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SSR#3 Project UPDATE

SSR #3 Project FYI:

  • due – turned into Google Classroom, by 3:20pm on Tuesday, January 24th
  • is a compare and contrast SHORT essay of a book and its movie adaptation
  • more information can be found here and on Google Classroom
  • you will have time in class on 01/20, 01/23, and 01/24 to work on your project

Please email me with any questions.  Also, if you are NOT choosing the compare and contrast short essay option, please be sure to email me your project proposal for approval.

 

The Art of Persuasion

The world we live in bombards us with news nonstop.  As consumers of information, we need to know how to distinguish between fake news and real news.  We also have to take into account who is speaking, what they are trying to convince us of, and what their message is.

I have been teaching for nine years, and one constant has been helping students be able to identify the tenets of persuasive writing and speaking.

Recently students learned the three types of persuasive appeals: ethos, logos, and pathos.

Students have been given the opportunity to examine how persuaders employ these types of appeals to convince them of their message.

It is important to understand how the WHO is just as important as the WHAT and HOW when it comes to the art of persuasion.

Are we convinced simply because someone is louder?  Does bluster overwhelm logic and reason?  Or, are we so easily swayed by an emotional appeal, that we let ourselves be manipulated like puppets?

It is important to realize that if you do not know the motivation, background, education, etc. of the person trying to persuade you, you may fall victim to an improper, while albeit effectively constructed, persuasive argument.  However false, you, the consumer, will fall prey to the noise – without understanding if the message is worth believing in.

Which is why teachers preach to their students the importance of understanding the various ways persuasive arguments are constructed.

It’s called RHETORICAL ANALYSIS and it can and SHOULD be employed to examine the validity and strength of a person’s persuasive argument.

In fact, rhetoric is defined as, “the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.”

Over the course of this week, students will closely and critically read the two funeral speeches in Julius Caesar. One, given by Brutus a former ally, and conspirator. Another by Marc Antony, an ally of Caesar.  The strength and effectiveness of their argument should be examined under the lens of ethos, pathos, and logos.  

But those types of appeals are not the be all and end all. Nuanced writers and speakers are aware of the strength of repetition, the use of evidence, and even how figurative language can be used to create an emotional appeal.

Does a person’s grief make them convincing? Does a person’s conviction trump reason?  And what about the audience – does who is being appealed to determine whether the words matter?  Students should ask themselves, Who determines the persuasiveness of an argument: the speaker, the message (content), or the motivation?

Food for thought as you prepare for this week’s on-demand writing summative on Thursday.

Open eBooks

 

Thanks to a grant, Dearborn Public School students have access to Open eBooks, which is a digital book resource from the New York Public Library, the Digital Public Library of America, and First Book.

Once students download the free Open eBook app on a digital device, they have access to thousands of popular and award-winning free titles. (Did I mention they are free?)

See the complete app directions or follow the directions below to install and use the Open eBook app. Select the Google login and use your district login information. 

 

Member of the Dearborn Public Library? You can access books there also.  Click here for instructions.

Julius Caesar: Act I

12/16 Classwork: Watch Act I (part 2, part 3)of Julius Caesar.  Finish “Review and Assess” questions 1 – 6 on page 837 of Prentice Hall Literature book.  Pass out study guide.  Summative Assessment (NOT open-notes – so be sure to STUDY) on Act I is next Wednesday, December 21st.

12/15 Classwork: Students finished Act I of Julius Caesar. Answer “Review and Assess” questions on pg 837. Tomorrow we will watch Act I of the film adaptation and I will hand out a copy of the study guide.

12/14 Classwork: Today students read Act I, Scenes i & ii of Julius Caesar in class. All students MUST have their 3 column note-catcher started with at least 2-3 entries.  We will finish Act I on Thursday.

Click here for an audio version of the play.

More questions to guide your comprehension and critical thinking of Act I.

ESSAY CONTEST opportunity

Profile in Courage

Essay Contest

Deadline: 1/04/17
Available to: High School Freshmen through High School Seniors
Award Amount: 25 Awards from $100 to $20,000

The Profile in Courage Essay Contest is open to high school students. To be eligible, you must submit a 700 – to 1000 – word essay that describes an act of political courage by a U.S. elected official who served during or after 1917, the year John F. Kennedy was born. GED students under the age of 20 may also apply.

Julius Caesar

This week we are beginning our analysis of Shakespeare’s play  Julius Caesar.

Students: you may access the complete text for this play here.

While reading, you should be prepared to take three column notes.

Take 3 column notes on loose leaf as directed & shown:

I.    Plot/Scene summary

II.  Rhetorical/Literary devices

III. Questions you have/Connections

EXAMPLE OF 3 COLUMN NOTES

Assessment on Act I will be next Tuesday, December 20th.

SSR Project #3

SSR Project #3

Library for Book Check-Out: Monday, December 5th

Assignment: Pick a book** that has been made into a movie.  Make wise choices – if you have any questions/concerns – please check with me.

  • Here is a link to IMDB of books which have been made into movies.
  • Here is a link to Netflix of movies based on books available online.
  • Here is a link to GoodReads based on different categories of books made into movies.

Assignment Options:

  1. Write a short essay comparing the book to its movie adaptation. Use these resources.
  2. Create a movie based on your book selection.

DUE: January 17th

RUBRIC for Assignment Option #1

**CAVEAT – You must choose a book which you have not read before.

Benazir Bhutto

Using the various links below, fill out the note-catcher on Benazir Bhutto (she is the orator of our next text “Ideas Live On” – a speech given on April 22, 2007 in Denmark at a Pakistan Community Function).

Think of it as an online scavenger hunt, but use your time wisely; whatever you don’t finish in class today you will be responsible to complete for homework.

NY Times Op-Ed: The Legacy of Benazir Bhutto

SSR Project #2

DUE: Monday, December 5th

For more information, please visit this link.

Timeline:

  • In library for book selection on: October 17th
  • SSR Project Selection DUE: November 2nd
  • Time in class to read: 2X a week for twenty minutes
  • Project deadline extended on Wednesday, November 16th (from 12/02 to 12/05)

RUBRICS

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