Lesson 7

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • “How to Start a Movement,” Derek Sivers, TED.com, 2010

• • “Inaugural Address, 20 January 1961,” John F. Kennedy and Ted Sorensen, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, 1961

Materials

Tools

• Analyzing Relationships Tool

• Mentor Sentence Journal

• Who Changes the World?: Rhetorical Device Note-Taking Tool

• Working with Mentor Sentences Tool

Question Sets

• Who Changes the World?: Section 1 Question Set

Editable Google Docs

• Analyzing Relationships Tool

• Mentor Sentence Journal

• Who Changes the World?: Rhetorical Device Note-Taking Tool

• Who Changes the World?: Section 1 Question Set

• Working with Mentor Sentences Tool

Activity 1: Read – Discuss

In groups, we will explore a mentor periodic sentence to illuminate how sentence structure can have a strong impact on writing and speaking.

Step 1

Reading like a writer involves studying how an author writes and determining why the author makes specific writing choices at the paragraph and sentence level. Understanding what those writing choices mean and deconstructing how the author made those choices can help you emulate those choices in your own writing practice and diversify your range of writing strategies. As you read the texts in this unit, use your Mentor Sentence Journal to compile sentences that stand out to you. These sentences may be interesting, or they may represent a strong example of a particular language use concept you have learned. You can use these sentences, as well as those from other units, to build a "writer’s toolbox," wherein you have a number of techniques at your disposal to use when writing.

A periodic sentence is a sentence in which an author waits until the last part to make the main point. The last word is often the most important word in the sentence.

Step 2

Read the following periodic sentences from John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address:

• Periodic Sentence 1: “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” (para. 5)

• Periodic Sentence 2: “To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support.” (para. 11)

In your group, choose one of the provided examples, and write it down in your Mentor Sentence Journal. Discuss the structure of the sentence. After you discuss the structure of the sentence, respond to the following questions:

1. What is the key idea of the sentence?

2. Where is the key idea located?

3. What is the tone of the sentence?

4. How does the author’s use of commas impact the tone and meaning of the sentence?

5. How could you use the periodic sentence structure in your own writing?

Summarize key takeaways from your discussion in your Mentor Sentence Journal.

Activity 2: Write – Discuss

We will use a mentor periodic sentence as a model for crafting our own periodic sentences.

Work as a class to write a mentor periodic sentence with your teacher.

Work in your groups or in pairs to write a periodic sentence about change agents in your Learning Logs. Share your periodic sentence with another pair or group. Then, share your example with the class.

Activity 3: Read – Write – Discuss

We will begin our close analysis of John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address by searching each paragraph for examples of alliteration, anaphora, assonance, and parallelism.

Previously, you learned the definitions of alliteration, anaphora, assonance, and parallelism. In a small group of your teacher’s choosing, analyze each paragraph of the text for alliteration, anaphora, assonance, and parallelism. You are not simply identifying examples; you also want to examine how the author used these structures to impart meaning.

Work with your small group and follow the directions below:

1. Using your copy of the speech, highlight one example of each of the four devices you discussed earlier and note what they are in the margin. Discuss how and why the writer employed these devices in the text. Respond to the following question: What was the writer’s purpose in using each device?

2. Write at least one example of each, along with a statement of purpose, in your Rhetorical Note-Taking Tool. Your statement of purpose should address how the author used the structure to illuminate or impart meaning to you, the reader.

3. In your Learning Log, craft your own example of alliteration, anaphora, assonance, and parallelism. Use the same sentence topic but formulate your sentences according to the mentor sentences you found in the speech.

Activity 4: Read

We will continue our analysis of John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address by analyzing the text for the speaker’s message on change.

In your group, use a differently colored highlighter to highlight words or phrases found throughout the text that denote the concept of change. Make any explanatory notes in the margin. Write down at least three of your discoveries in your Learning Log.

Activity 5: Read

We will further our analysis of John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address by applying our knowledge of the characteristics of change agents to Kennedy’s speech.

With another color, highlight words or phrases that represent the characteristics of change agents listed on the board. In the margin, write the characteristic.

Use the highlighted information from the inaugural address to think about the relationships within the text. To help you organize the information in a meaningful way, use the Analyzing Relationships Tool to answer the following guiding question:

1. How is Kennedy’s word choice throughout the speech meant to impact the reader?

For the first row of the tool, select, from the information you have highlighted, some words, phrases, or sentences from the speech that are most related to the guiding question.

For the second row, think about the ways the details you used in row 1 are related. Do they show connections between the main purposes of the speech and Kennedy’s language? Is there a clear pattern of thought depicted across the details? What is the overall meaning that can be inferred from the details?

For the third row, How do the details help develop the overall idea of the speech? How do they impact the tone or mood?

Activity 6: Discuss

We will solidify our understanding of the speech analysis, including understanding the author’s craft and purpose, as well as the characteristics of change agents explored in the text.

Join your group with another to form a larger group. In your new, larger groups, discuss the following question:

1. Based on the text, what is Kennedy’s position on each of the following ideas: advocacy, activism, and influence? Provide text evidence to support your analysis.

Then return to your personal definition of a change agent. Augment your definition of a change agent based on the information you gleaned from Derek Sivers’ TED Talk and your study of John F. Kennedy’sinaugural address.