RHETORIC & POWER UNIT PLAN

Content / Skill
Objective
SWBAT: assess the
motivation,
personality and
political aims of
governmental
leaders and the
governments they
represent through
their spoken or
written word.
: watch an episode
of the West Wing to
familiarize
themselves with
spoken political
vocabulary and
analyze the way the
President speaks
and the way people
speak to the
President.
: be able to define
the persuasive
rhetoric techniques
of propaganda,
glittering
generalities, plain
folks appeal,
bandwagon effect,
snob appeal,
transfer,
nationalism,
euphemisms and
dysphemisms,
stereotype,
innuendo, loaded
questions, and
ridicule/sarcasm.
: explain the
difference between

Major Assessments

Key Learning
Activities
-Debates on ideas
of power and
hegemony.

Biblical Integration

-Take notes on
various readings.

-Rhetoric poem
made with a
partner and
presented to the
class.

Students will
connect this to the
idea of truth and
how truth is not
always appealing
to hear but it is
constant.

-Research the
rhetorical
technique of one
particular leader in
the last 20 years in
one of the
countries
assigned.
Students will write
a paper analyzing
themes from that
leaders speeches
or will write an indepth analysis of
one speech.

-Notes on readings
and lectures.

Students will
discuss and pray
about wisdom that
comes from truth
and how this truth
is crucial for justice
in political
situations today.

-Students will answer

journal questions which
review and dig deeper
into their readings and
class discussions, as
well as requiring them
to analyze their own
thought processes.

-Election
discussions based

Students will take

time analyzing the
words that we use
to motivate
humans and often
manipulate them
for personal gain.

propaganda and
persuasion.
: analyze and
discuss Kennedys
Inaugural Address,
Winston Churchills
Iron Curtain Speech,
and Ho Chi Minhs
Vietnamese
Declaration for their
use of rhetoric
techniques.
: read about the
idea of Power and
Realists idea of
what defines power.
: discuss the ways
that a states power
is determined
including GDP,
ideas, religion,
ideology,
nationalism,
influence, economy,
natural resources,
industrial capacity,
population,
territory,
geography, moral
legitimacy, military
preparedness,
popular support of
the government,
diplomatic skill, and
gold.
: use the
determinants to
analyze a
hypothetical coup
dtat of the student
council presidency
and who would win.
: analyze a speech
given by George

on hypothetical
situations.
-Reading and
analysis of various
modern speeches.

Bush after 9/11 and

how his rhetoric
defines Americas
power, as well as
places the speech in
its historical
context.
: research one
modern leader and
analyze the rhetoric
they use in their
speech including1) What kind of
leader they
want to be
seen as.
2) How what
they say
reflects what
they believe.
3) The
particular
words they
often use,
and why you
think they
choose to
define their
rule with
those words.
4) The hidden
character
displayed in
their
speechesthings they
may not have
intended to
express
openly but
can be seen
through slipups or
indirect
analysis.

5) How their
personality is
either unique
in their
nations
history, or
how they try
to connect
themselves
to a series of
historic
leaders
through their
personality.
: discuss with a
partner the relative
power of one nation
from the text and
will argue on behalf
of their nation to
the class in a
hypothetical war
game situation.
: read about and
take notes on the
strategy of
bargaining including
different kinds of
leverage,
reciprocity, and the
arms race.
: assess which
powers they think
are the greatest in
the world and will
compare that with
the actual list.
: explain the idea of
hegemony and the
power transition
theory.
: work with a
partner to transform
Shel Silversteins

Where the Sidewalk

Ends into a political
speech from a
certain type of
government
assigned
(totalitarian,
democratic,
communist,
monarchy, Military
Authoritarian) They
will then read their
poem to the class.
: summarize how
leaders come to
power in England,
Russia, China,
Mexico, Nigeria, and
Iran.
: work together to
discuss the
appropriate
campaign strategy
for each candidate,
and to identify the
crucial factor in two
hypothetical
election situations.
: describe their
research to their
classmates.
: read a section of a
sermon by John
Piper on Ephesians
4:11-16, persuasion
and doctrine.
: pray for the
students, the school
leadership, and the
leaders in Cambodia
to have wisdom to
follow what is true
and not to be
swayed by false

ideas or nice words.