Summary
How do you persuade others? How did the characters in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" use ethos, pathos, and logos to sway the minds of the Roman people? This lesson explores the three modes of persuasion and invites students to analyze and notate the speeches in Shakespeare's tragedy for ethos, pathos, and logos. Students need some working knowledge of the modes of persuasion prior to beginning this lesson. Students have an opportunity to watch an ICAP video, in which an actor and teacher speaks about his experiences on the stage and in the classroom.
Essential Question(s)
In what ways are ideas communicated orally? How do we persuade others?
Snapshot
Engage
Students participate in a Honeycomb Harvest activity to categorize statements according to their mode of persuasion—logos, ethos, or pathos.
Explore
Students watch three short commercials and determine the mode of persuasion used to sell each product.
Explain
Students use the Why-Lighting or Categorical Highlighting strategy to analyze speeches from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar for modal evidence.
Extend
Students watch an ICAP video, in which an actor and teacher speaks about his experiences on the stage and in the classroom. Students will reflect on the video by completing a 3-2-1 activity.
Evaluate
Students complete CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) analysis of one of the provided speeches and identify the modes of persuasion used.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) handout (attached; one per student)
Honeycomb Harvest cards (attached; one set per two students)
I Notice, I Wonder handout (attached; one per student)
Julius Caesar Speech 1 handout (attached; one for every three students)
Julius Caesar Speech 2 handout (attached; one for every three students)
Julius Caesar Speech 3 handout (attached; one for every three students)
Teacher's Guide for Julius Caesar Speeches 1-3 (attached; optional)
Internet access
Engage
30 Minute(s)
Begin by assigning students a partner. Give each pair of students a set of the prepared Honeycomb Harvest cards. Display slide 3. Ask each pair to sort and connect the honeycombs as they see fit.
After each pair has created their "honeycombs," combine pairs into groups of four. Display slide 4. Ask each group to compare and contrast their connections and justify their reasoning for their groupings and connections.
Once groups have discussed their justifications, ask a few groups to share with the class.
Before moving on to the Explore portion of the lesson, display slides 5 and 6 and take a moment to share the Essential Questions and Learning Objectives with students.
Explore
30 Minute(s)
Next, give each student a copy of the attached I Notice, I Wonder handout. Show slide 7. Tell students that they are going to watch three short commercials. As they watch each commercial, they should take notes via the I Notice, I Wonder strategy—writing down their observations ("I Notice") and questions ("I Wonder").
Display slide 8. Using the links on the slide (or here) or the embedded video below, show students the first commercial with English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran.
Display slide 9, and invite students to share their observations, allowing time for response. Next, ask students to share their questions and allow time for replies. Then, ask students which of the three appeals—logos, ethos, or pathos—was used in the commercial.
Next, display slide 10. Using the links on the slide (or here) or the embedded video below, show students the second commercial for the World Wildlife Fund.
Display slide 11. Invite students to share their observations, allowing time for response. Next, ask students to share their questions and allow time for replies. Then, ask students which of the three appeals—logos, ethos, or pathos—was used in the commercial.
Next, display slide 12. Using the links on the slide (or here) or the embedded video below, show students the third commercial about "light" soups.
Invite students to share their observations, allowing time for response. Ask students to share their questions and allow time for replies. Then, ask students which of the three appeals—logos, ethos, or pathos—was used in the commercial.
Explain
30 Minute(s)
Display slide 15 or slide 16, depending on your preferred strategy. Explain to students that they will be reading one of three speeches from Julius Caesar and, using the Why-Lighting or Categorical Highlighting strategy, they are to find and label examples of ethos, pathos, and logos. Ask students to explain whether they consider each highlighted portion to be logos, ethos, or pathos, and why.
Number students off from 1-3. Assign and pass out one of the three attached Julius Caesar Speech handouts to each student, with the speech number corresponding to each student's assigned number. Have students use the Jigsaw strategy to study and share their ideas with their groups.
Once students have finishing highlighting and annotating their assigned speeches, display slide 17. Ask for volunteers to share with a heterogeneous group to discuss what they highlighted, how they labeled it, and their justification or reasoning for doing so. Give time for each student to share out.
Ask students to share out an example of each of the three modes of persuasion and their reasoning or justification for labeling it as such.
Extend
30 Minute(s)
Display slide 18, which contains an introduction slide for the interview with Nicholas Bartell. Briefly review the details with your students.
Go to slide 19 to play the 3-minute “K20 ICAP - Words Before Blows” video of actor and educator Nicholas Bartell. In the video, Bartell talks about his academic experiences and the influences they had on his decision to pursue a career in the theatre world. He also discusses his experiences on the stage as an actor and in the classroom as a theatre educator.
As students watch the interview, they should keep the following 3-2-1 questions in mind:
What are 3 things you learned about having a career in the theatre world?
What are 2 things you would do if you wanted to become an actor?
What is 1 thing Nicholas said that really resonated with you?
Display slide 20. Give students about five minutes to write down their answers. Spend another five minutes inviting students to share their responses with the rest of the class.
Evaluate
30 Minute(s)
Display slide 21 and pass out a copy of the attached CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) handout to each student.
Invite students to, using the Claim, Evidence, Reasoning strategy, write their own claims about the death of Julius Caesar and ultimately persuade the citizens to join with Brutus and Cassius or with Mark Antony and the triumvirate. The evidence students use must be from the text of the play.
Have students turn in their CER handouts as formative assessments for the lesson.
Resources
AdFreakOne. (2009, January 8). Campbell's Soup | "Light versus" [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/PplMjgh_QlM
Heinz. (2019). Ed’s Heinz ad. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keOaQm6RpBg
Kleinmichel, J. (1882). Mark Antony shows the corpse of Julius Caesar to the citizens of the city of Rome. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mark_Antony_shows_the_corpse_of_Julius_Caesar_to_the_citizens_of_the_city_of_Rome.png
K20 Center. (2020, September 16). Card sort. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/147
K20 Center. (2020, September 16). Categorical highlighting. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/192
K20 Center. (2020, September 16). Claim, evidence, reasoning (CER). Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/156
K20 Center. (2020, September 16). Honeycomb harvest. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/61
K20 Center. (2020, September 16). I notice, I wonder. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/180
K20 Center. (2020, September 16). Jigsaw. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/179
K20 Center. (2022, November 1). K20 ICAP - Words before blows [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXsRzFblGNI
K20 Center. (2020, September 16). 3-2-1. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/117
K20 Center. (2020, September 16). Why-lighting. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/128
NiceCrane287. (2012, July 28). Adopt a wild snow leopard - WWF [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/nvEgCg1yh30
Paradigm Education. (n.d.). My Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 2. myShakespeare. https://myshakespeare.com/julius-caesar/act-3-scene-2
