Storybook County Lessons · Lesson 6
The Governor's Voice
Conference Theme and the State of the State
Storybook County Lessons · Lesson 6
The Governor's Voice
Conference Theme and the State of the State
Grades 9 to 12, adaptable for younger students · Four 30-minute sessions
Teacher note. Handouts: 1. The State of the State: Four Parts; 2. Theme Worksheet; 3. Service Focus Statement; 4. Sample Past Themes to Spark Ideas. Also bring the class bill book (or the Sample Bill list from the Governor's Cabinet lesson), a timer and a gavel. Pair each student with a writing partner before Session 1.
The story
The story problem
Storybook County has had a hard year: houses blown down, a great fall from a wall, a giant in the airspace, a twenty-year nap. The new Governor must name what the county stands for and tell the Legislature which bills matter most.
Teacher note. Every student writes a State of the State as if they were Governor. The class hears a sample of them in Session 4. If a class Governor has already been chosen, that student also delivers the Opening speech.
You will be able to
- Choose a theme that is specific, positive and tied to a core value.
- Draft a State of the State speech with four parts.
- Endorse bills with reasons, not slogans.
- Deliver a speech on time using gavel signals.
- Write a Lieutenant Governor's service focus statement.
The Governor's job
- Youth Governor
- Lead Presiding Officer of a Youth and Government conference
- Theme
- A lens the whole conference looks through for the year
- Three speeches
- Opening, State of the State and Closing, five minutes each
- Endorsement
- The Governor names the bills that matter most, and why
- Lieutenant Governor
- Senior parliamentarian and leader of the year's service focus
Teacher note. The Governor also writes the welcome letter in the bill book. Students practice all of it as the Governor of Storybook County.
Session 1 · 30 min
Choosing a Theme
- Hook5 min
- Theme Worksheet10 min
- Share and test10 min
- Revise5 min
Hook
Kindness. Curiosity. Unity. Community. What is a theme for?
Teacher note. These are one-word themes from past Youth Governors. Draw out that a theme is a lens the whole conference looks through, and it gives speakers, press and delegates one shared idea.
Sample past themes
- Lead with Kindness
- Staying Curious
- Pathways Toward Progress
- Unity
- Taking Initiative
- Community
Teacher note. Supporting Document 4. Students should not copy these; they are here to show the size and tone of a theme.
Theme Worksheet
- The biggest problem Storybook County faced this year
- The core value most needed to face it
- Your theme in two or three words
- One sentence connecting the theme to a story event
Teacher note. Supporting Document 2. The core values are caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.
Test your theme
- Headline test: could a press reporter put it in a headline?
- Bill test: could a bill sponsor connect their bill to it?
- Specific test: does it say something, or could it fit any year?
Share and test
Trade worksheets with your partner. Run the three tests on their theme.
Teacher note. Partners mark Y or N for each test on the worksheet.
Revise
Refine your theme.
Session 2 · 30 min
Drafting the State of the State
- The four parts5 min
- Draft20 min
- Partner check5 min
The State of the State: four parts
- Where we are: the year, with real events named
- What we value: the theme, tied to a core value
- What we will do: endorse three to five bills, one reason each
- Call to action: one thing every delegate should do
Teacher note. Supporting Document 1. Walk through it with examples: the great fall, the straw houses. Optional: a final sentence returning to the theme. 5 minutes.
Supporting Document 1
The four parts in action
Where we are. "This spring a resident of Nursery Rhyme Village fell from a public wall and could not be put together again."
What we value. "This year I ask every delegate to act with responsibility: to each other, to our neighbors in the Deep Woods, and to the walls we sit on."
What we will do. "I ask the Assembly to pass A-2, the Humpty Dumpty Wall Safety Act, because a guardrail is cheaper than a kingdom's worth of horses."
Call to action. "Before you vote on any bill this weekend, ask who in our county is on the other side of the wall."
Draft
Write your State of the State: 350 to 450 words, about three minutes aloud.
- Endorse at least three bills from the class bill book
- Name each by number and title
- Give one reason for each
Partner check
Are all four parts there? Does every endorsement have a reason?
Session 3 · 30 min
Delivery and the Lieutenant Governor
- Delivery practice10 min
- Service focus10 min
- Pair share10 min
Gavel time signals
One tap: 30 seconds left. Two taps: 15 seconds left.
The real conference signal.
Teacher note. Speakers practice finishing on time.
Delivery practice
Read your speech to your partner. Listener: run the timer and give the gavel signals.
Service focus
Write one paragraph: name a need from a story and one measurable goal.
- Rebuilding after the wolf
- Bringing meals to the Cratchits
- A wall safety awareness week
Teacher note. Explain the Lieutenant Governor's role first: senior parliamentarian and leader of the year's service focus. Use Supporting Document 3.
Supporting Document 3
Service focus statement
As Lieutenant Governor of Storybook County, my service focus this year is __ (name the need and the story it comes from).
Delegations can take part by __.
By the end of the year we will __ (a measurable goal, such as hours served, meals delivered or walls inspected).
Pair share
Swap statements. Write one sentence on how a delegation could take part.
Session 4 · 30 min
The Opening Session
- Call to order3 min
- Speeches22 min
- Wrap-up5 min
Say it
The Governor of Storybook County.
Sergeant at Arms
Teacher note. Call to order, 3 minutes. A student Presiding Officer opens the Storybook County Opening Session, and the Sergeant at Arms announces the Governor.
Speeches
As each Governor speaks, write the theme in one phrase and the bills endorsed.
- Three minutes each, with gavel signals
- After each speech: show placards if the theme was clear
Teacher note. Four to six volunteers, or students chosen by lot, deliver their State of the State. Members listen as delegates.
Wrap-up
Which theme would you want to work under for a whole year, and why?
Teacher note. Collect all speeches.
How speeches are scored
- Theme: 20
- Structure: 25
- Endorsements: 25
- Delivery: 20
- Service focus statement: 10
Teacher note. Theme: specific, positive, tied to a core value and a story event. Endorsements: at least three bills named correctly, each with a reason tied to the theme. Support: a fill-in speech frame with sentence starters, and a two-minute speech. Challenge: answer one objection to an endorsed bill, or weave the theme into all four parts without repeating the exact phrase more than twice.
The Governor has spoken
Storybook County has a theme for the year.
Eyes up here
Keyboard shortcuts and tips
- Right arrow or Page Down Next slide
- Left arrow or Page Up Previous slide
- Home or End First or last slide
- T Start or pause the timer
- R Reset the timer
- N Show or hide teacher notes
- B Blank the screen
- F Full screen
Project the slides from your laptop. Turn on Notes to see facilitation tips under the slide (keep them off while the screen is mirrored to students). Timed steps load their time into the timer automatically. Choose All slides to scroll or print every slide.