Name: Page Novak

Informative Speech Assignment: The Full-Sentence Outline

Topic: The Blind Side
General Purpose: To Inform
Specific Purpose Statement: After sharing my speech, the class will know about the
basic plot behind the Blind Side, information about the real family in the movie, and
Michael Ohers career in the NFL.
Introduction
I.

Have you ever dreamed of accomplishing something you thought was impossible
at the time?
A. This was the case for Michael Oher who came from a poor Tennessee
family of 12 brothers and sisters.
B. Michael never thought that he would start from the bottom and end up top
playing in the NFL, first round draft pick in 2009.
His story of going from rags to riches was documented into a movie called the
Blind Side. Power point slide of Blind Side cast/pictures
The Tuohy family took him in and then eventually adopted him. Their children
attended the high school that Michael had applied to Briarcrest Christian School
(which is changed to Wingate in the movie). PowerPoint slide of the real and
the movie Tuohy family

II.
III.

Transition: Start with the plot of the movie.

Body
I.

The Blind Side starts with Michael Oher pursing to get a better education by
applying to Wingate, while he lives with a mechanic and his son who attends the
school also.
A. The movie is The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized
boy who became an All American football player and first round NFL draft
pick with the help of a caring woman and her family, according to IMDBs
plot summary.
B. Michael did not have passing grades and was not educated in football.
With the help and time from his mentors, he turned his life around.
C. One of this mentors that stuck out the most and ended up adopting him,
was Leigh Ann Tuohy, who found him on the side of the road walking
from the school to get warmth from the cold.
D. Michaels life was becoming better as time passed, he was getting As
and Bs in his classes with a help of a tutor hired by the Tuohys and he
was active in many sports, especially football.

E. His senior year came around and he started to get offers to play football
for big schools such as LSU, Ole Miss, Alabama, and Arkansas, which is
when S.J. Tuohy decides he has a say in Michael getting the best
scholarship from these coaches/schools.
F. He became an instant family member to the Tuohys, who fell in love with
Michael right when they decided to welcome him into their home.
Transition: The real life story behind the movie.
II.

According to the real life family, the Tuohys, the movie does a very good job in
telling the accurate story of this time in their and Michael Ohers life.
A. The father, Sean Tuohy,states I think the movie did a really nice job of
showing how many Michael Ohers out there are getting passed by or
slipping through the cracks," Tuohy, who was played by Tim McGraw,
said according to an ABC news interview of the family. Powerpoint clip
of family interview
B. The Tuohy family knew that Michael did not have the best odds coming
from a family of 13 children and a mother who really was a crack addict
and gave little care for any of her children.
C. It actually took them a couple months to take Michael into their care, in
the movie it shows that they did right when he arrived at school.
D. The family knew about Michael, such as the daughter Collins Tuohy, who
was associated with Michael because of sports and being the same age.
E. Michaels GPA from his old school was a 0.6, which caused him to be
homeschooled for a couple months before attending Briarcrest Christian
School. The principal ordered this even after the football coach Hugh
Freeze tried to get them to accept him right then and there.
F. The actual Leigh Ann and Sean Tuohy attended Ole Miss, but they
encouraged Michael to go anywhere he wanted to go for football, Ole
Miss being his final choice.
G. According to History Hollywood, Michael picked Ole Miss because of
many reasons such as Ole Miss was right down the road," Michael said,
"and I figured it would be easier for my family, you know, my friends to get
down to Oxford to come see me play."

Transition: Michael Ohers life now after the movie

III.

Michael Ohers life turned around for the better, which he never expected to be
where he is now.
A. He played football for Ole Miss right out of high school for all four years
that he attended there.

B. After graduating from Ole Miss, he was drafted to the NFL in the first
round to the Baltimore Ravens.
C. He became very successful from the start of his career in the NFL
according to History Hollywood interview He entered the league as a
starting lineman on the Ravens team, signing a $13 million contract. In his
rookie season Michael started every game and was named the NFL's
Rookie of the Month for December 2009.
D. Michael wants people to appreciate his accomplishments in the NFL and
not to focus only on the movie that was filmed about his life.
Transition: In conclusion
Conclusion

Works Cited List

Mccarthy, K., & White, M. (2009, December 14). Real-Life Story Behind 'The
Blind Side' Retrieved October 7, 2014, from
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Entertainment/real-life-story-blind-side/story?id=9327437

The Blind Side True Story - Real Leigh Anne Tuohy, Michael Oher. (n.d.).
Retrieved from http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/blindside.php

The Blind Side (2009) - IMDb. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0878804/?ref_=m_ttfcd_tt