from Cesar’s Way
Nonfiction
Pack of Lies
Op-Ed Article
Feature Menu
Introducing the Selections
Informational Text Focus:
Arguments—Pro and Con
Reading Skills Focus: Evaluating
Writing Skills Focus: Think as a
Reader/Writer
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Introducing the Selections
What do you believe our relationships with
our pets can tell us about ourselves?
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Introducing the Selections
Some people are born leaders.
Others are content to follow.
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Introducing the Selections
But when it comes to a human’s best friend, who
is in charge?
And, how should
he or she show
that leadership?
[End of Section]
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Informational Text Focus: Arguments—Pro and Con
How do you usually make decisions?
With your head?
Or with your heart?
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Informational Text Focus: Arguments—Pro and Con
Some people go
with how they feel.
Others look at every
angle, making a list
of pros and cons.
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Informational Text Focus: Arguments—Pro and Con
Whenever you evaluate an argument, ask yourself,
“How is this person trying to convince me?”
What kind of evidence is he or she using?
Logical appeals use evidence to
speak to reason and common sense.
Emotional appeals speak to your
emotions—fear, sympathy, anger, joy.
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Informational Text Focus: Arguments—Pro and Con
Logical appeals are backed up by
• facts
• statistics
• concrete examples
• valid evidence
• expert opinions
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Informational Text Focus: Arguments—Pro and Con
Emotional appeals often involve
Loaded words: words
with strong connotations,
or associations
Anecdotes: personal
accounts or stories of other
people’s experiences
Nazi
Liberal
Do-Gooder
“My teacher’s friend’s
aunt had
a similar experience!”
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Informational Text Focus: Arguments—Pro and Con
Writers also use tone to sway a reader’s feelings.
Oh my, lucky me! My
uncle is trying to fix me up
with his friend’s son for
my quinceañera. As if!
Like I can’t get a date to
my own party!
Tone shows the author’s attitude toward a
subject, a character, or the audience.
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Informational Text Focus: Arguments—Pro and Con
Often you are faced with two opposing
arguments.
One author may be pro—or
for a position or argument—
while the other may be con—or
against that stance.
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Informational Text Focus: Arguments—Pro and Con
As you read the two articles, take time to evaluate
which one is more credible, or believable—the pro
or the con.
Mr. Millan supposedly delivers fast results. His
mantra is “exercise, discipline, affection,”
where discipline means “rules, boundaries,
limitations.” Rewards are absent and praise
scarce, presumably because they will upset
the state of calm submission.
From "Pack of Lies" by Mark Derr from The New York Times, August 31, 2006. Copyright © 2006 by The New York Times.
Reproduced by permission of The New York Times Syndication Sales.
[End of Section]
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Reading Skills Focus: Evaluating
What does the
writer mean?
What is the
writer’s intent?
Do I agree with
this writer’s
argument?
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Reading Skills Focus: Evaluating
When you read pro-and-con arguments, asking
questions will help you
• pinpoint the strengths and
weaknesses of the argument
• determine whether the whole
argument is sound.
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Reading Skills Focus: Evaluating
Into Action: As you read, ask yourself these
questions to determine whether the arguments are
credible, or believable:
• What is the writer’s claim, or opinion?
• What support does the writer give—logical
or emotional?
• Does the writer provide enough evidence to
support his or her claim?
• What is the writer’s intent?
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Reading Skills Focus: Evaluating
Into Action: Record your answers to these
questions in a chart like the one below.
from Cesar’s Way
Questions
Answers
What is the writer’s
claim?
What support does the
writer give—logical or
emotional?
[End of Section]
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Writing Skills Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer
Find It in Your Reading
A writer’s subject, purpose, and audience all
influence his or her diction, or word choice.
As you read the selections, note examples of each
author’s word choice in your notebook.
[End of Section]
Vocabulary
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Vocabulary
from Cesar’s Way
primal adj.: first in importance; essential.
submissive adj.: obedient; under another’s
control.
Pack of Lies
intimidation n.: use of threats or fear to
influence behavior.
punitive adj.: punishing; seeking to punish.
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Vocabulary
The sentence below may help you understand how
the word primal is used in “Cesar’s Way.”
A wolf pack’s
primal instinct is
to work as a team.
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Vocabulary
Which of the following words has the
same meaning as primal?
a. innovative
b. historic
c. primitive
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Vocabulary
Which of the following words has the
same meaning as primal?
a. innovative
b. historic
c. primitive
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Vocabulary
Read the sentence below to help you understand
how the word submissive is used.
The older dog gave a
submissive yelp to show
respect to the pack leader.
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Vocabulary
Which posture appears more submissive?
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Vocabulary
The sentence below may help you understand how
the word intimidation is used in “Pack of Lies.”
The training methods use
intimidation instead of
positive reinforcements
and rewards.
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Vocabulary
An expert at intimidation, the guard dog snarled
while the suspect _______.
a. smiled and nodded
approval
b. cowered under the
desk in fear
c. urged the dog to stand
on its hind legs
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Vocabulary
An expert at intimidation, the guard dog snarled
while the suspect _______.
a. smiled and nodded
approval
b.cowered under the
desk in fear
c. urged the dog to stand
on its hind legs
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Vocabulary
Read the sentence below to understand how the
word punitive is used in “Pack of Lies.”
The punitive form of
training relied on the
ear-shattering blasts
of a whistle.
from Cesar’s Way/Pack of Lies
Vocabulary
Punitive is another way to say . . .
penalizing
in reprisal
corrective
punishing
disciplinary
retaliatory
[End of Section]
The End