Madeline Hunter Lesson Plan (Day 3 of 11)

Name: Jennifer Owen & Christine

Bebout

Subject : English Language Arts

Grade: 8th

Unit: 6-Creative Expression: Writing with Purpose

Lesson Title: Powers of Persuasion

Date: Wednesday, February 4, 2015/Thursday, February 5, 2015

Students can identify persuasive appeals ethos, pathos, and logos.

Objectives

Students will be able to understand how persuasive tools are used in an

effective argument.
Students will be able to express their persuasive arguments in a unique and
creative manner.
Standard 2: Reading for All Purposes
Concepts and skills students master: 2. Quality comprehension and
interpretation of informational and persuasive texts demand monitoring and
self-assessment
Students can:

Standards

c. Use Integration of Knowledge and Ideas to:

i. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different
mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to
present a particular topic or idea. (CCSS: RI.8.7)

Standard 4: Research and Reasoning

Concepts and skills students master: 2. Common fallacies and errors occur in
reasoning
Students can:
b. Identify common reasoning fallacies in print and nonprinted sources
c. Differentiate between valid and faulty generalizations

Materials & Resources

Duration

A writing utensil, Daily writing journal, Activity sheet (provided by teacher),

Public Service Announcement assignment sheet (provided by teacher),
Textual materials: Images, clips, texts for example and activities.

Approximately 90 minutes

We will begin class with our daily warm up. Students will respond to the
writing prompt in their daily writing journals. Todays prompt is:
Suppose youve been hired to write a book called The Secrets of Brilliant
Students. Write a sample paragraph from this book. (The Daily Spark pg. 25)
This will take approximately 6 minutes (3 minutes for writing and 3 minutes
for discussion.
We will then move into our Weekly Grammar Writing Workshop (See
attached mini-lesson plan for Parallelism). This will take approximately 15
minutes.
Anticipatory Set
We will begin todays lesson by playing a short clipAnti-Smoking PSA.
We will then guide a discussion by asking questions about the clip, including:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

What is this clip about?

How does it convey its message to the audience?
Who is the audience?
What is the purpose of the clip?
In what way does it persuade viewers?

We will then introduce the topic of persuasive language and the tools of
persuasion (ethos, logos, pathos). This will take approximately 5 minutes.
Instructors will take turns defining persuasive language and ethos, pathos,
and logos concepts. We will provide examples of how each is used and model
why and how they are effective. Additional discussion topics will include the
use of personal narrative, incorporation of statistics, and using highly credible
or noteworthy sources. This will take approximately 12 minutes. Students will
then begin Activity One.
Instructional
Input

Modeling

After completing the first activities, the teachers will bring the class back to
attention. We will introduce the topic of Public Service Announcements,
including their purpose and persuasive appeals. We will play one clip as an
example, as well as display a visual one. As a class, we will discuss what
appeals they are trying to use and how to determine purpose, audience, and
persuasive effect (connect to prior to learning). This will take approximately 8
minutes. Students will then begin Activity Two.
We will model how each of these concepts works. This will be done through
the use of written example and video clips. Prior to beginning the activity
one, we will model it by doing a practice one as a group.
Students will be shown examples of public service announcements as a
sample to draw from for activity two.

Students will demonstrate their understanding by creating constructed

responses to instructor prompts. They will start by describing the types of
appeals they would use in an argument regarding images displayed on the
screen. These include battered animals, pollution of the ocean, devastation
after a natural disaster, homeless populations, protests, and others. Students
will share these with their table groups and the class. This will allow the
instructors to circulate, answer questions, and check for understanding of
new concepts. This will take approximately 15 minutes.
Checking for
Understanding

Students will demonstrate their understanding of concepts thoroughly by

completing a public service announcement activity, which incorporates
persuasive appeals. These should include an instance of pathos, logos, or
ethos, with a clear description of their intended audience, the public service
announcements purpose, as well as the appeal used. Students will be given
remaining 24 minutes of class time to work on activity. The first part of
which, they will spend researching their chosen topic. By the end of class
time, students will have completed research and description portion of
assignment. Composition of public service announcement will commence the
following class period.

Questioning
Strategies

We will utilize a variety of questioning strategies and use different levels of

questioning. These will be used to activate prior knowledge, challenge
students to think deeper, and make connections to their own incorporation
of concepts. These will be presented in a variety of ways, such as teacherguided, partner responses, and sharing with the class.

Guided Practice

After introducing the concepts, students will practice writing with the
different appeals. We will begin by displaying an image. Students will be
asked to write a short description of evidence or appeal they might use to
convey their opinion or message about the image. We will begin by doing one
as a class (modeling) Students will be asked to share these with their table
groups. After practice, students will be presented with a final image. They will
then, independently, create a thesis statement for the image, making a
specific claim. This will take approximately 5 minutes.

Closure

After wrapping up the group work on our Public Service Announcements, we

will address any lingering questions about the assignment or concepts.
Students will be given an opportunity to clarify any issues with material. We
will close the lesson by discussing how we will present our PSAs the following
class period. A final summary of what was covered and acquired during the
lesson will allow students to demonstrate the content they gained in regards
to lesson objectives.

Independent Practice

In small groups, students will research a topic of their choice in which they
wish to create a public service announcement. They will create a PSA style of
their choice (print-advertisement, performed skit as mock-commercial, or an

informational brochure to raise awareness). Each student will be responsible

for taking part in assignment tasks and will be evaluated by their peers and
self the following class period. In a written reflection, students will
demonstrate their understanding of purpose and audience. Groups will
present their PSA to the class the next class period.

Daily Writing Prompt: Wednesday, February 4, 2015/Thursday, February 5, 2015

Suppose youve been hired to write a book called The Secrets of Brilliant Students. Write a
sample paragraph from this book.

Powers of Persuasion: Persuasive Appeal

Guided Notes: Ethos, Logos, Pathos

Identify the persuasive appeal you would use in order to create an argument about the image:
1) Animal Cruelty

2) Pollution of the Ocean

3) Child with Bubbles

4) Devastation After a Natural Disaster

5) Homelessness

6) Protests

Public Service Announcements

In groups of three to four, you will create a public service announcement for a topic of your choice. You
will be assessed based on the following guidelines:
1) Public Service Announcements should be no more two minutes in length if performed or a single
page of paper if doing a print version. You are also welcome to create an informational brochure
that raises awareness for your topic.
2) You will research your topic using at least two credible sources.
3) You will include at least one of the following persuasive appeals: ethos, pathos, logos.
4) You will include at least three statistics or facts
5) Include one of the following: a personal narrative, establish your credibility as an expert, use
visuals or images
The second portion of the Public Service Announcement is a written reflection that includes:
1) A description of your targeted audience
2) A statement of purpose
3) A bibliography of research used to compose your PSA
You will be assessed on the following rubric:

Incorporation of
Persuasive Appeal

Effectiveness

Sources

Statistics/Facts

4
Group accurately
uses at least one
persuasive appeal
consistently
during PSA with a
thorough
description in
reflection
PSA is effective in
raising awareness
for chosen cause
Group uses at
least two credible
sources from
different locations
and include
citations in
bibliography
Group uses at
least three
statistics or facts
that contribute to
the PSA credibility

3
Group uses one
persuasive appeal
but is not carried
out throughout
PSA in entirety or
is not described
accurately in
reflection
PSA is mostly
effective in raising
awareness for
chosen cause
Group uses only
one credible
source, or two
sources from
same location and
include
bibliography
Group uses two
statistics or facts
that support the
PSA cause

2
Group attempts
to incorporate
appeal but is
ineffective, or
description of
appeal is missing

1
Group does not
use persuasive
appeal and
written
description is
missing

PSA is partially
effective in raising
awareness for
chosen cause
Group uses only
one credible
source but the
bibliography is
missing

PSA is not
effective in raising
awareness for
chosen cause
Group uses no
credible sources
and bibliography
is missing

Group uses one or Group does not

two statistics or
use any statistics
facts, or statistics or facts
or facts do not
support cause