Curated OER
The Art of Persuasion-Analysis of Argument
Analyze advertising techniques in order to pinpoint persuasive strategies that writers use. These same techniques are then examined in persuasive speeches. You will have to find your own advertisements, but speeches are included. Finish...
K20 LEARN
It's All About Balance! Parallel Structure
I came, I saw, I conquered! Parallel structure, employed by writers even before Julius Caesar, is the focus of a lesson that teaches young writers the power of this rhetorical device. Class members analyze speeches by Dr. Martin Luther...
Albert Shanker Institute
Making the Case for Equality: A Comparison
Martin Luther King Jr's " I Have a Dream" speech and Atticus Finch's closing argument during the trial of Tom Robinson both address the societal need to overcome racism. After examining the rhetorical devices and figurative language used...
Literacy Design Collaborative
"The Gettysburg Address" Close Reading Module
It's time to think deep and narrow. Scholars focus close reading on one short text but task take their thinking to a deep level. Readers use a Rhetorical Analysis Chart to analyze The Gettysburg Address and determine how Lincoln used...
K20 LEARN
Say It with Style: Syntax and Parallel Structure
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech provides the text for a lesson plan that introduces scholars to the significance of syntax. After examining several types of clauses, phrases, and structures, class members use the...
Nemours KidsHealth
Peer Pressure: Grades 9-12
Peer pressure is not always negative. It can also inspire, encourage people to get involved, and help push change. Class members select a quotation from a provided list and craft a paragraph about the meaning of the statement, how it...
Curated OER
Analyzing Persuasion
A reading of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech launches a study of rhetorical devices such as hyperbole, allusion, metaphor, simile, personification, connotative language and parallel structure. Class members then...
Albert Shanker Institute
Dream Under Development
As part of their study of the 1963 March on Washington, class members do a side-by-side comparison of the original text of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream Speech" with a transcript of the speech he delivered. The take away from the...
Teaching Tolerance
Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Advertisements Promoting Activism
Activism can create real change. Class members examine a series of photographs that represent a different form of activism. Individuals then craft a persuasive speech in which they argue why the photo they chose is the best example of...
Curated OER
Eloquent Words
Logan’s Lament, a speech delivered by Mingo Chief Logan in 1774, provides pupils with an opportunity to not only study the historical events surrounding the battle between Native Americans and the Europeans for the West Virginia...
Curated OER
Persuasion and Political Debate by PBS
Students examine rhetorical strategies. In this political debate lesson plan, students research issues of presidential campaigns and deliver persuasive speeches about the issues they research. Students then participate in debates based...
Curated OER
Evaluating Oral Presentation
Sixth graders examine the use of rhetorical devices in oral presentations. In this rhetorical device lesson, 6th graders watch a newscast of a major TV news personality to observe how speech patterns and rhythms are used effectively....
EngageNY
Synthesizing Chávez’s Central Claim
Class members play an interactive game, matching strips of paper containing rhetorical devices with examples from César Chávez use rhetoric in his 1984 speech, "Address to the Commonwealth Club of California." Next, partners discuss...
Curated OER
Langston Hughes Was a Dreamer Too
Encourage your pupils to imagine their own dreams for the future. After studying three poems by Langston Hughes and listening to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech, young poets craft their own dream stanza.
Curated OER
Putting it Together: Analyzing and Producing Persuasive Text
Young orators demonstrate what they have learned about persuasion and persuasive devices throughout the unit by analyzing a persuasive speech and then crafting their persuasive essays. Class members engage in a role-play exercise, use...
National Woman's History Museum
The Power of Words and Activism: Susan B. Anthony
Where have all the activists gone? Class members compare 21st-century activism with the suffrage movement and the work of Susan B. Anthony. They begin by examining Anthony's biography and speeches to find evidence that her words and...
K20 LEARN
The Power of Poetry: Perspectives in Poetry
What do Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Amanda Gordon have in common? They all believe in the power of words—the power of words to create change. After analyzing the rhetorical strategies in several poems and speeches,...
K20 LEARN
Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Lend Me Your Emotions: Julius Caesar
Scholars, high schoolers, class members! With the help of this lesson, you too can identify the three persuasive appeals (ethos, pathos, and logos) the characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar used to convince their...
Curated OER
Persuasive Writing and Speaking
Rhetorical appeals (pathos, logos, and ethos) are the focus of a series of exercises that asks class members to brainstorm topics for persuasive speeches, groups to craft a persuasive speech about one of the topics, and individuals to...
Curated OER
When Is a Noun a Verb? Examining Double Duty Words
The New York Times' Learning Network provides great lessons! This one uses articles from the paper to help readers understand homonyms like mail (verb and noun). It also includes an exercise in reading informational text. Links to the...
C-SPAN
Should States Shift to Mail-In Voting during the Coronavirus Pandemic?
With the coronavirus pausing many norms in American society, officials are trying to decide how to safely hold voting in the 2020 presidential election. Using curated video clips, including speeches from Congress, journalists, and...
Curated OER
How to Move the Crowd: The Persuasive, Powerful Rhetoric of Mark Antony -Folger Shakespeare Library
Tenth graders explore a close reading of the speeches of Brutus and Mark Anthony in 3.2. They identify the effects of the rhetorical appeals used. Students explore the variety of ways in which Anthony might have delivered the speech....
Curated OER
Rhetorical Devices
Eleventh graders consider rhetorical devices in speeches and then make an informed selection of effective rhetorical devices for a controversial topic presentation. Students present their findings using presentation software.
Curated OER
Rhetorical Devices
Twelfth graders identify and analyze examples of rhetorical devices as valid or invalid inferences. In this text analysis lesson, 12th graders research a controversial topic in teams and identify rhetorical devices for the topic....