Lesson Plan Template
Rev 10/1/09
Dr. Thieman
Name:__Jason Miller______
Age/Grade Level___Junior/Senior_____
Subject Area(s)__Language Arts___
Unit Title__Writing Advocacy Letters____
Lesson Title__Rhetoric and the Art of Persuasion__
Estimated Time_60-90 minutes__
Purpose/Rationale for lesson: To provide a brief background on the history of
rhetoric/persuasion; to imbue students with an essential awareness of the
usage/prevalence of rhetorical devices and logical fallacies in the modern age; to equip
students with the elementary tools needed to recognize and employ rhetoric in their own
lives generally, and in their advocacy letters specifically.
Curriculum Framing Questions:
Essential Question: How can writing effect specific and concrete change?
Unit Question that applies to this lesson: How are rhetorical devices ethos, pathos
and logos used to convince a reader/listener? How are logical fallacies such as
Argumentum ad populum, non sequitur, straw-man, and ad hominem used to deceive a
reader/listener?
Lesson or Content Question(s): What are ethos, pathos and logos? What are
argumentum ad populum, non sequitur, straw man, and ad hominem? This is TOO many
for one lesson. Choose the most important and teach those thoroughly in the lesson. Use
everyday language, not Latin terms
Goal: A realization that we are constantly bombarded with rhetorical devices in politics,
marketing, and the media in general; an understanding that arguments are often made
using logical fallacies on what the speaker hopes is an unwitting audience and that such
usage diminishes the power/validity of the argument; a burgeoning understanding that we
too can recognize logical fallacies and harness rhetorical devises to achieve our own
ends.
Learning Objective(s): Students will be able to recognize the rhetorical devices ethos,
pathos and logos as well as the logical fallacies argumentum ad populum, non sequitur,
straw-man, and ad hominem after exemplification, exploration, and explanation of those
devices/fallacies. This is TOO many for one lesson. What do students to besides
recognize these devices?
Curriculum Standard(s):
EL.HS.SL.12 Evaluate the clarity, quality, and effectiveness of a speaker’s important points,
arguments, evidence, organization of ideas, delivery, diction, and syntax. You are not teaching
this standard specifically
EL.HS.SL.13 Identify and analyze the types of arguments used by the speaker, including
argument by causation, analogy, authority, emotion, and logic. OK
EL.HS.SL.17 Analyze how language and delivery affect the mood and tone of the oral
communication and make an impact on the audience. OK
Materials Needed: MS Powerpoint; NEED to include the presentation with the lesson
plan. digital projector, student journals.
Background knowledge or skills students need prior to lesson: Exposure to marketing
via television, internet, and/or print sources. OK
Hook or Introduction: Television advertisements will be played as the students enter
and take their seats. Advertisements will continue to play for several minutes while
students cease conversing and begin watching, perhaps calling out ones they recognize.
Which advertisements? Source?
Procedures:
- Students enter the class as television advertisements are played on the screen (5
minutes) What should students be doing? Watching? What should they notice?
If you don’t tell them what to do they’ll keep talking with friends, etc.
- Students are briefly introduced to the day’s topic (5 minutes) What will you say?
- Students will pair up and discuss the following questions: 1) What is persuasion?
2) Has anyone attempted to persuade you of anything today? (i.e. friends,
commercials on T.V./radio). 3) How did you know they were trying to persuade
you? 4) Did they succeed? (5 minutes). Clear Procedure
o Students will report their discussion to the class (5 minutes).
- Two or three T.V./radio commercials will be shown to the class via PowerPoint.
Students will return to their partner and discuss: 1) Who was the audience? 2)
What did the commercial try and get you to do? 3) What did you notice about
how they were trying to get their message across (i.e. visuals, memorable phrases,
music)? (10 minutes) Same ones you showed at beginning of class?
o Students will report their discussion to the class (5 minutes)
- PowerPoint presentation “Rhetoric and the Art of Persuasion” will be shown.
Slides will include: the history of classical rhetoric (in brief), ethos, pathos and
logos, argumentum ad populum, non sequitur, straw-man, and ad hominem along
with explanations and examples. A short video will accompany each example, so
non sequitur may be exemplified by the Pepsi hook “Drink Pepsi. Feel Young.”
(15 minutes) Need to see ppt.
o Students will be invited to share thoughts/ask questions. (5 minutes)
- Students will break into small groups. A series of clips will be shown and students
will be asked to collaboratively discuss and identify and rhetorical devices/logical
fallacies present (chosen from a short list). Students are not expected to recall the
Latin phrase (example: argumentum ad populum will be defined as “appeal to
popular belief”). All students must agree on the answers. The first group to
correctly identify all rhetorical devices/logical fallacies present will be awarded a
prize. (15 minutes) I suggest that you don’t use the Latin term. Just use the
common term, e.g., appeal to popular belief.
-
Class discussion will follow: Why are rhetorical devices/logical fallacies so
ubiquitous? Is that good or bad? How might the prevalence of persuasion be a
positive social force? How might it be a negative social force? Can you think of
an example when persuasion was used to the detriment of society? What about the
benefit of society? How do you use persuasion (with your parents, peers, etc.)?
(15 minutes) This last question will generate a lot of discussion.
Differentiation/Accommodation Unknown at this time.
Attention to Literacy: Analyze written and spoken text for fallacies and persuasion
techniques.
Closure: Just for shock value: a clip of the Nuremberg rallies complete with a
charismatic Hitler and adoring Nazi supporters followed by the ancient Greek admonition
that, “Whoever does not study rhetoric will be a victim of it.” This would be
memorable if students know who Hitler and Nazis were.
Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning: Student responses during class will
be considered and/or a quiz (not be graded) following the instruction/discussion in which
students are required to watch a video clip and identify any rhetorical devices or logical
fallacies they see.