Persuasion in Democratic Politics

Examples of Lesson Plan Outlines

Day 1 – Who Am I?

Mission (Class Objective): To have students create a self stories and analyze how it creates ethos.

Bell Ringer: Using your note card, write as many things that answer this question, "Who am I?"

In-class activities: Students will write on their note card facts about themselves that are things that answer the question, "who am I?" This will not be shared with anyone. They will then take the facts on the card and create a one to two minute speech that answers the question.

Reflection: Why did you choose the things that you wrote on the note card? How do they define you?

Homework: Create a one to two minute who am I speech that you will be presenting to a group of your classmates tomorrow.

Day 2 – Who are they?

Mission: To have students give and analyze their groups who am I speeches to understand one's ethos.

Bell Ringer: Pick out first three things that you are going to tell your audience, why did you choose them? Why are they first?

In-class activities: Students will present their speeches to small groups. Students will fill out a set rubric that will have the audience writing down facts, and observations of the speaker. They will as a group compare speeches with a vinn diagram of said and unsaid. The class will meet to discuss the speeches and what ethos is and how it relates to the speeches.

Reflection: Do you think if you were giving this speech to a different audience, you would have changed the facts? Why or why not?

Day 3 – Who is Barack Obama?

Mission: To use President Obama's 2004 Democratic National Convention speech to understand how ethos is created.

Bell Ringer: Who is Barack Obama?

In-class activities: Class will discuss bell ringer. As a class, we will watch the 2004 DNC speech by then candidate for US Senate Barack Obama. Students will use the same rubric that they assessed their classmate's speeches, to assess Obama's. The class will discuss the speech and what made it effective as an introduction speech. I will then lecture on logos and pathos and how together with ethos, make up the parts of persuasive speech.

Reflection: Which parts of persuasive speech work best for you, ethos, logos, or pathos? Explain.

This half of the unit will take place weeks later, after finishing a unit on Greek and Roman history.

Day 4 – Aristotle's Rhetoric of Anger and Calm

Homework: Read and outline Aristotle's Rhetoric, Book II, Chapters 2 and 3

Mission: Using Aristotle's ideas of rhetoric, students will understand the emotions of anger and calm and their ties to persuasion.

Bell Ringer: What makes you angry and what makes you calm? Explain

In-class activities: As a class, we will discuss the bell ringer. This will generate a small list that each group can start with. Each group of students will come up with a list of events or things one can say that cause anger. The class will meet back and present and discuss these items. Then groups will meet and discuss things that they could say to a fellow classmate that will calm them down in the situations discussed prior, and stop a potentially violent situation.

Reflection: How can you take what you have learned about Aristotle's theories of anger and calm and use it for good?

Homework: Read Mytilenian Debate Readings.

Day 5 – Mytilenian Debate

Mission: For students to use Aristotle's theories of anger and calm to analyze the Mytilenian debates by Cleon and Diodotus.

Bell Ringer: Which argument persuaded you more, Cleon or Diodotus and why?

In-class activities: As a class, we will discuss the readings, with students summarizing the major points of each orator's argument. I will fill in missed facts and through questions; draw out their thoughts on the speech. Students will meet in groups to discuss the speeches and highlight key phrases and persuasive arguments. We will meet again as a class to discuss their observations and how theses speeches fall into Aristotle's theories.

Reflection: How does persuasion and rhetoric effect how government works? Explain.

Day 6 - Cicero

Mission: To have students understand the life of Cicero and how his abilities as a persuasive orator enabled him to gain political power in ancient Rome.

Bell Ringer: How might a politician use war or a disaster to their political gain? How would speech and persuasion play a part?

In-class activities: The class will discuss the bell ringer. Students will then read an abridged version of the Catilina section of the Cicero book. Students will discuss in groups how Cicero was able to be persuasive. They will then analyze how situations today allow for persuasion better then others. Students will come back together and share their results as a class.

Reflection: How do politicians abuse situations for political gain? How do they use rhetoric to aid in this endeavor?

Homework: Choose an event in history where a politician has used the situation and their ability to persuade to gain political power. Explain how they were able to be successful.

Day 7 – Action vs. Inaction

Mission: Students will analyze how speech and persuasion can be used for inaction and violence prevention.

Bell Ringer: Write down why this speech we are watching was effective in calming a crowd and group of people.

In-class activities: As a class, we will watch the RFK speech after the assassination of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. The class will discuss the bell ringer that is what the students saw as effective speech. Students will also discuss the climate that this speech was given, and why this was a necessary speech. The class will be asked what were this speeches ethos, logos, and pathos. Groups will be formed with a slip of paper with a conflict situation on it. Students will have to create a skit that shows how speech could be used to defuse the situation. Students will perform skits and will analyze each group's strategies.

Reflection: How will you use speech to promote peace and non-violence?

Day 8 – Just Words

Mission: To have students understand the significance of word choice in rhetoric.

Bell Ringer: Using your computer, enter the words in to the mad libs website.

In-class activities: Students will use the mad libs website to enter in words. Each will represent a key word in president Obama's 2004 speech. After students see what their words were, they will highlight the words in the speech that they had changed. The class will analyze those words and what they mean and were chosen. In groups students will define the worlds and find synonyms for each. As a class we will vote on which word would be best, and why.

Reflection: What words do you think are most commonly used in patriotic speeches? Why?

Day 9 – It's not what you say but how you say it.

Mission: To have students understand how politicians use the art of decorum.

Bell Ringer: If you were going to a job interview, what would you wear? Why?

In-class activities: Students will discuss the bell ringer as a class and understand how different jobs would need different clothing. Student will then form groups and look at situations of a speaker and an audience. They will have to come up with what the speaker should wear, what they should do, and how they should act in front of the audience. Students will present their scenario and how they come up with their speaker's image. Then students will look at famous speeches and speakers and how they also used decorum. As a class we will analyze these people and why it worked or didn't work with their audience.

Reflection: Is how you say it as important as what you say?