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11 Visual Rhetoric Lesson Plans

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7 views

11 Visual Rhetoric Lesson Plans

Lesson plan

Uploaded by

talaragmac23
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lesson Plans in Visual Rhetoric

(Rose Burt)

The following include a variety of ideas for working with students to become accustomed to
analyzing rhetorical strategies in visual mediums. They have been particularly honed for use
with the film Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.

Add a Scene

Ask students to form groups to create a scene that could have also been included in the film (a
“lost” or “missing” scene). Of course, this scene must be congruent with the ideas and strategies
included in the rest of the film. Students will act out this scene for the class, drawing
background scenes on the board if necessary and with a narrator to explain anything else that
would be included (outfits, lighting, music, etc.).

Students should do a group write-up on the strategies used to turn in to the instructor. Some
ideas for additional scenes include adding a segment on an additional figure or expanding on a
situation (the Valhalla crisis, the company training sessions, the traders, etc.). This can be done
in a single class session or assigned for homework and presented in class.

Mini Rhetorical Analyses

One of the best ways for students to practice the language of visual rhetoric is to do just that –
practice! Assign several mini-evaluations for students to write. They can use the appeals and
other strategies from the “Rhetoric in Film” worksheet to analyze the strategies used in a
commercial, TV show, or feature length film.

Write-ups should be 1-2 pages for each text. It’s better to start with commercials and work to
feature length films. Give students complete freedom – there’s no reason why the instructor
would need to know about the source. In fact, it’s even better if students can avoid plot summary
altogether and just focus on the strategies!

Students generally have fun with this, because they can write about the things they like to watch.
Be sure to give students detailed feedback on these so they have your comments when they are
writing their actual essay assignment.

Watch a News Report or TV Segment

This one is useful for classes that meet in smart classrooms. Watch a TV segment or news report
in class and ask students to analyze the segment as a whole class or in groups. The segment can
be paused throughout, or students might write notes and then share. The latter is a good method
for particularly non-vocal classes, as all students should have at least something written to
initiate conversation. Sample shows include The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Sesame
Street, Da Ali G Show, or CBS News.

Mini Documentary
Have students create or perform mini-documentaries on something gone wrong. This can be
anything from a bad hair day they’ve had to an awkwardly delivered pick-up line to gang
violence in their neighborhood. It can be real or imagined; the class doesn’t have to know the
difference. In groups or as a whole class, have students analyze the rhetorical strategies others
used in their mini-documentaries. This helps students adopt the lens of a documenter as well as
to practice analyzing rhetorical strategies.

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