Eloquence

Teaching Strategies

This unit will focus on student centered, active learning that will encourage each child to be investigative and think critically about the changing world he or she lives in, and this will be attained by providing numerous and varied strategies which will be implemented throughout the nine week time frame.

Daily Reflective Writing

Reflective writing will provide students an outlet to release their thoughts on the information presented in a day's lesson or activity without ridged guideline or prompt. Especially since this content is so closely tied to their own lives, there will be rich opportunities for students to make tangible connections to their own interaction with social media and how it is effected given the new exposure to content, but it is important to note that this is merely a suggestion, and as long as they are reflecting on personal branding, social media, and/or persuasion, then it will fulfill the requirement of reflection. The only restriction will involve length of writing, and these writings will be housed in their classroom journals. This may be a rich source for them when they go to write their formal reflective academic essay at the end of the unit.

Literature Circles

This unit focuses on non-fiction texts, and a large amount of excerpts and reading will be assigned relating to personal branding and pop culture where there will be a mixture of teacher assigned works and examples that students are required to select and find independently. For example, all students will be assigned read an excerpt from The Oprah Phenomenon titled "Oprah Winfrey's Branding of Personal Empowerment" ¹⁰ and in their literature circles, a discussion or leading question could be concerning O Magazine and how the advertisements, cover photo, and content selections must all align with her personal brand each month. Like most classroom reading circles, the parts will join back with the whole and synthesize their group's findings and discussion points and one person will be appointed to share to the class. Literature or reading circles give students an opportunity to dialogue with their peers and refine their ideas before sharing to a larger party. Further, since the entire effort aside from the actual reading, which will likely be as a homework assignment, is done collectively, there is less risk felt in being wrong.

Investigative Study

Throughout this unit, a heavy emphasis is placed on critically looking at their own lives in relation to their social media platforms, so students will be required on many occasions to provide examples from their various social media feeds of persuasion or branding done effectively or ineffectively. The examples will then be discussed in class with the student leading in describing the context of their evidence and why it is or isn't persuasive or a good example of branding. If the content in a unit such as this isn't consistently being immediately utilized within the context of the student's own life, then it is not proving effective. The goal is that students find 'take-home' information in each lesson over the course of its nine weeks.

Socratic Seminar

Using Socratic seminar as a strategy in this unit will allow for a space to discuss the essential questions of previously laid out in a scholarly discussion that is student led. Students will share, refute, and redefine their ideas of social media and its implications with the defined lens of persuasion. Since Socratic seminars are clearly defined in their perimeters, it will require that the students prepare for the discussion ahead of time and have salient opinions with sound evidence to support those points ready. As with all Socratic seminars, participation is key!