Teacher name
date
Unit 3: To Kill a Mockingbird
Periods 2, 3
Week-At-A-Glance
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
LDC Day 14
Lesson Objective:
SWBAT evaluate Atticus’ use of rhetorical appeals in To Kill A Mockingbird
Chapter 17.
RL.9-10.1
RL.9-10.2
RL.9-10.6
Aligned MMCRS
Bold – primary standard
Italics: supporting standards
Assessment (sample task):
Response paragraph
Homework collected
none
Materials Needed
Snapshot schedule
To Kill A Mockingbird
Excerpt of pp. 222-238
(10 min) warm up and objective
(10 min) guided reading
(25 min) group analysis
(15 min) reflection and share out
(5 min) closing
Rhetorical Devices wksheet
Document camera
Detailed Lesson Plan
Teacher Actions
(10 min) Warm up and objective
Display vocabulary warm up on screen. Direct students
to take out vocabulary notes for the week to complete:
1. Brainstorm at least three examples of an activity you
prefer to perform DISCREETLY
2. Draw a picture of TURMOIL
3. Would you want to be a DEFENDANT in a trial? Why
or why not?
Student Actions:
As student enters, pick up materials from material station
and open notebook to vocabulary practice. Read the
directions on the screen and complete questions in day’s
vocabulary section. Raise hand to ask questions or peer
review as needed for support. If finished early, student
should review previous day’s entry.
A/M: visual cues, repetition of directions, reduced
distractions, graphic organizer
Circulate to CFU and review student answers, redirect
as needed. Make sure late or absent students sign in
and check for missing materials
Cold call to CFU warm up. Use thumbs up/thumbs
down as needed to engage student evaluation
Read objective as directed and copy into day’s log.
Objective: Use equity sticks to cold call reading of
objective and connection to previous lesson
(10 min) guided reading
Direct book manager to distribute text if students need
from material station. Direct students to review HW
chapter 17 pages with a partner:
-what happened in the chapter?
-which character was the primary speaker?
-what lingering questions do you have from the text?
Direct studens to turn and talk for 1 minute to review
questions. Teacher circulate to CFU.
Turn to chapter 17 and complete turn and talk as directed.
If student did not complete reading, should ask partner for
key answers and be ready to share out.
Share out when called on as directed
A/M: visual cues, repetition of directions, reduced
distractions
Direct students to page ___ and read aloud first
paragraph of Atticus’ speech. Students should follow
along in book or photocopied text and look for any
reasons Atticus gives for a not guilty verdict. Mark any
reasons with a star. Teacher model on document
camera and CFU with 100% participation
(25 min) group analysis
Divide students into college reading groups of different
levels. On board, assign each student in group a
specific paragraph/section of the text:
Students follow along with read aloud to annotate for
reasons they see or to copy teacher markings. As
directed, student may read instead of teacher
A/M: visual cues, repetition of directions
Move into college reading groups as directed and
determine section of text based on assignment on the
board.
Student 1 – section ____
Student 2 – section ____
Student 3 – section ____
Student 4 – section ____
Direct students to repeat activity from read aloud
individually, marking with a star any
reasons/arguments/appeals they find individually in the
text. Circulate to monitor progress or push thinking
Read section individually and fill in graphic organizer with
summary/direct citation of evidence. Peer review or
question teacher as needed.
CFU as needed: Have students of similar sections
move into groups to review type of appeal used.
Circulate to CFU and monitor group discussion.
Move into groups of same section to review type of appeal
used. Peer review or ask teacher as needed
Once students have finished reviewing their section,
direct groups to list/summarize each reason on graphic
organizer and evaluate effectiveness of each appeal
based on group collaboration. Add to individual graphic
organizer. Teacher circulates to push group thinking
and review content as needed.
Collaborate with group members to identify effectiveness
of appeal used. Add learning to individual graphic
organizer and peer review to CFU..
(15 min) Reflection
Direct students to move back to individual seats.
Review the audience of Atticus’ speech (jury members)
and purpose (to get a not guilty verdict for Tom).
Complete reflection independently. Peer review or ask
teacher to CFU.
Question: Which TYPE of appeal would resonate most
with you as a juror? Why? Which specific example from
Atticus’ closing argument did you find most effective?
Which example did you find unconvincing? Use at least
two pieces of evidence from the text to support your
response.
Pass out individual reflection sheets for students to
complete independently.
HW assigned: Challenge questions for types of rhetorical devices (LDC worksheet).
*A/M indicates accommodations and modifications for student IEP/504 plans
English 1
Rhetorical Appeals: To Kill a Mockingbird
Types of Appeals:
LOGICAL (logos)
EMOTIONAL (pathos)
Name ___________
ETHICAL/ BUILDS
CREDIBILTIY (ethos)
Read aloud example:
Section
Appeal text / summary
Type of appeal
Justify your label
Type of appeal
Justify your label
Group examples:
Read aloud example:
Section
2
3
4
5
6
Appeal text / summary
Atticus’s Rhetorical Strategies in To Kill a Mockingbird
Rhetoric in its simplest form is the art of ___________________ speech or writing. There are different ways a
speaker or writer can appeal to his or her ___________________: 1) ____________ (logic or reason); 2) ________________
(emotion); and 3) ______________ (ethics and credibility). Within the three major rhetorical ____________________
just mentioned, there are literally hundreds of ____________________ __________________, dating back to the famous
orators Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
Below is a very short list of rhetorical devices, their definitions, and a brief example of the device in use.
• repetition: repetition of a ____________ or _______________ for emphasis. Example: "Mad world! Mad kings! Mad
composition!" (King John, II, i)
• antithesis: a _________________ or opposition between _________ things. Example: "Not that I loved Caesar less,
but that I loved Rome more." (Julius Caesar, III, ii)
• hyperbole: ___________________ for _____________________ or for rhetorical effect. Example: “I died laughing.”
• irony: (verbal) expression in which words mean the exact ______________________ to what is actually said.
Example: Saying “You’re a funny guy” to someone who is clearly not funny.
• parallelism: ______________________ of a key word over successive phrases or clauses. Example: “We will have
difficult times. We've had difficult times in the past. And we will have difficult times in the future.” Robert F.
Kennedy’s Eulogy for Martin Luther King, Jr. (1968)
• rhetorical question: a question that is posed for _____________________, not requiring an _______________________.
Example: "Art thou mad? Is not the truth the truth?" (Henry IV, Part 1, II, iv)
• understatement: deliberately de-______________________ something in order to ___________________ its importance.
Example: “The Internet has contributed somewhat to improving communication,” is an understatement.
Directions: For each of the following underlined excerpts from Atticus’s speech, identify which rhetorical
device is being used and explain how it is used, according to the definitions and examples above. Note: not all
devices will be used. An example has been done for you.
Example:
 “What was the evidence of her offense? Tom Robinson, a human being…. What did she
do? She tempted a Negro.”

Rhetorical device: Use of aporia to emphasize his points, Atticus asks the audience and jury these
questions, for which the answers are clear.
1. “We do know in part what Mr. Ewell did: he did what any God-fearing, persevering, respectable,
white man would do under the circumstances…” (272).
Rhetorical device and explanation:
2. “The defendant is not guilty, but someone in this courtroom is” (271).
Rhetorical device and explanation:
3. “confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption—the evil assumption—that all
Negroes lie, that all Negroes are immoral, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women” (273).
Rhetorical device and explanation:
4. “We know all men are not created equal in the sense some people would have us believe—some people are
smarter than others, some people have more opportunity because they’re born with it, some men make more
money than others, some ladies make better cakes than others—some people are born gifted beyond the
normal scope of most men” (274).
Rhetorical device and explanation:
5. “But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal—there is one human institution
that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an Einstein, and the ignorant man
the equal of any college president” (274).
Rhetorical device and explanation:
6. “What did her father do? We don’t know but there is circumstantial evidence…” (272).
Rhetorical device and explanation:
7. “There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing,
and there is no man who has never looked upon a woman without desire” (273).
Rhetorical device and explanation:
8. Using Atticus’s entire speech, find one example each of the use of logos, pathos, and ethos. Be sure to
indicate which quotation employs which rhetorical device.
Written Reflection