIV
- Air Pollution
- Alcohol Abuse
- Birth Control
- Child Labor
- Feminism
- Social Welfare
- Vaccinations
- Single Parent Families
- Smoking
- Addiction
- Disabilities Act
- Animal Welfare
- Drug Policy
- Foster Care
- Bilingual Education
Crime-related Topics
For a teenager, topics like these will give them a complete insight about the crimes that can ruin their lives. Usually, people don't discuss such topics, and hence the teenagers remain oblivious of such hideous crimes. These will be interesting and rare subjects to discuss.
- Battered Women
- Animal Rights
- Ethnic Violence
- Family Violence
- Hate Crime
- Juvenile Crime
- Media Violence
- Organized Crime
- Drunk Driving
- Asylum
- Fraud
- Prison Regime
- Term Limits
- War Crimes
- Alternative Imprisonment
- Animal Experimentation
- Chain Gangs
- Death Penalty
- Domestic Violence
- Gambling
- Gangs
Political and Global Issues
Being part of a particular country and a responsible citizen, the students must be aware of the issues related to their country. They must be well-equipped with the global knowledge and the issues related to it. This will prove to be another informative topic to talk on.
- Arab-Israeli Conflict
- Armed Conflicts
- Fat Tax On Food
- Government Fraud and Waste
- Homeland Security
- Homeless in America
- Immigration
- Poverty
- Agricultural Policy
- Legal System
- World Trade
- Russia
- Africa
- Cameras in Courtrooms
- Capital Punishment
- Censorship
- Church State Issues
- City Curfews
- Civil Rights
- Climate Change Policy
- Cuba
- Foreign Oil Dependence
- Foreign Policy
- Endangered Oceans
- Endangered Species
- Iraq
- Islamic Fundamentalism
- Littering
- Medical Ethics
- National Tobacco Settlement
- Racial Profiling
- Religious Right
- Terrorism
- Tobacco Industry
- Urban Terrorism
- War On Drugs
- Water Resources
- Welfare Reform
- Women in the Military
- Academic Freedom
- Acid Rain
- Afghanistan
- Peace
- Airline Safety
- American Education Reform
Science and Technology
Keeping pace with the accelerated development in the field of science and technology, today's generation would love to speak on a topic as good as this.
- Nuclear Technology
- Space Exploration
- Aliens and UFOs
- Biodiversity
- Recycling
- Voluntary National Testing
- Biological and Chemical Weapons
- Atomic Energy
Medical and Health-related Topics
Well, this can be an interesting pick for science students, and specially for those who desire to have a lucrative career in the medical arena.
- Organ Donation
- Infectious Diseases
- Health Care Policy
- Reproductive Technologies
- Alternative Medicine
- Bird Flu
- Depression
- Dieting
General Topics
Finally, here are some universal topics to choose from:
As you can see, there is life beyond the done-and-dusted topics. These were some middle school level speech topics, which will be a much-needed breath of fresh air, not only for you, but also for the audiences and the judges!- Rainforests
- Transportation
- Amnesty
- Beginning of Life Issues
- Bermuda Triangle
- Body Piercings
- Bulimia