10th Grade Unit Plan : Perfecting the Art of Persuasion- What is 

the American Dream? 

Christine Soring

Unit Objectives: 
1. SWBAT identify persuasive rhetoric 
2. SWBAT analyze texts for persuasive elements 
3. SWBAT implement persuasive rhetoric in writing and speech 
4. SWBAT identify what it means to be an American in today’s society  
5. SWBAT think critically and evaluate how history has changed the definition of the American 
Dream 
6. SWBAT apply their knowledge about the three rhetorical appeals into a persuasive speech 

LESSON 1 
Lesson Title: Persuasive Rhetoric- Speed-Debating 
1 day 
 
Standards 
CC.1.5.9-10.A ​Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions on grades 
level topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and 
persuasively. 
CC.1.2.9-10.D​ Determine an author's particular point of view and analyze how rhetoric advances 
the point of view. 
CC.1.2.9-10.H​ Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing the 
validity of reasoning and relevance of evidence. 
CC.1.4.9-10.G Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics. 
 
Cross curricular application in that the impromptu debate topics range from general topics to 
science to history. 
 
 
 
Objectives 
Students will be able to: 
● Practice implementing Aristotle's Rhetorical Triangle (logos, pathos, ethos) into speaking 
and debating to prepare for the final assessment of a persuasive speech. 
● Effectively participate in a 2 minute debates on a range of topics while putting the 
rhetorical appeals into practice. 
● Think analytically while applying previous knowledge towards impromptu debate topics. 
● Identify the appeals used by their opponents in impromptu debates 
 
 
 
Introduction 
The anticipatory set will review Aristotle's Rhetorical Triangle. I will tell students my story about college 
where I tried to persuade my parents to let me live at school. I will then ask students to turn to the 
person next to them to talk about a time they tried persuading their parents to let them do 
something. Students will think-pair-share. I will ask for volunteers and then ask students to identify 
which rhetorical appeal they think they used in trying to persuade their parents. This will lead us into 
our activity. 
 
 
 
Activities and Procedures 
1. Students will enter the room and see the Speed Debating Sign. 
2. Students will participate in an informal review Aristotle's Rhetorical Triangle 
3. I will share my story about how I used all 3 rhetorical appeals to try to persuade my parents 
to let me live at school during my senior year of college. 
4. Students will think-pair-share about a time they tried convincing their parents of something 
and what appeals they think they used. 
5. After think-pair-share, I will ask for volunteers to share their story. 
6. Students will be introduced to Speed Debating, the guidelines, and the purpose 
7. Students will participate in Speed Debating, writing notes as they go while implementing, 
identifying, and evaluating the use of the rhetorical appeals 
8. After a few "dates," we will come back together as a class to review how they felt 
implementing and using the rhetorical appeals in their impromptu debates. Students will 
talk about their impressions, difficulty level, if it was challenging, and what appeal they 
found most effective. 
 
 
 
Formative Assessment 
Formative assessment during the lesson include observation, participation, and the tracking sheet. 
Students will be observed on their participation and implementation of the rhetorical appeals as they 
tried to debate their partner. Students will be assessed on evaluating the effectiveness of the appeals 
they used most and least, as well as the appeals used by their opponents.  
 
 
 
Summative Assessment 
I will assess mastery and proficiency of the objectives and standards by observing student 
participation in the practice activity and how they implement these appeals in their Persuasive 
speech at the end of the unit. Since this is just practice, students will continue to develop and refine 
their persuasive speaking skills prior to the summative assessment through the use of individual, 
partner, and whole group work. 
 
 
 
Resources, Technology, Materials 
-Detailed instructions 
-"Welcome" sign 
-debate topic cards 
-Student tracking sheet 
-Rhetorical Triangle/Devices worksheet 
 
 
 
 
LESSON 1: UDL 
 
Potential Barriers 
Representation- S​ tudents are  Action & Expression- s​ tudents  Engagement​-students don’t 
only exposed to the persuasive  only form of expression is  have a choice in the topics 
rhetoric terms as they are  through speaking and listening.  they debate or in the way in 
written on the board, without  Students who struggle with  which they participate in the 
vocalizing thoughts and  activity. 
another type of visual.  
feelings may struggle with this 
lesson. 
 
 
UDL Adaptations 
UDL Representation 
Perception
1.1-Offer ways of customizing the display of information 
➔ Give students access to Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle and the definitions of l​ogos, pathos, 
and ethos​ in a digital, customizable way. I will display information in a flexible format so that 
it passes an accessibility test. One option is to use a digital format such as the EPUB Reader 
so that students can adjust the settings, font, color/contrast, etc.  
 
Language & Symbols 
2.1- Clarify vocabulary and symbols 
➔ To aid in clarification, I will give definitions and explanations of ​vocabulary words​ necessary 
for the Speed-Debating activity.  

Comprehension 
3.2 - Highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships 
➔ Give students a ​handout with Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle​ and accompanying terms on it 
for students to reference rather than only keeping the information on the board. 

UDL Action & Expression 

Provide options for physical action 
4.1 - Vary the methods for response and navigation 
➔ Provide alternatives in the requirements for the range of motor action required to interact 
with the Speed Debating Activity. Incorporate technology so that students can interact 
digitally with peers rather than using one method of involvement. 
 
Provide options for expression and communication  
5.1 - Use multiple media for communication  
➔ Use social media and interactive web tools, like a discussion board or a chat, to allow 
students to debate using persuasive techniques. This can be just as effective as speaking 
because of the writing emphasis. 

UDL Engagement 
Recruiting Interest 
7.1- Optimize individual choice and autonomy 
➔ Students will have the choice to complete this activity digitally through the form of an online 
blog/twitter format to ease student apprehension of public speaking. 
  
Sustaining Effort & Persistence 
8.4 Increase mastery-oriented feedback 
➔ I will provide feedback that focuses on development and will provide feedback that 
emphasizes effort, improvement, and achieving a standard rather than on relative 
performance. Rather than observe student participation in the Speed Debating activity, I will 
provide feedback that is specific for each group during the observation so that students can 
use that feedback to master the content. 

Self Regulation
9.3 Develop self-assessment and reflection 

➔ Students primarily assess their partners’ use of rhetorical appeals and persuasion during the 
Speed-Debating activity, but they do not reflect on the ​effectiveness ​of the appeals they 
used themselves. To aid in self-reflection and assessment, I will provide students with a chart 
to help in understanding their use of appeals and the effectiveness of each. Students could 
also use a rating scale on the effectiveness to assess their own persuasive techniques.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LESSON 2 
Lesson Title: Persuasion in the Real World- What is the American Dream today? 
5-7 days 
 
Standards 
CC.1.5.9-10.A ​Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions on grades 
level topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and 
persuasively. 
CC.1.2.9-10.D Determine an author's particular point of view and analyze how rhetoric advances the 
point of view. 
CC.1.2.9-10.H Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing the 
validity of reasoning and relevance of evidence. 
 
Objectives 
Students will be able to: 
● Think analytically and apply prior knowledge towards Park Avenue Documentary 
● Identify rhetorical appeals and devices in documentary 
● Evaluate effectiveness and truth of documentary 
● Evaluate persuasive elements in various texts 
● Identify changes in the American Dream over time 
 
 
Activities and Procedures 
1. Introduce the documentary as an exploration into the American dream and the concept of 
symbolism  
2. Instruct students to complete the viewing guide while watching; if desired, you can pause the film 
throughout and discuss each question  
3. Discuss the questions at the end of the documentary, emphasizing symbolism/purpose 
4. Have students read various texts that deal with the American Dream 
5. Students will discuss the persuasive techniques used in historical texts 
 
 
Formative Assessment 
Assess students on the Park Avenue Documentary viewing guide in addition to the class discussion. 
Students are also assessed on the work they do with the various texts having to do with the American 
Dream. 
 
Summative Assessment 
Students will be summativey assessed based on their participation in class discussion. 
 
 
Resources, Technology, Materials 
● ​Detailed instructions on Agenda 
● Various texts and speeches 
● Park Avenue Documentary​ Viewing Guide 
 
 
 
LESSON 2: UDL 
 
Potential Barriers 
Representation  Action & Expression  Engagement 
➔ Students are only  ➔ students participate in a  ➔ Students primarily work 
exposed to the  group discussion that  on these activities 
documentary without  may be challenging or  independently, but 
difficult for students who  could benefit from 
any accompanying 
struggle with public  group work since all 
materials to clarify 
speaking.   students are trying to 
vocabulary used in the  write a speech about 
documentary.  the American Dream. 
➔ Representation: Students  ➔ The Park Avenue 
are only able to watch &  Documentary is based in 
listen to the  New York and doesn’t 
documentary so the  show what young adults 
hearing impaired may  think about the 
American Dream today, 
be at a disadvantage. 
so for students it may not 
➔ Historical texts are only 
feel relevant. 
available in text format 
 
UDL Adaptations 
UDL Representation 
Provide options for perception 
1.2 - Offer alternatives for auditory information 
➔ Use text equivalents in the form of captions or automated speech-to-text (voice recognition) 
for spoken language. Put on ​closed-captioning​ for students or provide a script and provide 
audio recordings of historical texts.  
 
Provide options for comprehension 
3.1 - Activate or supply background knowledge 
➔ I will provide students with background information prior to reading the various texts and 
watching Park Avenue. This could be information including the Monopoly experiment, a 
map of Park Avenue, and some terms that students need to know prior to the documentary 
 
3.3 - Guide information processing, visualization, and manipulation 
➔ “Chunk” information into smaller elements, such as chunking the documentary into small 
pieces. Rather than watch the entire documentary in one sitting, With chunking, it will give us 
time to talk about small sections of the documentary which could create a deeper, more 
meaningful conversation about the American Dream. 
 
3.4 - Maximize transfer and generalization 
➔ Offer opportunities over time to revisit key ideas and linkages between ideas mentioned in 
various texts and the Park Avenue Documentary. Provide students time at the end of each 
lesson to reflect and then refer back to the documentary in lessons that follow to maximize 
transfer of information. 
 
 Action & Expression 
Provide options for physical action 
4.1 - Vary the methods for response and navigation 
➔ Provide alternatives for physically responding or indicating selections instead of using a 
pencil and paper. Students could respond using an alternative technology like Google 
Docs, blog, Padlet, or another digital form of writing.  
 
Provide options for expression and communication  
5.1 - Use multiple media for communication   
➔ Use social media and interactive web tools like a discussion forum or chat to respond to the 
Park Avenue Documentary.  

UDL Engagement 
Provide options for recruiting interest 
7.2 - Optimize relevance, value, and authenticity 
➔ Consider using a more relatable documentary for a group of high school students in relation 
to the American Dream. Give students the opportunity to offer names of movies or 
documentaries that address the American Dream and then have students choose the one 
they want to focus on for this portion of the unit.  
 
 
Provide options for sustaining effort and persistence 
8.3 - Foster collaboration and community  
➔ Create cooperative learning groups with clear responsibilities. Since many of the reading 
and viewing activities are individual, students could collaborate with their peers before we 
come together as a whole class. Giving students the chance to meet with peers to discuss 
the documentary could prove beneficial for the entire class and the end goal of the 
American Dream speech. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LESSON 3 
Lesson Title: ”What is the American Dream?” Persuasive Speech Writing Workshop & Delivery 
12 Days 
 
 
Standards 
CC.1.4.9-10.J Create organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, 
reasons, and evidence; Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create 
cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and 
evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims; provide a concluding statement or section that 
follows from and supports the argument presented. 
CC.1.2.9-10.C Apply appropriate strategies to analyze, interpret, and evaluate how an author unfolds 
an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they 
are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them. 
CC.1.2.9-10.D Determine an author's particular point of view and analyze how rhetoric advances the 
point of view. 
CC.1.2.9-10.H Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing the 
validity of reasoning and relevance of evidence. 
CC.1.5.9-10.A Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions on grades 
level topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and 
persuasively. 
CC.1.2.9-10.D Determine an author's particular point of view and analyze how rhetoric advances the 
point of view. 
CC.1.2.9-10.H Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing the 
validity of reasoning and relevance of evidence. 
CC.1.4.9-10.G Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics. 
 
Objectives 
Students will be able to: 
● Apply prior knowledge towards persuasive speech writing and delivery 
● Use textual evidence to support argument 
● Think analytically and apply prior knowledge towards peer evaluation 
● Give effective feedback on rough draft of persuasive speech 
● Identify rhetorical appeals and devices in peers' persuasive speech 
● Evaluate effectiveness of peers' persuasive speech 
 
Activities and Procedures 
1. Students will use several writing workshop class periods to brainstorm, draft, revise, edit, and present 
their American Dream speech. 
will review the Peer workshop and the format of our workshopping with the class. 
2. Students will participate in Peer Review Workshops for the revision portion of the speech. 
3. Students will use the ​rubric​ to make sure they have the appropriate information in their final 
speech. 
4. Students will deliver their final speech on “What is the American Dream?” to the class. 
 
 
 
 
 
Formative Assessment 
Formative assessment during the lesson include observation, participation, and the scoring rubric. 
Students will be assessed on evaluating the effectiveness of the speech according to the Keystone 
rubric. I will also formatively assess students when I join in on groups to give my own feedback. 
 
Summative Assessment 
I will assess mastery and proficiency of the objectives and standards by observing their participation 
in the activity. I will also assess the implementation of feedback when I evaluate them summatively in 
their final speeches. 
 
 
 
Resources, Technology, Materials 
● ​Detailed instructions 
● Keystone Persuasive Scoring Guidelines 
● PQP Response Sheet (Peer Review Sheet) 
● Computers for speech drafts 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LESSON 3: UDL 
 
Potential Barriers 
Representation  Action & Expression-   Engagement 
➔ Students only option in  ➔ students only form of  ➔ Students do not have 
this speech is to deliver it  expression is through  the option to self-reflect 
in front of the class  speaking and listening.  on their own speech 
Students who struggle  ➔ Students do not have 
 
with vocalizing thoughts  the option to evaluate 
and feelings may  peers’ final speech 
struggle with this lesson.  ➔ With the guidelines, 
➔ It might lack the  students may not be as 
opportunity for students  interested or engaged. 
to express themselves 
creatively with such strict 
guidelines 
 
 
 
UDL Adaptations 
UDL Representation 
Perception
1.1-Offer ways of customizing the display of information 
➔ Give students access to the Persuasive Speech guidelines in a digital, customizable way. I 
could display information in a flexible format so that it passes an accessibility test. One 
option is to use a digital format such as the EPUB Reader so that students can adjust the 
settings, font, color/contrast, etc.  
 
Provide options for language, mathematical expressions, and symbols 
2.5 - Illustrate through multiple media 
➔ Give students the option to present their persuasive speech in an alternative form other than 
standing in front of the class and giving the speech. This could be through a video, a 
storyboard, a podcast, or any other creative, digital format  
 
Provide options for comprehension  
3.1 - Activate or supply background knowledge 
➔ Anchor instruction by linking to and activating relevant prior knowledge, such as the 
readings and the documentary viewing so that students can bridge concepts and ideas 
learned leading up to the writing of the persuasive speech.   
 

Action & Expression 

Provide options for expression and communication  
5.1 - Use multiple media for communication  
➔ Compose in multiple media such as text, speech, drawing, illustration, design, film, music, 
dance/movement, visual art, sculpture or video as an alternative to the standard speech 
format. 
 
5.2 - Use multiple tools for construction and composition 
 ➔ Use web applications (e.g., wikis, animation, presentation) to create or record persuasive 
speech to present to the class. 
 
Provide options for executive functions 
6.4 - Enhance capacity for monitoring progress 
➔ Use of multiple examples of student work to show students an example of the final product.  
 
 

UDL Engagement 
Provide options for recruiting interest  
7.1 - Optimize individual choice and autonomy   
➔ Provide learners with as much discretion and autonomy as possible by providing choices in 
the way in which they present their What is the American Dream speech.  
 
 
Provide options for recruiting interest 
7.2 - Optimize relevance, value, and authenticity 
➔ Provide tasks that allow for active participation, exploration and experimentation by giving 
students multiple ways of presenting their speech. This could be via Anchor where students 
create their own podcast. This will allow students to foster their imagination and make sense 
of the American Dream in a creative way 
 
7.3 - Minimize threats and distractions 
➔ Vary the social demands required for the students listening to the speeches by requiring 
them to fill out a comment sheet and/or take notes on the speech given. This will hold all 
participants responsible and eliminate distractions in the classroom.  
 
Provide options for sustaining effort and persistence 
8.2 - Vary demands and resources to optimize challenge 
➔ Provide alternatives in the performance of the speech delivery and give students the 
freedom to choose their own way of presenting.