Essential Tools for Teaching Rhetoric: Logos

What are the essential tools for teaching rhetoric and rhetorical analysis? This blog series will explore one tool each week. Logos Logos: it's "the principle of reason and judgment," according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Our current understanding of logos in rhetoric is actually linked with Jungian psychology (the same Jungian psychology that gives us … Continue reading Essential Tools for Teaching Rhetoric: Logos

It’s AP Test Time! Freebies for You

AP tests are right around the corner (next week!), and I put together a couple of classroom posters for you. You can download them for FREE at my Teachers Pay Teachers shop. Enjoy! CLICK HERE for the AP Lang & Comp poster.  CLICK HERE for the AP Lit & Comp poster. 

5 TED Talks for the AP Lang & Comp Classroom

Engaging, informative, provocative--TED talks are the perfect tool for the English language arts classroom. In my AP Lang & Comp class, they are a refreshing source of high-quality rhetoric for analysis. Before I show students a TED talk, I make sure to do four things: Set a purpose for viewing. Students must always write something … Continue reading 5 TED Talks for the AP Lang & Comp Classroom

Essential Tools for Teaching Rhetoric: Pathos

What are the essential tools for teaching rhetoric and rhetorical analysis? This blog series will explore one tool each week. Pathos Sympathy. Empathy. Pathetic. Antipathy. Pathological. Pathogenic. The Greek root path can mean "feeling" or "disease." When we talk about pathos, we are focusing on an appeal to emotion. It is often the easiest aspect … Continue reading Essential Tools for Teaching Rhetoric: Pathos

Essential Tools for Teaching Rhetoric: Ethos

What are the essential tools for teaching rhetoric and rhetorical analysis? This blog series will explore one tool each week. Ethos As we established in last week's post about rhetorical appeals, ethos is an appeal to personality or character. Aristotle conceptualized ethos as morality, expertise, and knowledge. A speaker's ethos might rely on virtue and goodness, … Continue reading Essential Tools for Teaching Rhetoric: Ethos

Essential Tools for Teaching Rhetoric: The Appeals

What are the essential tools for teaching rhetoric and rhetorical analysis? This blog series will explore one tool each week. Aristotle's Appeals Perhaps the best-known part of Aristotelian rhetoric is the appeal. Aristotle presents three appeals, also known as the Aristotelian triad: ethos, pathos, and logos. All three appeals can be found in most arguments. … Continue reading Essential Tools for Teaching Rhetoric: The Appeals

Essential Tools for Teaching Rhetoric: The Rhetorical Situation

What are the essential tools for teaching rhetoric and rhetorical analysis? This blog series will explore one tool each week. The Rhetorical Situation Our modern understanding of the rhetorical situation goes back to Lloyd Bitzer's 1968 article, "The Rhetorical Situation." Bitzer describes his analytical process (1): "When I ask, What is a rhetorical situation?, I want … Continue reading Essential Tools for Teaching Rhetoric: The Rhetorical Situation

Essential Tools for Teaching Rhetoric: Definitions

What are the essential tools for teaching rhetoric and rhetorical analysis? This blog series will explore one tool each week. Definitions of Rhetoric What, exactly, is rhetoric? Let's survey the conversation around how to define this concept. Aristotle is the father of rhetoric and rhetorical analysis. His classic writing, The Art of Rhetoric, is foundational … Continue reading Essential Tools for Teaching Rhetoric: Definitions

3-2-1: Redefining My Teaching at Semester

It's a new year; it's a fresh start. As millions of American students head (somewhat grudgingly) back to school after the winter break, teachers are faced with the unique challenge of redefining the classroom community after weeks apart. In my secondary classes, January is perhaps even more important than August in terms of developing classroom … Continue reading 3-2-1: Redefining My Teaching at Semester

Beyond the Political Cartoon: Rhetorical Analysis of Visuals

One of the most neglected form of analysis in my school is of visual arguments. Sure, students might look briefly at an historical photograph or a political cartoon now and then. There are so many other visuals, though, that students may encounter in their college and professional work. I️ love to use artwork, charts, and … Continue reading Beyond the Political Cartoon: Rhetorical Analysis of Visuals