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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Analyzing Persuasion

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Albert Shanker Institute

Dream Under Development

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Teaching Tolerance

Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Advertisements Promoting Activism

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Eloquent Words

For Teachers 9th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Persuasion and Political Debate by PBS

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students examine rhetorical strategies. For this political debate lesson, students research issues of presidential campaigns and deliver persuasive speeches about the issues they research. Students then participate in debates based on...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Evaluating Oral Presentation

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders examine the use of rhetorical devices in oral presentations. For 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....
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Handout
1
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Ohio Literacy Resource Center

Arguing with Aristotle Ethos, Pathos, Logos

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Introduce your classes to the Art of Rhetoric with a lesson that focuses on Aristotle's persuasive appeals and how they have been used, both ethically and unethically, to influence opinion.
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Synthesizing Chávez’s Central Claim

For Teachers 7th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
1
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Curated OER

Langston Hughes Was a Dreamer Too

For Teachers K - 12th
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. 
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Lesson Plan
1
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Curated OER

Putting it Together: Analyzing and Producing Persuasive Text

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

The Power of Words and Activism: Susan B. Anthony

For Teachers 7th - 11th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

The Power of Poetry: Perspectives in Poetry

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
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,...
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Activity
Digital Public Library of America

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their eyes Were Watching God has been highly praised and severely criticized for its depiction of African American folk culture. A set of primary source materials, including photographs, articles, essays, and...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Lend Me Your Emotions: Julius Caesar

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Persuasive Writing and Speaking

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
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AP Test Prep
College Board

2010 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions

For Students 10th - 12th Standards
Humorists do more than tell jokes; they also impart key messages about society. A series of free-response topics from the AP® English Language and Composition exam cover three topics, including one discussing the role of humorists....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

When Is a Noun a Verb? Examining Double Duty Words

For Teachers 6th - 9th
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...
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AP Test Prep
College Board

2011 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions

For Students 10th - 12th Standards
Mammals can be carnivores, omnivores, and herbivores, but what about locavores? A set of free-response questions from the 2011 AP® English Language and Composition exam introduces test-takers to the term, which describes people who try...
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AP Test Prep
College Board

2014 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions

For Students 10th - 12th Standards
For some students, college may not be worth the cost. Free-response questions from the 2014 AP® English Language and Composition exam cover a variety of topics, including the value of a college education. Writers review six sources to...
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Lesson Plan
C-SPAN

Should States Shift to Mail-In Voting during the Coronavirus Pandemic?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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...
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Worksheet
2
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Humanities Texas

Primary Source Worksheet: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Excerpts from Fireside Chat on Economic Conditions

For Students 8th - 11th
Franklin D. Roosevelt's April 14, 1938 Fireside Chat on economic conditions provides young historians an opportunity to polish their primary source comprehension skills. A great resource to add to you curriculum library.
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Worksheet
2
2
Humanities Texas

Primary Source Worksheet: Lyndon B. Johnson, Excerpt from “To Fulfill These Rights”

For Students 8th - 11th
"Equal opportunity . . . is not enough." Johnson's 1965 commencement address to the students at Howard University provides an opportunity for participants to see how education was a key element in his vision for civil rights.
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Worksheet
3
3
Humanities Texas

Primary Source Worksheet: Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address

For Students 8th - 11th
Young historians will learn not to fear primary source materials (or fear itself, for that matter) thanks to this resource that uses Franklin D. Roosevelt's March 4, 1933 Inaugural Address to model how to conduct a close reading of such...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How to Move the Crowd: The Persuasive, Powerful Rhetoric of Mark Antony -Folger Shakespeare Library

For Teachers 10th
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....

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