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-blindside/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