Ethos, Logos, Pathos- Superhero Activity/Counter Argument

Name: Morgan Reid

Subject Area: American Literature
Grade Level: Junior (Grade 11)
Date: 3-4 November 2014

Lesson Summary Description

This new unit focuses on rhetoric and argument. The students will focus on the strategies and
tools used to argue including: ethos, logos, and pathos. The students have finished analyzing
Lincolns Second Inaugural Address for ethos, logos, pathos, and other figurative language as a
class. This lesson will break up Lincolns speech and the speech by Benjamin Franklin

Standard(s)
RI/RL6

Objective(s)
At the end of this lesson, students will have a better understanding of ethos, logos, pathos, and
the application of these in order to persuade their intended audience.

Timeframe
75 minutes

Materials Needed
Powerpoint
Character profiles
Character ethos, logos, pathos charts
Folder for each character
Elmo
Computer

Detailed Procedural Steps

Super Hero Battle Activity
To practice and apply ethos, logos and pathos, the students will be grouped and assigned a
superhero and will have to evaluate the strengths of their superhero. Each group will attempt to
convince the rest of the class and me why their superhero should be chosen to save the world.

Superheroes

The earth is in danger and we must choose only 1 superhero to defend mankind. Which
superhero has what it takes to save us all from DOOM!
In groups of 4, students will be assigned a hero and plead their case. Why does this superhero
deserve the honor of saving the world?
The superheroes:

Superman
Batman
Spiderman
X-Men
Ninja Turtles
Wonder woman
The Hulk

One character profile will be given to each group. The character profile includes a picture, skill
list, some background information on the character and the chart the group will be asked to
complete in order to argue the case for their hero to save the world.
Counter Claim
Review the counterclaim worksheet in the packet and discuss.
Students will be asked to form a counter-argument from the perspective of the President in
regards to their appeal for their groups superhero. Exit Ticket. Will be collected for a grade.

Next Class Period: Start Benjamin Franklins speech. Read aloud to class.
Students will analyze the speech on their own.

Superheroes

Character Profile: Batman

Alter ego: Bruce Wayne
Species: Human
Team affiliations: Justice League, Batman Family, Wayne Enterprises, Outsiders, Batman
Incorporated
Abilities:
Genius-level intellect
Peak physica and mental conditioning
Master martial artist, acrobat, detective, escapologist, strategist, swordsman,
tactician, and marksman
Use of high-tech equipment, weapons, armors, and gadgets
Master of stealth
Master of disguise
Advanced scientific and technological proficiency
Access to vast wealth and criminal records
Trained computer hacker
Photographic memory
Background:
The Batman is, in his everyday identity, Bruce Wayne, a wealthy businessman living in
Gotham City. Wayne averts suspicion by acting the part of a superficial, dim-witted playboy
idly living off his family's fortune (amassed through investment in real estate before the
city became a bustling metropolis) and the profits of Wayne Enterprises, his inherited
conglomerate. He supports philanthropic causes through his nonprofit Wayne Foundation,
but is more widely known as a celebrity socialite. In public, he pretends to be a heavy
drinker, using ginger ale to suggest champagne and liberally serving alcohol to guests that
he never actually consumes himself. In reality, he keeps a strict diet concerned to maintain
top physical fitness and mental acuity. In public, he appears frequently in the company of
fashionable women to encourage tabloid gossip. In reality, there is less than meets the eye:
though he leads an active romantic life, crime-fighting accounts for most of his night hours.
Batman's primary character traits can be summarized as wealth, physical prowess,
deductive abilities and obsession. The driving force behind Batman's motives is his parents'
murder. Despite his trauma, he sets his mind on studying to become a scientist and to train
his body into physical perfection to fight crime in Gotham City as Batman, an inspired idea
from Wayne's insight into the criminal mind.
Another of Batman's characterizations is a vigilante; in order to stop evil that started with
the death of his parents, he must sometimes break laws himself.

Superheroes

ETHOS

LOGOS

PATHOS