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.

• Grade 9
• Language Arts
• 4 activities
• 35 min–50 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze the use of rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos) in a selected advertisement.
2. Evaluate the effectiveness of persuasive techniques, such as testimonials and bandwagon appeals, in a political campaign ad.
3. Compare and contrast the primary persuasive strategies employed in a public service announcement versus a commercial advertisement.
4. Explain how loaded language and emotional appeals contribute to the overall message of a media text.
5. Identify the target audience and intended purpose of a given persuasive media piece.

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.

Prepare & details

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.

Setup: Wall space or tables arranged around room perimeter

Materials: Large paper/poster boards, Markers, Sticky notes for feedback

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

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.

Prepare & details

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.

Setup: Flexible seating for regrouping

Materials: Expert group reading packets, Note-taking template, Summary graphic organizer

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

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.

Prepare & details

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.

Setup: Groups at tables with document sets

Materials: Document packet (5-8 sources), Analysis worksheet, Theory-building template

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

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.

Prepare & details

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.

Setup: Groups at tables with document sets

Materials: Document packet (5-8 sources), Analysis worksheet, Theory-building template

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

Teaching This Topic

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.

What to Expect

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.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

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

What to Teach Instead

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.

Common Misconception

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

What to Teach Instead

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.

Common Misconception

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

What to Teach Instead

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.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

After the Gallery Walk: Rhetorical Appeals, provide students with a print advertisement and ask them to identify one example of pathos and one example of loaded language, explaining how each contributes to the ad's persuasive goal.

Discussion Prompt

After the Ad Creation Challenge, 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 from their created ads or others they analyzed.

Quick Check

After the Jigsaw: Persuasive Techniques, show a short video clip of a political ad and ask students to write down the primary appeal (ethos, pathos, or logos) the ad uses and one specific technique employed to convey that appeal.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge students to create two versions of the same ad: one using mostly pathos and one using mostly logos, then compare effectiveness in a gallery walk with peers providing feedback.
• For students who struggle, provide a partially completed persuasive techniques chart with some examples filled in to scaffold their analysis during the Jigsaw activity.
• Deeper exploration: Invite students to research a historical or modern ad campaign and trace how its persuasion techniques evolved over time, presenting findings in a short multimedia report.

Key Vocabulary

Rhetorical Appeals	Techniques used to persuade an audience. The main appeals are ethos (credibility), pathos (emotion), and logos (logic).
Pathos	A persuasive appeal that targets the audience's emotions, such as fear, joy, or sympathy, to evoke a response.
Ethos	A persuasive appeal that establishes the credibility, authority, or trustworthiness of the speaker or source.
Logos	A persuasive appeal that uses logic, reason, facts, and evidence to convince the audience.
Loaded Language	Words or phrases with strong emotional connotations, used to influence an audience's perception or reaction.