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...
Prestwick House
Author’s Purpose in Reagan’s “Tear Down This Wall” Speech
President Ronald Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" speech, delivered on June 12, 1987 before the Berlin Wall, provides class members with an opportunity to examine three key aspects of informational text: author bias, the use of facts and...
ReadWriteThink
Analyzing Famous Speeches as Arguments
A speaker, a message, an audience. After analyzing these elements in Queen Elizabeth's speech to the troops at Tilbury, groups analyze how other speakers use an awareness of events, and their audience to craft their arguments....
Prestwick House
Reading Nonfiction: Analyzing Joseph McCarthy's "Enemies from Within" Speech
Looking for a instructional activity that teaches class members how to analyze nonfiction? Use Joseph McCarthy's famous "Enemies from Within" speech as a instructional text. Worksheet questions direct readers' attention to the many...
Fluence Learning
Writing an Argument: Persuasive Speeches to Students
Powerful orators make their messages compelling with a combination of factors. Learn how to be an inspirational speaker with a reading assessment activity that presents a list of persuasive speaking techniques, as well as two speeches...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Informational Text The Berlin Wall
On June 26, 1963 President John F. Kennedy delivered his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech close to the Berlin Wall at the Rudolph Wilde Platz. On June 12, 1987 President Ronald Reagan Delivered his famous "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down...
Prestwick House
Rhetorical Devices in Political Speeches
Have you ever watched a political speech and felt your heart beat a little faster, and your opinion either solidify or begin to slightly change? Rhetorical devices can be a strong tool in an effective and powerful speech. A short lesson...
Scholastic
Persuasive Communication (Grades 9–12)
Before your students reached your morning class to learn about persuasive writing, they probably saw dozens of examples of persuasive communication in the form of advertisements. A short, introductory lesson inspires class members to...
National Constitution Center
Born in the U.S.A: Music as Political Protest
Though often used in shows of patriotism, Bruce Springsteen's 1985 song "Born in the U.S.A." is critical of America's role in the Vietnam war and its treatment of American veterans. High schoolers analyze the song's lyrics in an activity...
Prestwick House
The Poetry of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan's selection as the 2016 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, the first songwriter ever to receive the honor, has focused the attention of a new generation on the work of the legendary artist. Class members analyze the...
Curated OER
Persuasive Writing Skills Worksheets
What makes you want to buy that new car? Or vote for that popular politician? Study the persuasive techniques commonly found in advertisements or argumentative writing, including repetition, exaggeration, and fact vs. opinion.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Animal Farm: Allegory and the Art of Persuasion
Introduce your class members to allegory and propaganda with a series of activities designed to accompany a study of George Orwell's Animal Farm. Readers examine the text as an allegory, consider the parallels to collective farms and the...
Curated OER
Charles Darwin Meets John Paul II
If you teach AP English language and composition and are looking for a way to address the differences between written and spoken arguments, consider this lesson. Over the course of three days, class members research Charles Darwin or...
Curated OER
Elements of Poetry
Prepare your learners to identify figurative language in poetry. Tips for reading poetry and what to look for are listed on these slides. Rhetorical devices are defined and plenty of examples are given.
Curated OER
Errors vs. Rhetorical Devices
Is there a difference between writing errors and employing rhetorical devices? This presentation argues that there is a difference, but it might be a finer point than one would think. Addressing double entendre, oxymorons, and parody,...
Curated OER
Figurative Language & Poetic Devices Activity: Firework by Katy Perry
Sure to engage your class in poetry, this resource requires them to identify, label, and explain poetic devices and figurative language used in Katy Perry's hit song "Firework". A well-organized page that chunks the lyrics so learners...
Curated OER
Urban Legends
Irony, hyperbole, and other rhetorical devices are at play in this presentation about urban legends. Several examples of urban legends help to clarify the analysis, making it valuable for those who have a hard time wrapping their mind...
K12 Reader
Alliteration in Literature and Rhetoric
Middle schoolers are asked to identify the alliteration used in John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address, Emily Dickinson's "May-Flower," and a passage from Robert Lewis Stevenson's Kidnapped.
Curated OER
Persuasion in Print
Advertisers target teenagers. Groups select three magazine advertisements for similar products, analyze the appeals used in each, create a poster that features the persuasive techniques used, and present their findings to the class. The...
Curated OER
Writing to Argue
Students analyze speeches for or against continued military presence in Iraq. In this writing to argue lesson, students listen to speeches given before Parliament to identify rhetorical devices used. Students compare techniques used and...
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....
Other
Latin Handouts
Copious amounts of handouts can be found here at the Latin Library. Includes vocabulary handouts, Latin readings, grammar handouts, exercises, and other miscellaneous handouts.
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature and Composition: Rationalism: Rhetoric
This lesson focuses on Rhetoric and the literary techniques used in American Revolutionary speeches and writings. Students are asked to determine the rhetorical devices used in quotes from "The Crisis No 1" by Thomas Paine and Patrick...
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: Contemporary Literature: Rhetorical Landscape: Rhetoric
This lesson focuses on rhetoric; it defines it, discusses rhetorical devices, and audience appeals. It includes a student assignment to read "Tear Down This Wall" a speech by Ronald Reagan and then use the comment feature in Microsoft...