You are here

Home

Top Rated

A Structured Approach to Teaching the OED as a Close Reading Tool

Submitted by regina.mills on Sun, 10/26/2014 - 20:21
a person in a black shirt holding up a book. On the left-hand side of the book is a yellow page that read "step one" in white font. On the right-hand site is a white page with the word "one" written in large brown font.

Using a structured worksheet, students explore a word of interest from one of the course readings through the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) online. The worksheet asks them to consider how the definition(s) of the word can help inform their textual analysis/close reading of a text.

Creating OED Word Constellations

Submitted by Roberts on Fri, 10/05/2012 - 12:53
Magnifying Glass

In this assignment students use the Oxford English Dictionary to make individual mindmaps of the multiple definitions of related words, then the class together creates a constellation of meanings surrounding a seemingly simple topic that becomes more and more complex. 

The Rhetoric of Performance: Teaching Logos through Disney Movies

Submitted by Streusand on Fri, 05/01/2015 - 13:02

This assignment uses clips and text from Disney movies to teach students to analyze logos as part of a unit on rhetorical analysis.

Introducing iMovie

Submitted by Jenny Howell on Thu, 10/11/2012 - 02:07
Film reels

This activity introduces students to iMovie software and reveals the range of rhetorical possibilities and effects that the program provides.

Concession, Refutation, and Rebuttal in "Bart's Comet"

Submitted by Moench on Sun, 09/08/2013 - 20:35
Ned Flanders invites the town into his bomb shelter.

Use the acclaimed Simpson's episode "Bart's Comet" to teach refutation, rebuttal, and concession in a fun, group dynamic. Class groups are asked to don the role of familiar Simpson's characters and justify why their character, rather than others, deserves to continue living in the "world of the future." 

Audience Appeal - Making Commercials with Animoto

Submitted by Cate Blouke on Sun, 06/24/2012 - 11:07
blank billboard

Using the extremely user-friendly online video creation tool, Animoto, students create short commercials pitching (potentially) odd combinations of products to target audiences (pianos to businessmen, running shoes to retirees, etc.)

Using Debates to Teach Rhetorical Analysis

Submitted by Sloan on Wed, 12/04/2013 - 10:19
Two debaters at podiums smile at one another

This assignment asks students to watch a debate and evaluate the participants' use of ethos, pathos and logos given their goals and their audience.

Close Reading Through Interactive Storytelling

Submitted by Wiese on Thu, 06/07/2012 - 09:48
students create games based on scenes or passages from a novel

In this assignment, my students used a game-authoring platform called ARIS (Augmented Reality and Interactive Storytelling) to create augmented reality games based on scenes or passages from novels studied in our course.

Villains versus Villains: Writing Persuasive Dramatic Monologues

Submitted by lazhu on Fri, 04/18/2014 - 01:09

Students work in groups to compose persuasive, dramatic monologues from the perspectives of famous, fictional villains.

Color-coding Revision - Visualizing the Process

Submitted by Cate Blouke on Mon, 07/02/2012 - 13:46
students use crayons to visually distinguish between elements of their papers

Following a detailed set of instructions, students use crayons (or other multi-colored writing utensils) to visually distinguish between certain elements of their papers. The result is a colorful paper that visually demarcates areas of text that may require revision.

Peer-to-Peer Review

Submitted by Cowan on Mon, 10/27/2014 - 01:10
red pen and paper

When revising a paper, a second pair of eyes is always useful. But who says those have to be human eyes? By utilizing a range of peer review technologies, your students get to play teacher for each other — and for themselves.

Using and analyzing images: Public transportation

Submitted by Schultz on Sat, 10/13/2012 - 12:53

Using and analyzing images

Analyzing Visual Arguments

Submitted by RMazique on Wed, 10/17/2012 - 17:56
A doctor's body inside large, bleeding ears with large money bags against a blood-red backdrop seen behind the mirror images of the enlarged close up of a man's ears.

Students practice closely describing and analyzing an image for its argument and rhetorical impact.

Introducing Analysis with "Texts From Last Night"

Submitted by Cate Blouke on Thu, 10/20/2011 - 10:17
Texts from last night offers a short and pithy introduction to analysis

Using samples pulled from the popular website, Texts From Last Night, this exercise introduces students to textual analysis in a fun and (most likely) funny way.

Using Twitter for Class Reading and Participation

Submitted by Roberts on Mon, 09/09/2013 - 18:10
twitter image

Instead of required blog posts or reading quizzes, I require my students to interact with each week's reading and each other by "live-tweeting" their reading process.

Teaching Context (Juxtaposition) with Video Mash

Submitted by Roberts on Tue, 04/17/2012 - 10:34
Students juxtapose two YouTube videos for a lesson on context

By doubling a class text video with another seemingly unrelated video, students learn about how context (or juxtaposition) can affect a text's meaning. 

Teach Pathos through Politics -- the French Revolution

Submitted by Moench on Thu, 12/05/2013 - 21:18

This assignment connects the rhetorical concepts pathos and logos with the critique of Enlightenment rationalism by classical conservative philosopher Edmund Burke.   

Creating Individual "Infospheres" on the Web

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 06/11/2012 - 11:11
Infospheres are like personal tapestries of information

The infosphere assignment calls on students to identify online sources of information they regularly take in and to create a representative structure for this information. Students must build their own unique infospheres and organize them as they see fit.

Pages

more