Verb (Click on the speech icon to hear the pronunciation of the word <kə mens>
 Verb
o Set in motion; cause to start
o Take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
o Get off the ground
Commence is a fancy way of saying begin at the start of a formal
event such as a meeting or war.
If a congressman wants to start a meeting to vote on an important bill, he might say, "This
meeting will begin immediately." Or, he could make the same statement in a more formal way
by saying, "This meeting will commence immediately.” That's why a graduation ceremony is
called a commencement — a graduate is embarking on a new life, and the commencement
ritual marks the official beginning of that life; a commencement is the act of starting out, or
blazing a new trail.
Other forms: commenced, commencing, commences


Synonyms: begin, embark on, initiate, institute, start
Antonym: end, terminate, conclude, stop
Usage:



Classes have already commenced at the university.
They commenced their journey on foot.
The artists were honored during the school's commencement ceremony Saturday.

“And then something invisible snapped inside her, and that which had come
together commenced to fall apart.” (From John Green’s Looking for Alaska—one of our
seniors’ favorite books)
 “The road went up the valley a long way and then we turned off and commenced to climb into
the hills again.” (From Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms).

Jury selection for the case concludes on Monday, while opening statements for the trial are set
to commence on Thursday morning.

Those of you lucky enough to be snowed in, let the channel flipping commence!
DIRECTIONS: Discuss the meaning of the word with your students, with special emphasis on any
variations or nuances of the word specific to your discipline. Consider taking it a step further by using
one or all of the following ideas as you involve students with the new vocabulary. Remember to
preview all content you intend to share with students. Not all items on the lists provided
below are appropriate for all classes or age levels.
Challenge:
Try to say “let’s commence” instead of “let’s get started” or “let’s begin” in all of
your classes this week!
#1 Two Books on Commencement Speeches
Here We Stand: 600 Inspiring Messages from the
World's Best Commencement Addresses
by Randy Howe (Editor)
The sample pages have quite a few messages.
Ideas:
 Show one a day to your students and discuss.
 Show several to your students and have them do a quick
write in response. Share with the class.
 Choose several and show to the class; have them write a
parody of the sentiment conveyed.
http://www.amazon.com/Here-Stand-Inspiring-CommencementAddresses/dp/1599215675/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398637649&sr=1-4&keywords=commencement
10 1/2 Things No Commencement Speaker Has
Ever Said
by Charles Wheelan (Author), Peter Steiner (Illustrator)
Clean and thought-provoking. The table of contents lists them all and there
is enough sample pages to go into explanation of some of them.
Idea to discuss with your students—why does no one ever say these things
at a commencement ceremony? Should they be said?
http://www.amazon.com/Things-Commencement-Speaker-EverSaid/dp/0393074315/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398637649&sr=13&keywords=commencement
#2 Current Events—Missing Malaysia Plane
From Salon.com: “Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Update: Search Area Too Deep for Bluefin-21
Submarine,” published April 15th, 2014.
The author describes how and why “day one of the deepsea search, using the autonomous underwater vehicle
Bluefin-21, was cut abruptly short.” In that explanation,
she states that, “Thus with the information they had
from the previous four pings, the deep-ocean search for
wreckage from the missing plane commenced.”
http://www.salon.com/2014/04/15/malaysia_airlines_flight_mh370_update_search_area_too_deep_for_bluefin_21_subma
rine/
#3 Social Studies/Civics—Voting in India
The article entitled “Two Soldiers Killed as Maoists Attack Before Polls Open in East India,” written by
Charlie Campbell, was published by Time on 10 April 2014.
This article describes how “Maoist rebels blew up a military jeep in India’s eastern Bihar state late on
Wednesday, killing two members of the paramilitary forces and wounding three others, just hours
before voting began in the third phase of India’s six-week-long national elections.” The author states
that “Maoists had earlier called for a poll boycott. Nevertheless, voting in the restive
province commenced as planned.”
#4 Arts and Film
Read this article from Reuters entitled “Move over Bollywood: U.S. Festival Spotlights Independent
Indian Films” (published April 8th, 2014).
The focus of the article is that “the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, commencing on Tuesday, is
bringing the movies made outside of the Bollywood studio system to Hollywood.”
The author goes on to explain that “Bollywood films often capture the color and beauty of Indian
culture through high-profile stars and big-budget blockbusters, but a group of filmmakers is
attempting to show a different side of India's people through smaller, independent fare. . . Kicking off
the festival is ‘Sold,’ a gritty drama by director Jeffrey D. Brown, about a 13-year-old girl sold into
prostitution in India.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/08/us-indianfilmfestivalidUSBREA3729620140408?feedType=RSS&feedName=entertainmentNews
#5 The Importance of Kindness
“Watch an Animated Version of George Saunders’ Amazing Commencement Speech” on Time.com. “In
his commencement speech, the author urged the
students to be kind to each other. . . That’s the gist of
the speech that author George Saunders delivered to
the graduating class of Syracuse University last year.
In his commencement speech, the author urged
the students to be kind to each other.
‘What I regret most in my life are failures of
kindness,’ Saunders said in the speech. ‘To the extent
that you can, err in the direction of kindness.’ The
sentiment echoes both Kurt Vonnegut’s line
from God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (“There’s only one rule that I know of, babies … you’ve got to be
kind”) and, of course, George Carlin’s sage saying in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (“Be excellent
to each other”).
Time Magazine article: http://time.com/76602/watch-an-animated-version-of-george-saunders-amazing-commencementspeech/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+time%2Ftopstories+%28TIME%3A+Top+Stories%29
YouTube Video (2min., 13sec.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1KCzrTg9ic
#6 “Six Ways to Be an Amazing Public Speaker”

th
Published on Forbes.com, January 6 , 2014
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Know your audience
Prepare the room
Introduce yourself
Warm up the crowd
Don’t take their attention for granted
Use notes sparingly
In the article, the author asserts that “an outstanding example is Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address,
delivered about a year after his diagnosis with a rare form of pancreatic cancer.”
Article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahljacobs/2014/01/06/six-ways-to-be-an-amazing-public-speaker/
Consider discussing these six tips with your students and then watching Steve Jobs’ speech:
Steve Jobs Stanford
Commencement Speech 2005
(14:33)
Here we see Steve Jobs delivering his commencement speech
to the graduates of Stanford University in 2005. He tells ”three
stories from his life.” In it he talks about getting fired from Apple
in 1985, life & death.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA
#7 “The Best Graduation Commencement Speech EVER!” (7:17)
From 2008, a high school commencement speech.
Watch it and see what your students think.
Does it deserve to be touted “the best”? Whose opinion
do they think that title represents?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg1HnP7ce7U
#8 Quotes to discuss with your students or have them do a quick-write response: