RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
GETTING STARTED WITH RHETORICAL ANALYSIS: TEACHING THE RHETORICAL TRIANGLE
Rhetorical analysis skills are often left to the upper grades of high school and, in some situations, gate-kept and guarded for only AP-level coursework. I’m on a mission to ensure every teacher has access to high-quality rhetorical analysis teaching tools and refuse to believe this skill is only for gifted students.
Rhetorical analysis is one of the most applicable, relevant, and essential life skills that we have in our power to share with students.
START HERE: “BE OUR GUEST” FOR LESSON #1
So many teachers new to rhetorical analysis don’t know where to start and end up beginning their units with definitions and terminology of rhetorical concepts like ethos, pathos, logos, and other techniques. My advice?
Pump the breaks.
Especially if you’re new to RA, you have no way of knowing this insider info: if you start with terms, that’s what students will prioritize, too. This means that you’ll collect a lot of writing that IDENTIFIES rhetorical devices but struggle to analyze how they work and how those techniques affect the audience.
Here’s where you need to start: the rhetorical triangle. And how do I introduce this on day 1? Easy. I use a Disney song 🤩.
“Be Our Guest” is the perfect song to introduce the rhetorical triangle. Students love digging into Lumiere’s desperate situation and adding all of their ideas to our graphic organizer. I’d love to share this exact lesson with you, so I built out a slide deck AND a YouTube video that you can use as you like! For the full lesson breakdown, be sure to check out the blog post that goes into more depth.
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS: BLOG POSTS TO SUPPORT INSTRUCTION
These blog posts will help you take your rhetorical triangle graphic organizers to the next level.
Best Selling Resources to Support Rhetorical Analysis
“This is a great resource for AP Lang, and I think it would work great for other classes. I love how engaging the topic is while also requiring deep thinking and promoting great discussion.”
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“This was a perfect addition to our unit on rhetoric. My students loved the use of film clips in place of another speech. This activity bridged the gap perfectly between in-class modeling and an independent choice board activity!”
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Want this for your whole department?
I help middle and high school English teams build rhetorical analysis into inquiry-driven units, so students practice analyzing arguments across the whole year, not just before the AP exam. Bring it to your school through Uncharted: The Inquiry Unit Makeover.
Rhetorical analysis is the heart of the Why Realm, one of the Four Reading Realms, where students learn to read to question.