TEACHER CANDIDATE: Renae Arndt

UNIVERSITY INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Cummings

SCHOOL AND DISTRICT: Fife High School—Fife School District

DATE: Winter 2008

UNIT TITLE: Advertisements: Turning Lemons into Lemonade

SUBJECT: Writing, Reading, Communication

LESSON TITLE/FOCUS: “It’s All About You” Focus: Rhetorical Triangle and Appealing to a specific audience

LESSON: #3

GRADE LEVEL: 10^th

INPUT:

Every mode of persuasion, whether a debate, an essay, an editorial, a proposal, or an advertisement, employs the art of rhetoric. Unfortunately, though students often learn the persuasive essay in order to pass the WASL, most high school students graduate without even knowing the definition of rhetoric, let alone comprehending and applying the rhetorical triangle. The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the appeals to logos, ethos, and pathos. No prior knowledge of this feature of persuasive writing is required. Students will select a specific audience and begin to formulate ideas about how they can most successfully reach their particular audience. How can they make their product more “appealing” to the consumer? Though no prior knowledge of the vocabulary and concept of the rhetorical triangle is required, students should have developmentally appropriate skills in reasoning. They should understand the concept of defending and/or promoting one’s own view. Students will build on prior knowledge that others do not look through the same lens that they do when viewing the world around them. Consequently, the student must learn to see as the other sees in order to convince that person of his or her view.

LEARNING TARGETS:

-       Students will be able to…

o      Define, explain, compare, and produce appeals to pathos, logos, and ethos.

o      Recognize the effects of bias and persuasion in media.

o      Generate ideas which support a specific purpose by collaborating with another student.

o      Adapt their writing to a specific audience.

o      Evaluate the necessity of adapting writing to a specific audience.

-       EALR’s/GLE’s:

Communication GLE 1.2.2 Evaluates the effect of bias and persuasive techniques in mass media.

Reading GLE 2.4.4

Writing: EALR 2 Writes in a variety of forms for different audiences and purposes.

§       GLE 2.1.1 Applies understanding of multiple and varied audiences to write effectively.

§       GLE 2.3.1 Uses a variety of forms/genres

         EALR 1

§       GLE 1.6.2 Uses collaborative skills to adapt writing process

Technology: NETS 5. Digital Citizenship: Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.

§       a. Students advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.

NETS 3. Research and Information Fluency: Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:

 

§       a. plan strategies to guide inquiry.

§       b. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.

§       c. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the

appropriateness to specific tasks.

ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES:

Formative assessment:

-       Observation checklist: (A 3.1) measuring student attainment of concepts through questioning and graphic organizers.

-       Review student reading logs assessing student ability to determine what information about his/her audience is pivotal to the writing task.

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS NEEDED:

·       Sample Ads (at least 30, some old, some new)

·       Dictionaries

·       Projector

·       15 copies of Rhetorical Triangle Handout H 3.1

·       Projector

·       Computer with Internet access, Powerpoint

GROUPING OF STUDENTS FOR INSTRUCTIONS:

Throughout the lesson, students will form groups of four to analyze various advertisements, looking for intended audience and appeal to pathos in each. The group work and subsequent discussion will serve as a formative assessment. This grouping provides beneficial learning experiences for the English Language Learner as well as students with exceptionalities.

 

LEARNING EXPERIENCES:

* This lesson will be taught using the optimal learning model. *

 

Model	Teacher Activity	Student Activity
Anticipatory Set                       Demonstration                                           Shared Demonstration                   Guided Practice                                     Demonstration         Shared Instruction       Guided Instruction/ Independent Practice   Checking for Understanding     Closure/ Homework	(5 min) Check homework as students come in, but they will need it for next activity. Have students form groups of four. Place 5 sample advertisements with each group. Have the group come to a consensus on who the advertisement is attempting to reach-- its target audience. Explain that students must give support for their decision. Have a class discussion after most groups seem to be done.   (10 min) Explain that we have just been looking at what is called the “appeal to pathos.” Ask students what appeal means. Have a student look it up in the dictionary and read the various definitions. Connect the word appeal to appealing which is probably more familiar to students. Explain that by appealing to the emotions, desires, concerns, needs of your audience students can make their product more “appealing.” Play three ads from YouTube, pausing the ads to think aloud as you determine their audiences and explicate the ads for appeal to pathos. As you think aloud, record specific ideas on the rhetorical triangle graphic presented on a powerpoint slide. Make sure students pay attention, informing them that they will be doing a similar presentation for tomorrow.   (3-5 min)Have students aid in finding appeals to pathos in ads from different ads which target different audiences. As students make comments, record their ideas on power point slides.             Have students share their insights at the end of group discussion.         (30 min) Repeat the same process of demonstration, shared practice, and guided practice with appeals to ethos and logos. Explain that in product advertisements the pictures may be a part of the appeal, not just the words AND that some ads may be doing a poor job of appealing to these.   Transition: “Ok, now we are going to figure out how this rhetorical triangle fits into our own ads.”   (5-10 min) Demonstrate how I am going to implement the appeals in my ad by filling out the triangle on the overhead.     (3 min) Have students help me brainstorm other appeals to make.                 (10 min) Answer student questions, review student group work, read student reading logs.   “So today we have touched on how some of the graphics in advertisements appeal to specific audiences. Tomorrow we will be focusing on the rhetorical effects of visuals. So tonight, for your reading logs, I would like you to find an ad on YouTube, dissect its visual elements, and record the information in a powerpoint presentation, using the rhetorical graphic. Be prepared to present the ad and powerpoint to the class. (3 slids max) In your presentation, tell us what each visual element is doing and why you think it is effective or ineffective. Any questions?” Hand-out assignment sheet (H 3.2)	Students record audience and support on notebook paper. Write names on top and turn in to me at the end of the activity.                 Students take out their “features” advanced organizer and record appeal to pathos and a few of its descriptors as I write them on the powerpoint. A volunteer will write the powerpoint information on the corresponding posterboard in the classroom.                                               (5 min) In groups from the beginning of class, have students look at three more ads online and determine the appeal to pathos in each. Students record responses on same notebook paper from previous activity.     Students record definition of and descriptors for appeal to logos and ethos in advanced organizer.                       Students listen and observe.         Students offer ideas and insights, practicing appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos.     (15 min) Students work with their partner to complete the graphic organizer of the rhetorical triangle for their particular advertisement (H 3-1)

 

Name(s) _________________________

 

APPEALING TO THE PEOPLE (H 3.1)

Write your message in the middle of the triangle. With your partner, brainstorm at least two ideas for the use of each type of appeal in your advertisement. Write those ideas on the corresponding corners of the triangle.

 

 

 

Rhetorical Triangle Presentation H (3-2)

(10 points) You will be making a two-minute presentation in which you present a YouTube advertisement to the class with a corresponding powerpoint presentation which explicates the rhetorical devices used in the ad. One slide will include a rhetorical triangle with a list of three examples of each type of appeal under each corner (like the ones we did on paper in our group work). The second slide should include a table which lists each appeal, your opinion as to its effectiveness in reaching its intended audience, and why/why not you found it effective. As you present, you may choose to play the entire ad and follow it with your slides, or you may present the ad, pausing it at random to point out the specific rhetorical choices being made throughout. Be sure to cite the YouTube videos, using appropriate MLA citation.

 

 

 

Observation Checklist (A 3.1)

Not Yet Close Almost Got It!

v   Students can decipher between appeals to logos, ethos, and pathos

v   Students can define appeal to logos, ethos, and pathos.

v   Students can identify appeals to logos, ethos, and pathos in sample advertisements.

v   Students can evaluate the effect of the appeals in samples.

v   Students can generate ideas for appealing to pathos, ethos, and logos in their advertisements.

v   Students can utilize the rhetorical triangle in the pre-writing process.

v   Students can appeal to pathos.

v   Students can appeal to ethos.

v   Students can appeal to logos.

v   Students can select appropriate material from online media sources.

v   Students can use media from different sources (ppt and internet) in a short presentation.

v   Students can cite online material.