Rhetoric+and+Logic

As part of an idea that Brice had, I tweaked the following lesson regarding the Rhetorical Triangle: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos []

We are going to use these terms, and other elements of persuasion, as the lense through which we will examine the writings of the Revolutionary War Period (and later, too).

Materials Needed: 30-60 magazines (several for each group/pair) Handouts (2 2-page sheets) Video projector for video (if you choose to show it)

I began by giving students bellwork which was handout #1 (a hybrid of a Read,Write, Think handout - just this first page; use the second page as the backside of Handout #2 with the chart) []

and another handout I found on the web (which was the backside of the page): [] I had them answer the questions at the bottom and we discussed them, briefly.

Then I told them I had a good, but kind of cheesy, video summing up these concepts, too. They consented to watch it :) [] Then I had them pair up, still facing the front board.

I distributed several magazines to each pair, along with Handout #2: [] (front side) []

Once everyone was situated, I showed a video clip of a commercial (milk, coke, nike, etc...) and we talked about the presence of Ethos, Logos and Pathos in the commercial (or the absence of any). The students wrote these down on their chart for Product #1.

This is a website that has a "Got Milk" ad with Meredith Viara - analyzed for Pathos, Ethos, and Logos....[]

Students then began to find ads to analyze, using the chart as the place to write their observations. I circulated throughout the room, passing out sticky notes for product/ad identification and helping students who were working through distinguishing ethos from logos and ethos from pathos.

This activity was very successful and took all 80 minutes of the long period. The time really flew for me, and the students were engaged and learning; this activity was very successful for the lowest-level students, too, since they had a partner plus the teacher available for longer explanations.

If I wanted to extend the activity, I would have had students form team of four (two sets of the pairs from today) and then have each person in the pair explain their analysis of their ads. This would give an added sense of audience and some feedback regarding the "correctness" of analysis.

When we begin looking at The Declaration of Independence and other works, I believe students will have a very good background for judging the type of and effectiveness of persuasion being used.

Note: Sorry the handouts directions are so odd - I wanted to give attribution/remember the sources. If it's easier, just see Becki for the original handouts:)