Analyzing Rhetorical Appeals in Lyndon B. Johnson’s “The ...

1 NATIONAL. MATH + SCIENCE. INITIATIVE English Analyzing Rhetorical Appeals in Lyndon B. Johnson's The American Promise . Grade 9-10. ABOUT THIS LESSON. President Lyndon B. Johnson's 1965 address to Congress to urge passage of the Voting Rights Act represents a key moment in the civil rights movement as well as a culturally significant speech in American letters. This lesson guides students through a Rhetorical analysis of an excerpt from the P A G E S. speech, which is known as The American Promise.. Students will consider the structure of the argument, but the primary focus of the lesson is to demonstrate how writers and speakers use Rhetorical techniques to OBJECTIVES.

2 T E A C H E R. create Appeals to persuade their audiences to adopt a Students will new position, take up a cause, or commit to a course analyze the development of a central idea in a of action. While this lesson is highly scaffolded and nonfiction text. is designed as an introduction to Rhetorical analysis, analyze how a speaker or writer makes the speech lends itself to more sophisticated analysis, connections between ideas. and teachers can use it with a variety of grade and identify and analyze how a speaker or writer ability levels. creates Appeals through the use of specific Rhetorical devices.

3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. Image. President Lyndon B. Johnson by Arnold Newman, White House Press Office (WHPO). [Public Domain], via Wikimedia Commons. Copyright 2014 National Math + Science Initiative, Dallas, Texas. All rights reserved. Visit us online at i English Analyzing Rhetorical Appeals in Lyndon B. Johnson's The American Promise . TEXT COMPLEXITY of the text, including its relationship to Passages for National Math and Science Initiative supporting ideas; provide an objective (NMSI) English lessons are selected to challenge summary of the text. students, while lessons and activities make texts : Analyze how a text makes connections accessible.

4 This excerpt has a readability measure among and distinctions between that places it within the 9-10 grade level band, but individuals, ideas, or events ( , due to the passage's relatively short length and the through comparisons, analogies, or lesson's scaffolding, the excerpt should be accessible categories). to younger students will guidance from the teacher. : Determine the meaning of words and Guided practice with challenging texts allows phrases as they are used in a text, students to gain the proficiency necessary to read including figurative, connotative, and independently at or above grade level.

5 Technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning COGNITIVE RIGOR and tone, including analogies or English lessons for NMSI are designed to guide allusions to other texts. students through a continuum of thinking skills, : Analyze in detail the structure of a including those outlined in the Revised Bloom's specific paragraph in a text, including P A G E S. Taxonomy and Webb's Depth of Knowledge the role of particular sentences in Levels. During this lesson, students will analyze the developing and refining a key concept. organization and structure of an argument (DOK 2), : Determine an author's point of view or analyze how a writer or speaker uses techniques to purpose in a text and analyze how the T E A C H E R.

6 Create persuasive Appeals (DOK 3), and explain author acknowledges and responds to how writers and speakers integrate multiple claims conflicting evidence or viewpoints. and ideas to create a coherent argument (DOK 4). : Delineate and evaluate the argument Activities will require students to engage in all and specific claims in a text, assessing thinking levels identified in the Revised Bloom's whether the reasoning is sound and Taxonomy. the evidence is relevant and sufficient;. This lesson is included in Module 7: Understanding recognize when irrelevant evidence is Rhetorical Analysis.

7 Introduced. : Draw evidence from literary or CONNECTION TO COMMON informational texts to support analysis, CORE STANDARDS FOR ENGLISH reflection, and research. LANGUAGE ARTS. Implicitly addressed in this lesson The activities in this lesson allow teachers to address : By the end of grade 9, read and the following Common Core Standards: comprehend literary nonfiction in Explicitly addressed in this lesson the grades 9-10 text complexity band : Cite the textual evidence that most proficiently, with scaffolding as needed strongly supports an analysis of what at the high end of the range.

8 The text says explicitly as well as By the end of grade 10, read and inferences drawn from the text. comprehend literary nonfiction in : Determine a central idea of a text and the grades 9-10 text complexity band analyze its development over the course independently and proficiently. ii Copyright 2014 National Math + Science Initiative, Dallas, Texas. All rights reserved. Visit us online at English Analyzing Rhetorical Appeals in Lyndon B. Johnson's The American Promise . CONNECTIONS TO AP* MATERIALS AND RESOURCES. College and career readiness standards dictate that copies of the Student Activity students must be able read complex texts, including highlighters foundational and seminal texts in American literature, independently and proficiently.

9 Students ASSESSMENTS. taking the AP English Language exam will be The following kinds of formative assessments are expected to perform competent Rhetorical analyses of embedded in this lesson: arguments and speeches, both on the multiple choice guided questions and on the free response sections of the exam. frame statements *Advanced Placement and AP are registered trademarks of the writing task College Entrance Examination Board. The College Board was not involved in the production of this material. A multiple choice assessment on an early speech by President Johnson is available in the Assessment section of the NMSI website.

10 P A G E S. T E A C H E R. Copyright 2014 National Math + Science Initiative, Dallas, Texas. All rights reserved. Visit us online at iii English Analyzing Rhetorical Appeals in Lyndon B. Johnson's The American Promise . T. TEACHING SUGGESTIONS Download the song and its lyrics to play for your his lesson will take multiple class periods students, and ask them to speculate why it became to present. Students who are not proficient a significant and meaningful song for civil rights readers will need more teacher guidance and protesters. Before they read the speech, have students intervention as they read the excerpt.