English Language Arts · Grade 9

Active learning ideas

Media and Persuasion

Active learning helps students see how media persuasion works in real time, not just in theory. Moving through tasks like gallery walks and ad creation lets them experience rhetorical appeals firsthand, making abstract concepts tangible and memorable.

• Ontario Curriculum Expectations
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.6

• 35–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Gallery Walk
• 45 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Rhetorical Appeals

Students annotate real ads or clips with examples of ethos, pathos, and logos on sticky notes and post them around the room. Small groups circulate, adding their observations and questions to each display. Conclude with a whole-class share-out of strongest examples.

How do advertisements use pathos to create a desire for a product?

Facilitation Tip

During the Gallery Walk: Rhetorical Appeals, position students to move in small groups so they can discuss observations aloud, reinforcing peer learning as they analyze each ad's techniques.

What to look for

Provide students with a print advertisement. Ask them to identify one example of pathos and one example of loaded language, explaining how each contributes to the ad's persuasive goal.

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

Activity 02

• Jigsaw
• 50 min · Small Groups

Jigsaw: Persuasive Techniques

Assign each small group one technique, such as bandwagon or testimonials; they research examples and prepare mini-teachings. Groups mix to share expertise with peers, then return to home groups to compile a class techniques chart. Discuss applications in political vs. PSA media.

Evaluate the ethical implications of using subliminal messaging in media.

Facilitation Tip

For the Jigsaw: Persuasive Techniques, assign each group a unique technique and require them to teach it to their peers using clear examples from their assigned ads.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'When is it ethical for advertisers to use strong emotional appeals (pathos)?' Facilitate a class discussion where students share their reasoning, referencing specific examples of ads.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 03

• Document Mystery
• 40 min · Pairs

Ad Creation Challenge: Pairs

Pairs select a product or cause and storyboard a persuasive ad using two rhetorical appeals. They present digitally or on poster, explaining choices. Class votes on most effective and critiques ethics.

Compare the persuasive strategies used in a political ad versus a public service announcement.

Facilitation Tip

In the Ad Creation Challenge, provide a product or cause and set a strict 10-minute brainstorming timer to push students to focus on core persuasive strategies.

What to look for

Show a short video clip of a political ad. Ask students to write down the primary appeal (ethos, pathos, or logos) the ad uses and one specific technique employed to convey that appeal.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Document Mystery
• 35 min · Whole Class

Ethics Debate: Subliminal Messaging

Divide class into pro and con teams on subliminal ads; provide examples for prep. Teams debate structured turns, with audience noting persuasive techniques used. Debrief on real-world implications.

How do advertisements use pathos to create a desire for a product?

Facilitation Tip

During the Ethics Debate: Subliminal Messaging, give students two minutes to prepare opening points to ensure all voices are heard in the limited time.

What to look for

Provide students with a print advertisement. Ask them to identify one example of pathos and one example of loaded language, explaining how each contributes to the ad's persuasive goal.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with concrete examples students recognize, like ads or political clips, before introducing terminology. Use think-aloud modeling to show how you identify ethos, pathos, or logos in a text. Avoid overloading students with jargon early; let them discover patterns through guided practice. Research shows students retain persuasion strategies better when they create their own messages, so prioritize production over passive analysis.

Students will confidently identify and critique persuasive techniques in media by the end of these activities. They will articulate how ethos, pathos, and logos function together, and evaluate the ethics of persuasive messaging in different contexts.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Gallery Walk: Rhetorical Appeals, students may assume ads rely only on logical arguments (logos).

  During the Gallery Walk, have students use a color-coded map to track pathos, ethos, and logos in each ad, then discuss why emotions often appear more frequently in ads they examine.

• During the Ad Creation Challenge, students may view pathos as always unethical manipulation.

  During Ad Creation Challenge, require students to explain the ethical intent behind their emotional appeals in a short paragraph attached to their ad draft for peer review.

• During the Ethics Debate: Subliminal Messaging, students may claim persuasive techniques only affect others.

  During the Ethics Debate, begin with a personal reflection journal where students note their own emotional responses to a test ad, then refer back to these reflections when discussing the ethics of persuasion.

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Methods used in this brief

• Gallery Walk
• Jigsaw
• Document Mystery