Sample Lesson Plans
Week 1: Introducing the Rhetorical Situation
Due today: Read Itai Halevi, "Rhetorical Situations, an Introduction"
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5 min Check in with students and review learning objectives
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Understand the five core elements of the rhetorical situation model
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Identify how these core elements operate in a specific context
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Articulate for yourself and for the class your comprehensive understanding of one core element
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5 min Explain class activity
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We'll break up into small groups of 3-4. Each group will define one element of the rhetorical situation and provide an example from Halevi's text. If you go into our In-class Work folder on our LMS, you’ll see a link to a PowerPoint presentation called "The Rhetorical Situation." Please open the slideshow and find the slide with your name on it; this is the slide you’ll be working on with your teammates. You'll have about 15 minutes to work on your slide together and then we’ll come back as a group to present the rhetorical situation to our class as a class. Please designate at least two speakers who will present your slide to the class; more is welcome, but please work together to present your slide and don't leave one person to do all the talking.
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15 min Students work together in breakout groups to prepare their slides
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20 min Present "The Rhetorical Situation" as a class
5 min Prepare students for next class
Week 3: Identifying Knowledge-Producing Activities*
Due today: Local Communities and You writing assignment
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5 min Check in with students and review learning objectives
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Identify knowledge-producing activities within a specific community
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Analyze the role of knowledge-producing activities in the context of larger community purposes
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5 min Explain class activity
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Remember how last week, you looked at a community you belong to and identified some of the social, physical, and textual activities that are central to that community? We're going to revisit that activity. Choose as your focus for the rest of this project one of the communities you identified as relevant to your goals and interests in your homework for today. Take the next 10 minutes of class to describe two examples of each of the following types of activities in which the community produces knowledge. If you have chosen a new community you would like to know more about and would consider being part of, you'll be looking for new activities, although they may overlap with some of the activities you've already described. If you have chosen a community you are already a part of, please identify two examples of each type of activity that are different from the ones you've already discussed.
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Social activities – these are types of knowledge gained through understanding values and attitudes of a particular community (e.g., expectations about keeping a shared workspace clean)
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Physical activities – these are activities that involve actions of the body and/or interactions with physical materials (e.g., planting herbs in a garden)
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Textual activities – these are activities that incorporate texts of some kind (e.g., books, magazines, blogs)
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10 min Students work independently to answer the above questions
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5 min Explain second step of class activity
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Now that you've identified some of the knowledge-producing activities of your chosen community, pair up with a classmate. Using specific examples of the community's activities, work together to answer the following questions about each of your chosen communities:
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What purposes does the community want to achieve?
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How does it communicate those purposes?
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15 min Students work in pairs to answer the above questions
5 min Prepare students for next class
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* This lesson plan is adapted from IDEAL's "Rhetoric in Knowledge Communities" project
Week 9: Using "Your Own English"
Due today: Read Vershawn Ashanti Young, "Should Writers Use They Own English?"
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5 min Check in with students and review learning objectives
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Understand implications of using (or not using) "your own English" in your writing
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Analyze the ways in which language use interacts with discourse community
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20 min Concept discussion
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What discourse community in Young writing in? How do you know?
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How does Young use language in ways that are consistent with the expectations of this discourse community?
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How does Young use language in ways that subvert the expectations of this discourse community?
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20 min Content discussion
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According to Young, why is it important for writers to use their own English?
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Do you think it's important for writers to use their own English? Why or why not?
5 min Prepare students for next class
Week 11: Analyzing Reflections-in-Presentation
Due today: Read excerpts from Kathleen Blake Yancey, "Reflection-in-Presentation"
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5 min Check in with students and review learning objectives
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Rhetorically analyze reflection-in-presentation artifacts
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Use key terms to discuss reflective writing and writing processes
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5 min Warm-up writing prompt
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Identify 2-3 key terms from either or both Yancey readings that have changed how you think about reflection. For each key term, consider the following questions:
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Why is this key term important to you?
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How has this key term influenced your thinking about reflection?
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5 min Ask a few students to share the key terms they identified – use to segue into activity, encouraging them to draw on vocabulary from Yancey and other course texts as they discuss group activity questions
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In "Reflection-in-Presentation," we read examples of reflections-in-presentation from 3 students: Daphne, Sharon, and Kevin. We'll break up into small groups of 2-3, and each group will analyze one student's sample text by considering the following questions:
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What does the student do well in their reflection? Why has your group identified these aspects as effective?
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What could they do better within their reflection? Why has your group identified these aspects as areas for improvement?
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How can you approach your own writing with these reflective examples and concepts in mind?
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15 min Students discuss activity questions in breakout groups
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15 min Invite students to share insights from breakout groups discussions
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Focus on answers to third question ("How can you approach your own writing with these reflective examples and concepts in mind?")
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Encourage students to refer back to key terms
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5 min Prepare students for next class
Week 13: Filling in Learning Gaps
Due today: Short writing assignment: Please choose one text from the Project 3 Annotated Bibliography that covers concepts or ideas that you feel (a) you know least about, and/or (b) you might be interested in learning more about. Write a short response in which you tell me why you feel the concepts or ideas covered in this text are important to you and your own learning about writing.
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5 min Check in with students and review learning objectives
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Identify and respond to your own needs as a student and a writer
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Collaborate to analyze learning gaps and identify steps you can take to fill them
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10 min Anonymous check-in survey about self-care
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One of the things that helps us be successful students both immediately and long-term is our ability to take care of and advocate for ourselves. So I just want to check in with you about this, given that the end of the semester is always a busy and stressful time. This survey is anonymous, so please be candid and honest in your responses, as this information will help me help you as we finish up the semester together.
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5 min Explain class activity
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We'll break up into small groups of 2-3. Each group member will take turns discussing their answers to the questions on the discussion worksheet, which you can find in the In-class Work folder on our LMS. Please fill out these worksheets as you talk through your answers with your group. The worksheets will be collected as part of participation, but not graded. Please share honestly, listen generously, and respond supportively and constructively. The questions that you and your partners will be discussing are:
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Which annotated bibliography text did you choose to write about in your homework assignment for today?
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What learning gap prompted you to choose this text?
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Why is this gap important to fill?
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What questions do you hope to answer as you read this text?
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How might answering those questions help fill your learning gap?
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How do you hope to use or apply this information going forward?
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10 min Students discuss worksheet questions in breakout groups
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10 min Invite students to share insights from breakout groups discussions
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What did you learn from your partner(s)?
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What learning gaps did you or your partner(s) identify?
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What are you hoping to learn moving forward?
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5 min Share self-care strategies from survey responses and ask students for other suggestions
5 min Prepare students for next class