English · Year 7

Active learning ideas

Ethos, Pathos, Logos: The Appeals of Persuasion

Active learning works because Year 7 students best grasp abstract persuasive techniques when they see, hear, and create examples. Moving between analysis and production keeps them engaged with Aristotle’s appeals in memorable ways.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS3: English - Rhetoric and Persuasion
• KS3: English - Non-fiction Analysis

• 25–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Gallery Walk
• 35 min · Pairs

Gallery Walk: Appeals in Advertisements

Print adverts and display them around the room. In pairs, students circulate, identify ethos, pathos, or logos on sticky notes with evidence, then discuss as a class which ads use all three most effectively. Collect notes for a shared anchor chart.

Analyze how a speaker establishes credibility (ethos) to persuade an audience.

Facilitation Tip

During the Gallery Walk, circulate and ask each pair to justify one example before moving on, ensuring every poster earns attention.

What to look for

Provide students with a short persuasive text (e.g., a letter to the editor). Ask them to identify one example of ethos, one of pathos, and one of logos, explaining briefly why each fits the category.

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

Activity 02

• Case Study Analysis
• 25 min · Small Groups

Sorting Cards: Rhetorical Appeals

Prepare cards with persuasive excerpts from speeches or ads. Small groups sort them into ethos, pathos, logos piles, justify choices, then test sorts with new examples. End with groups sharing one tricky card.

Differentiate between an appeal to emotion (pathos) and an appeal to logic (logos).

Facilitation Tip

For Sorting Cards, model the first card aloud so students hear how to explain their choices clearly.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'When is it more effective to use an appeal to emotion (pathos) versus an appeal to logic (logos)?' Facilitate a class discussion where students provide examples and justify their reasoning.

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

Activity 03

• Case Study Analysis
• 45 min · Small Groups

Mini-Debate: School Rules

Assign debate topics like longer lunch breaks. Small groups prepare 1-minute speeches, assigning one appeal per member. Perform for class, who vote and label appeals used.

Design a short persuasive message that effectively incorporates all three rhetorical appeals.

Facilitation Tip

In the Mini-Debate, stop the discussion at two minutes to highlight how speakers mix appeals, not use just one.

What to look for

Show a short video clip of a persuasive speech or advertisement. Ask students to hold up fingers to indicate which appeal (1 for ethos, 2 for pathos, 3 for logos) is most dominant in the first 30 seconds. Discuss their choices.

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

Activity 04

• Case Study Analysis
• 40 min · Pairs

Persuasive Poster Design

Individuals design posters for a cause, like recycling, labeling ethos, pathos, logos sections. Pairs swap to peer review balance and suggest improvements before final share.

Analyze how a speaker establishes credibility (ethos) to persuade an audience.

Facilitation Tip

When students design persuasive posters, require a 20-word justification beneath each image so they connect technique to effect.

What to look for

Provide students with a short persuasive text (e.g., a letter to the editor). Ask them to identify one example of ethos, one of pathos, and one of logos, explaining briefly why each fits the category.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach ethos, pathos, and logos as tools students already use daily, not distant concepts. Avoid over-framing them as ‘Aristotle’s rules’; instead, show how speakers rely on them naturally. Research suggests students learn best when they analyze real-world examples before abstract definitions, so anchor lessons in ads, speeches, and class scenarios they recognize.

Successful learning looks like students confidently identifying ethos, pathos, and logos in varied texts and using them deliberately in their own work. They should explain how each appeal influences an audience and choose the most effective combination for a purpose.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Sorting Cards, students may assume ethos only comes from famous people.

  Pause the activity and ask groups to swap cards, reading aloud the credibility sources (e.g., ‘teacher with 20 years experience’). Prompt them to notice how everyday roles build trust.

• During the Mini-Debate, students might argue that pathos always wins over logic.

  After each speaker, ask the class to hold up fingers for the dominant appeal, then debate which argument actually persuaded them and why.

• During Persuasive Poster Design, students may list facts without explaining their link to the claim.

  Before they finalize designs, require them to add a ‘because’ sentence beneath each fact to show logical reasoning.

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Methods used in this brief

• Gallery Walk
• Case Study Analysis