Language Arts · Grade 5

Active learning ideas

Rhetorical Appeals: Ethos, Pathos, Logos

Active learning works for rhetorical appeals because students need to see, hear, and feel how persuasion functions in real texts. When students move around, role-play, or analyze familiar media, they connect abstract concepts like ethos and pathos to concrete examples they already recognize.

• Ontario Curriculum Expectations
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.8
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.3

• 30–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Gallery Walk
• 35 min · Pairs

Gallery Walk: Ad Appeals

Display print ads or video clips around the room labeled with ethos, pathos, or logos examples. Students walk in pairs, noting evidence for each appeal on sticky notes. Groups then share one strong example per appeal with the class.

Evaluate when an emotional appeal is more effective than a logical one.

Facilitation Tip

During the Gallery Walk, place ads with clear but varied appeals so students notice subtle differences in how trust and emotion are built.

What to look for

Provide students with a short advertisement (print or video clip). Ask them to identify one example of ethos, pathos, or logos and explain in one sentence how it attempts to persuade the audience. Collect and review for understanding.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 02

• Socratic Seminar
• 45 min · Pairs

Role-Play Debate: Appeal Strategy

Assign controversial topics like 'best recess game.' Pairs prepare 1-minute speeches using one appeal: ethos, pathos, or logos. Perform for the class, who vote and explain which appeal swayed them most.

Explain how speakers use body language to enhance their message.

Facilitation Tip

In the Role-Play Debate, assign roles that force students to use specific appeals, like a scientist using logos versus a parent using pathos.

What to look for

Present students with two brief scenarios: one where a logical appeal would be most effective (e.g., explaining a complex scientific concept) and one where an emotional appeal might be stronger (e.g., encouraging donations to a charity). Ask students to write one sentence explaining their choice for each scenario.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• Socratic Seminar
• 40 min · Small Groups

Peer Edit Circles: Persuasive Drafts

Students draft opinion paragraphs on a school issue. In small groups, they rotate drafts, highlighting ethos, pathos, or logos with colored markers and suggesting improvements. Writers revise based on feedback.

Analyze how to identify when a writer is trying to manipulate feelings.

Facilitation Tip

For Peer Edit Circles, provide sentence stems like 'The author’s use of _____ builds credibility because _____' to guide focused feedback.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'When might a speaker's body language or tone of voice be more persuasive than the words they are saying?' Facilitate a class discussion, encouraging students to provide specific examples and connect their ideas to the concept of ethos or pathos.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• Socratic Seminar
• 30 min · Whole Class

Body Language Match-Up: Video Clips

Show short speeches. Individually, students match clips to appeals and note body language cues like gestures or eye contact. Discuss in whole class how nonverbal elements boost ethos or pathos.

Evaluate when an emotional appeal is more effective than a logical one.

Facilitation Tip

When showing video clips for Body Language Match-Up, mute the audio in some clips to emphasize how nonverbal cues alone persuade.

What to look for

Provide students with a short advertisement (print or video clip). Ask them to identify one example of ethos, pathos, or logos and explain in one sentence how it attempts to persuade the audience. Collect and review for understanding.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should treat rhetorical appeals as tools students can practice using, not just analyze. Start with accessible texts students already trust, like ads or public service announcements, to build confidence before moving to complex speeches. Model think-alouds to show how to notice appeals in everyday media, and avoid over-simplifying by labeling every text as one dominant appeal. Research suggests students learn best when they create their own persuasive texts using the appeals, not just identify them.

Successful learning looks like students confidently labeling appeals in diverse texts, justifying their choices with evidence, and adjusting their own persuasive writing to include strategic appeals. They should explain why certain appeals work better for different audiences or purposes.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Gallery Walk: Ad Appeals, some students may assume pathos always manipulates audiences by relying on exaggerated emotions.

  Use the Gallery Walk’s discussion guide to point out how real charity ads pair emotional stories with clear facts about the cause, showing ethical use of pathos.

• During Body Language Match-Up: Video Clips, students may think ethos only comes from experts or celebrities.

  During the video analysis, highlight how a speaker’s eye contact or calm posture builds trust even without formal credentials, using the provided clip comparison worksheet.

• During Role-Play Debate: Appeal Strategy, students may argue logos is always the strongest appeal.

  After the debate, hold a reflective discussion where students vote on which appeals convinced them most, using the debate notes to identify when pathos or ethos was more effective for their arguments.

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Methods used in this brief

• Gallery Walk
• Socratic Seminar