SUBJECT/Grade: English – Grade 10 Academic Suggested Time: 75 minutes
COURSE/Type/Code: ENG2D
LESSON TITLE: How can you use persuasive techniques and rhetorical devices to make powerful and effective arguments?
Connection to CULMINATING ACTIVITY: The culminating activity for this unit will be a formal debate, which will include an opening statement in the form of a short persuasive speech to be made by each debater. This lesson will help students prepare for the debate by introducing them to the rhetorical devices and persuasive techniques used by public speakers. The lesson will also give students the opportunity to practice using these techniques and devices so that they will have the tools to make their own arguments as powerful and effective as possible when it comes time for the culminating activity. Finally, students will hear the delivery of a persuasive speech and will have the opportunity to practice their own public speaking skills.
Planning Information:Curriculum Connections
Overall Expectation(s):
· Listening to understand
· Understanding form and style
· Using knowledge of form and style
Specific Expectation(s):
· 1.7 analyze oral texts, including increasingly complex texts, focusing on the ways in which
they communicate information, ideas, issues and themes and influence the listener’s/
viewer’s response
· 2.3 identify a variety of elements of style in texts and explain how they help
communicate meaning and enhance the effectiveness of the texts
· 2.1 write for different purposes and audiences using a variety of literary, graphic and informational forms
Learning Goal(s):
· Learn the names and definitions of various rhetorical devices and persuasive
techniques and be able to provide examples of each.
· Identify these rhetorical devices and persuasive techniques in a piece of writing.
· Learn to utilize them in your own writing.
· Understand the importance of effective oral delivery and be able to recognize some of
its qualities.
Essential Questions:
· What tactics are used by public speakers to strengthen and give weight to their
arguments and how do they function?
· How can you apply these persuasive techniques and rhetorical devices to make your
own arguments more powerful and effective?
· How can the effective delivery of a speech add strength to its meaning?
Assessment and Evaluation
Assessment/Success Criteria
Knowledge and Understanding
· Demonstrates knowledge of various rhetorical devices and persuasive techniques and understands their uses.
Application
· Identifies various rhetorical devise and persuasive techniques in the provided texts.
· Uses these devices/techniques to strengthen existing texts and to compose original arguments. / Assessment Tools
Anecdotal comments
Differentiated Instruction Details
w How will you differentiate your lesson? Provide details
Knowledge of Students
Differentiation based on student:
r Readiness r Interests r Learner Profile:
r Styles r Intelligences r Other (e.g.,
environment,
gender, culture)
Need to Know
· Interests – teacher must find out which social and/or political issues are of interest to students.
How to Find Out
· Have students complete an exit pass several days prior to this lesson in the form of an interest survey (Appendix A).
Differentiated Instruction Response
r Learning materials (content) r Ways of learning (process) r Ways of demonstrating learning (product) r Learning environment
Necessary Prior Knowledge & Skills
· Listening critically and engaging in an oral text.
· Articulating personal responses to a written or oral text.
· Working cooperatively in a group.
· Reading aloud and/or speaking in front of the class.
Materials & Resources
Materials:
· Blackboard and chalk
Appendices:
· Appendix A – Interest Survey
· Appendix B – “A Big Heart, A Genuine Soul: The Enduring Value of Women’s Colleges” by Patricia McGuire
· Appendix C – Glossary of Terms
· Appendix D1 – “Women’s Rights are Human Rights” by Hillary Rodham Clinton
· Appendix D2 – “Address to Eleventh Hour” by Ingrid Newkirk
· Appendix D3 – “Acceptance Speech” by Sarah Palin
· Appendix D4 – “Ain’t I A Woman” by Sojourner Truth
· Appendix D5 – “10 Commandments on Vietnam” by Coretta Scott King
· Appendix E – Worksheet
Internet Resources:
· Gifts of Speech: Women’s Speeches from Around the World. October 15, 2011, from http://gos.sbc.edu/
Resources:
· Dawe, Robert, Duncan, Barry, & Mathiue, Wendy. (1999). Resourcelines 9/10. Scarborough, Ontario: Prentice Hall Ginn Canada. / Agenda (to be listed on blackboard, in student language)
1. “A Big Heart, A Genuine Soul: The Enduring
Value of Women’s Colleges” – a speech
2. Think-Pair-Share
3. Rhetorical Devices and Persuasive
Techniques: A Mini Lecture
4. Cooperative Learning Groups
5. Worksheet
6. Exit Pass
Minds On (Hook) w Establishing a positive learning environment
w Connecting to prior learning and/or experiences
w Setting the context for learning/ Sharing learning goals/essential questions / Connections
L: Literacy
AfL, AoL: Assessment for/of Learning
Individuals/Pairs/Whole Class Þ Teacher Read Aloud/Think-Pair-Share/ Brainstorm
Teacher Read Aloud:
· Teacher reads aloud an abridged version of a speech entitled “A Big Heart, A Genuine Soul: The Enduring Value of Women’s Colleges” by Patricia McGuire (Appendix B).
· The speech is read slowly, deliberately and with expression.
· For the first read-through, students are instructed to listen attentively without writing anything down (the purpose of the first read-through being that students are given an initial opportunity to take in the speech’s meaning and feel its full effect without having to divide their attention in a way that might detract from the speech’s impact).
· For the second read-through, students are given a written copy of the speech and this time as the teacher reads aloud, they are asked to underline/highlight/circle any words/phrases/passages that stand out to them (teacher will clarify this point by providing students with a few examples of the reasons why a particular aspect of the speech might stand out to them. For example: Does it surprise or shock you? Does it upset you? Does it give you goosebumps? Does it really make you think? Does it stick in your mind? Etc.)
Think-Pair-Share/Brainstorm:
· Students will then be given a minute or two on their own to look over their sheets and think about the words/phrases/passages that stood out to them. They will be asked to consider why these aspects of the speech might have caught their attention and how the writer/speaker was able to accomplish that end (once again the teacher will offer students a few prompts: Does she use numbers? Does she seem to choose her words carefully? Do her words produce an image in your head? Does she appeal to your emotions? Etc.)
· After students have had a minute or two to collect their thoughts, they will be instructed to pair up with the person seated next to them and share their ideas. They will also be asked to give special attention to any words/phrases/passages that stood out to both partners and to really think about what made those particular sections of the speech so engaging. Students will be advised that we will be discussing these ideas as a class and that they should expect to share their thoughts and/or the thoughts of their partner with the rest of the group.
· After several minutes, students will be asked to wrap up their discussions and redirect their attention toward the teacher. The teacher will then initiate a brainstorming session where students will be asked to share their thoughts about the sections of the speech that stood out to them and how they think the writer/speaker was able to get their attention. The teacher will record the students’ ideas on the board in the form of a web/mind map.
· While the students are discussing in pairs, the teacher will circulate to get a sense of what students are discussing and what devices/techniques they are picking up on even before they have been formally introduced. The class brainstorming session will also be used to bring the students’ prior knowledge on this subject to light and give the teacher a sense of which devices/techniques students are already aware of and which ones are escaping their notice. This will help the teacher focus the mini lecture and discussion that will follow. / AfL: Think-Pair-Share and Brainstorm/
Anecdotal comments
Action
w Introducing new learning or extending/reinforcing prior learning
w Providing opportunities for practice and application of learning (guided > independent)
Whole Class Þ Mini Lecture/Read Aloud/Class Discussion
· After students are given the opportunity to set the stage for a discussion about persuasive techniques and rhetorical devices with their own intuitive ideas about what makes a speech powerful or effective, the teacher will then hand out a glossary (Appendix C) of various persuasive techniques and rhetorical devices with definitions for each.
· The teacher will talk briefly about persuasive techniques and rhetorical devices, including what they are, when they are used, and how they are used. These things will be discussed mainly in terms of how they apply to the composition of a persuasive speech.
· We will go around the room and students will each read an entry from the glossary aloud.
· There will be a blank space below each entry where students will be able to write in an example of that technique/device from class. As we go through the list, students will be invited to raise their hands and offer an example from the speech. If the device/technique is not represented in the speech, it can be left blank and filled in later in the lesson when we have looked at more texts. Based on the examples which the students come up with, the teacher will get a sense of whether or not they understand the definitions provided and which devices/techniques are in need of further explanation.
Small Groups/Whole Class Þ Cooperative Learning Groups/Class Discussion
· Students will be divided into groups of four, which have been pre-determined by the teacher (the groupings will take into account the students’ shared interests and the diversity of their skills to ensure that each group is balanced and productive).
· Groups will be assigned a particular speech, each with a different, socially conscious theme (Appendix D1, D2, D3, D4, D5).
· The themes and the groups have been selected based on information obtained from a survey of the students’ interests that was collected in the form of an exit pass several classes earlier.
· The teacher will assign a letter to each of the group members – either A, B, C, or D – seemingly at random (in reality, the teacher’s decision as to which student will be assigned to which role will take into account each student’s individual strengths/weaknesses and capabilities where necessary). The roles associated with each letter will be listed at the top of the handout, but the students will not have seen them yet. The handouts will be placed facedown on the tables before the start of the activity.
· The students will then be asked to look at the handouts which will include a speech, a description of the roles, and instructions for completing the task.
· ‘A’ will read the speech aloud to the group, and then together they will identify as many rhetorical devices and persuasive techniques within the speech as they can, keeping track of where they have located each example. ‘B’ will record the group’s findings. After about 10-15 minutes of discussion, ‘C’ will read the speech aloud to the rest of the class and ‘D’ will present the group’s findings.
· Students will be reminded by the teacher that at any phase of this activity they can continue to fill in their glossaries with examples of the different techniques/devices that they find useful.
· While students read aloud and discuss in their groups, the teacher will circulate in order to get a sense of how well students understand the material. The teacher will also stop to chat with each group to make sure they are on the right track, offer suggestions and encourage them to extend their ideas.
· The teacher will also get an idea of how well students are responding to the lesson and what aspects require further clarification or discussion by the findings they present to the rest of the class.
Individual Þ Worksheet
· Individually at their desks, students will begin completing a worksheet (Appendix E) that will allow them to practice using rhetorical devices and persuasive techniques. It will be completed as homework.
· The worksheet will require students to apply their learning by rewriting sentences to make them more effective, as well as crafting their own short argument.
· The teacher will circulate while students are working in order to make sure they are getting started and on the right track. This will allow the teacher to address any individual questions.
· The teacher will also take this opportunity to feel out whether or not there are any common issues or errors that should be addressed as a class. / AfL: Class discussion/
Anecdotal comments
AfL: Cooperative Learning Groups/
Class Discussion/
Anecdotal comments
AfL: Worksheet/
Anecdotal comments
Consolidation and Connection
w Helping students demonstrate what they have learned
w Providing opportunities for consolidation and reflection
Individual Þ Exit Pass
· In order to exit the room, students must “persuade” the teacher in 1-2 sentences to let them leave class. Students must use at least one rhetorical device or persuasive technique. These may be written or delivered orally. Teacher will provide very brief feedback on the spot before allowing the student to leave.
Individual Þ Homework
· For homework, students will complete the worksheet that they started filling out in class. It will be handed in the following day and retuned with comments.
· The worksheets will allow the teacher to evaluate the students’ grasp of the material and how it can be practically applied. This will help gauge their readiness to begin crafting longer and more developed argumentative pieces in preparation for the culminating activity. / AfL: Exit Pass/
Anecdotal comments
AfL: Worksheet
Accommodations/Special Needs:
ELL student:
· This class includes an ELL student who struggles slightly with reading comprehension and writing, but has fairly good oral communication skills. For the “minds on” activity, she will be provided with an individualized copy of the speech, which will include simplified definitions of difficult words. Each line of the speech is already presented as a separate paragraph to make following along easier. The teacher will also read the speech at a slow pace and carefully articulate each word as much as possible without affecting the flow. After class the student will be provided with a tape of the teacher reading the speech so that she may listen to it at her leisure and get a feel for the delivery.