This post is part of the series The Rhetoric of Changing Times, a collection in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its global consequences. In this series, we'll look at poignant historical speeches and documents and examine questions and topics for discussion/writing. Feel free to share your thinking in the comments or assign these questions … Continue reading The Rhetoric of Changing Times: First Inaugural Address of Franklin D. Roosevelt
Five Sentence Structures Every Student Should Adapt From Martin Luther King, Jr.
Imitation exercises are one of my favorite ways to teach students sophisticated writing. In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s powerful rhetoric, I pulled five incredible quotes from his speeches and writings and created sentence frames that students could use with their own content. If you'd like this in handout form, I included this … Continue reading Five Sentence Structures Every Student Should Adapt From Martin Luther King, Jr.
Teaching Shakespeare? You Need These Anchor Charts!
If you have ever taught Shakespeare's plays or sonnets, then you know students can struggle to unlock the language and meaning of the text. The following two anchor charts have been tremendously helpful in giving my students a process to understand the Bard's verse. In my classroom, these two posters sit side-by-side. They are the two … Continue reading Teaching Shakespeare? You Need These Anchor Charts!
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
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
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
Commandments of Teaching AP Language and Composition-Part Two
This is the second half of a two-part series about teaching AP Language and Composition. You can check out the first part here. Good feedback is everything. I still struggle with this, as feedback simply takes time (who has that?!). Some of the best feedback ideas I’ve learned came from a Marzano workshop. The highlights: … Continue reading Commandments of Teaching AP Language and Composition-Part Two
Commandments of Teaching AP Language and Composition-Part One
This fall, I've received many messages from new AP Language and Composition teachers who are trying to find their feet. After some reflection, I decided to offer a few of the ideas and processes that drive my teaching. This is a two-part series, and I will cover five "commandments" in each part. Look for the … Continue reading Commandments of Teaching AP Language and Composition-Part One
Critical Back-to-School Routines for AP Language and Composition: Year-Long Processes
When I had my younger son a year ago, I was in the tough position of asking a long-term substitute to lay the foundation for my students' entire year of learning. My maternity leave stretched from August until mid-October, so a quarter of my students' learning occurred with a different teacher. I was lucky to … Continue reading Critical Back-to-School Routines for AP Language and Composition: Year-Long Processes
KABOOM! The Rhetorical Analysis Game that Makes Engagement Explode
I am SO EXCITED to share this one with you! I came across a few elementary school blogs about a center game called KABOOM. Something just clicked--why couldn't this work for rhetorical analysis at the high school level? After some testing and adjusting, I'm pretty thrilled to bring KABOOM to my classroom this fall. Here's … Continue reading KABOOM! The Rhetorical Analysis Game that Makes Engagement Explode