Lesson on understanding Rhetoric and Evaluating Bias in Text

Here is a lesson plan for helping your children in Understanding Rhetoric and Evaluating Bias in Text.  It starts:

----------
As a high school English teacher, I think it is very important that my students be able to critically evaluate the reliability of text and identify bias in print. Every year, I implement a non-fiction unit in which students are introduced to a variety of texts and I ask them to examine the author’s credibility. For most of my students, this is a new and rather uncomfortable process.


Aristotle's Rhetoric and Method of Persuasion


In order to get the most out of the unit, I choose a topic that will get my students interested and excited. In the past, I have chosen topics like: fast food, racial profiling, and juvenile justice. These are topics that most of my students have strong opinions about, and I am easily able to find a variety of articles representing a multitude of viewpoints. Before I pass out the articles, I want them to be able to identify author’s bias. In order to help my students do this, I introduce the idea of Aristotle’s art of rhetoric and method of persuasion; Ethos, Logos, and Pathos.
----------

Hat tip: Maria C. Mitchell