Battling for liberty: Tecumseh's and Patrick Henry's language of resistance
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=72
A lesson plan for grades 6–8 English Language Arts
This lesson challenges students to think critically about how people resist oppression through the spoken word. By examining two speeches by Chief Tecumseh of the Shawnee alongside Patrick Henry’s famous “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech, students develop a new respect for the Native Americans’ politically effective and poetic use of language. The class brainstorms a list of speeches that students are familiar with and free-write about what makes them recall these speeches. After the teacher models how to complete a speech analysis, students read Patrick Henry’s speech, identifying techniques of repetition, emotionally charged words, metaphor, rhetorical questioning, tone, volume, and other qualities. Students respond to their initial notes about the speech to compare pre-reading impressions with post-reading thoughts. Once the teacher reminds students of the setting and situations for Tecumseh’s speeches, they brainstorm about the ways that translation and transcription might affect a speech. After hearing a translation of Tecumseh’s speeches, students discuss why the translator may have used certain words that we would find offensive today, to describe Native Americans. As students practice analyzing text for rhetorical techniques, they identify the key techniques, such as repetition, parallel structures, concrete natural images, concise sentence structure, and rhetorical questioning that are used in Tecumseh’s speeches. When students have completed this activity, they evaluate the translator’s affect on the speech. In groups, students compare and contrast Chief Tecumseh’s speeches and Patrick Henry’s speech, using the chart that they filled in as they went along. After a class discussion, each group translates a passage from Henry’s speech into the rhetorical style of Tecumseh. Once students have had the opportunity to present their re-writes to the class, they consider the implications of translations of writers’/authors’ works. Readwritethink provides links to helpful web and print resources for completing the activities in this lesson. This lesson plan provides links to several helpful web resources.
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
English Language Arts (2004)
Grade 6
- Goal 3: The learner will examine the foundations of argument.
- Objective 3.01: Explore argumentative works that are read, heard, and/or viewed by:
- monitoring comprehension for understanding what is read, heard, and/or viewed.
- analyzing the characteristics of argumentative works.
- determining the importance of author's word choice and focus.
- summarizing the author's purpose and stance.
- making connections between works, self and related topics.
- drawing inferences.
- responding to public documents (such as but not limited to editorials and school and community policies).
- distinguishing between fact and opinion.
- Objective 3.01: Explore argumentative works that are read, heard, and/or viewed by:
- Goal 4: The learner will use critical thinking skills and create criteria to evaluate print and non-print materials.
- Objective 4.01: Determine the purpose of the author or creator by:
- monitoring comprehension for understanding of what is read, heard and/or viewed.
- exploring any bias, apparent or hidden messages, emotional factors, or propaganda techniques.
- identifying and exploring the underlying assumptions of the author/creator.
- analyzing the effects of the author's craft on the reader/viewer/listener.
- Objective 4.02: Analyze the communication and develop (with teacher assistance) and apply appropriate criteria to evaluate the quality of the communication by:
- using knowledge of language structure and literary or media techniques.
- drawing conclusions based on evidence, reasons, or relevant information.
- considering the implications, consequences, or impact of those conclusions.
- Objective 4.01: Determine the purpose of the author or creator by:
- Goal 5: The learner will respond to various literary genres using interpretive and evaluative processes.
- Objective 5.01: Increase fluency, comprehension, and insight through a meaningful and comprehensive literacy program by:
- using effective reading strategies to match type of text.
- reading self-selected literature and other materials of individual interest.
- reading literature and other materials selected by the teacher.
- discussing literature in teacher-student conferences and small group discussions.
- taking an active role in whole class seminars.
- discussing and analyzing the effects on texts of such literary devices as figurative language, dialogue, flashback and sarcasm.
- interpreting text by explaining elements such as plot, theme, point of view, characterization, mood, and style.
- investigating examples of distortion and stereotypes.
- recognizing underlying messages in order to identify recurring theme(s) within and across works.
- extending understanding by creating products for different purposes, different audiences and within various contexts.
- exploring relationships between and among characters, ideas, concepts and/or experiences.
- Objective 5.01: Increase fluency, comprehension, and insight through a meaningful and comprehensive literacy program by:
Grade 7
- Goal 3: The learner will refine the understanding and use of argument.
- Objective 3.01: Analyze a variety of public documents that establish a position or point of view by:
- monitoring comprehension for understanding of what is read, heard and /or viewed.
- identifying the arguments and positions stated or implied and the evidence used to support them.
- recognizing bias, emotional factors, and/or semantic slanting.
- examining the effectiveness of style, tone, and use of language.
- summarizing the author's purpose and stance.
- examining the importance and impact of establishing a position or point-of-view.
- making connections between works, self and related topics.
- drawing inferences.
- responding to public documents (such as but not limited to editorials, reviews, local/state/national policies/issues).
- Objective 3.01: Analyze a variety of public documents that establish a position or point of view by:
- Goal 4: The learner will refine critical thinking skills and create criteria to evaluate text and multimedia.
- Objective 4.01: Analyze the purpose of the author or creator by:
- monitoring comprehension for understanding of what is read, heard and/or viewed.
- examining any bias, apparent or hidden messages, emotional factors, or propaganda techniques.
- exploring and evaluating the underlying assumptions of the author/creator.
- understanding the effect of the author's craft on the reader/viewer/listener.
- Objective 4.02: Develop (with assistance) and apply appropriate criteria to evaluate the quality of the communication by:
- using knowledge of language structure and literary or media techniques.
- drawing conclusions based on evidence, reasons, or relevant information.
- considering the implications, consequences, or impact of those conclusions.
- Objective 4.01: Analyze the purpose of the author or creator by:
- Goal 5: The learner will respond to various literary genres using interpretive and evaluative processes.
- Objective 5.01: Increase fluency, comprehension, and insight through a meaningful and comprehensive reading program by:
- using effective reading strategies to match type of text.
- reading self-selected literature and other materials of individual interest.
- reading literature and other materials selected by the teacher.
- assuming an active role in teacher-student conferences.
- engaging in small group discussions.
- taking an active role in whole class seminars.
- analyzing the effects on texts of such literary devices as figuarative language, dialogue, flashback, allusion, and irony.
- analyzing the effects of such elements as plot, theme, point of view, characterization, mood, and style.
- analyzing themes and central ideas in literature and other texts in relation to personal issues/experiences.
- extending understanding by creating products for different purposes, different audiences and within various contexts.
- analyzing the connections of relationships between and among characters, ideas, concepts, and/or experiences.
- Objective 5.01: Increase fluency, comprehension, and insight through a meaningful and comprehensive reading program by:
Grade 8
- Goal 3: The learner will continue to refine the understanding and use of argument.
- Objective 3.01: Explore and evaluate argumentative works that are read, heard and/or viewed by:
- monitoring comprehension for understanding of what is read, heard and/or viewed.
- analyzing the work by identifying the arguments and positions stated or implied and the evidence used to support them.
- identifying the social context of the argument.
- recognizing the effects of bias, emotional factors, and/or semantic slanting.
- comparing the argument and counter-argument presented.
- identifying/evaluating the effectiveness of tone, style, and use of language.
- evaluating the author's purpose and stance
- making connections between works, self and related topics.
- responding to public documents (such as but not limited to editorials, reviews, local, state, and national policies/issues including those with a historical context).
- Objective 3.01: Explore and evaluate argumentative works that are read, heard and/or viewed by:
- Goal 4: The learner will continue to refine critical thinking skills and create criteria to evaluate print and non-print materials.
- Objective 4.01: Analyze the purpose of the author or creator and the impact of that purpose by:
- monitoring comprehension for understanding of what is read, heard, and/or viewed.
- evaluating any bias, apparent or hidden messages, emotional factors, and/or propaganda techniques.
- evaluating the underlying assumptions of the author/creator.
- evaluate the effects of the author's craft on the reader/viewer/listener.
- Objective 4.02: Analyze and develop (with limited assistance) and apply appropriate criteria to evaluate the quality of the communication by:
- using knowledge of language structure and literary or media techniques.
- drawing conclusions based on evidence, reasons, or relevant information.
- considering the implications, consequences, or impact of those conclusions.
- Objective 4.01: Analyze the purpose of the author or creator and the impact of that purpose by:
- Goal 5: The learner will respond to various literary genres using interpretive and evaluative processes.
- Objective 5.01: Increase fluency, comprehension, and insight through a meaningful and comprehensive literacy program by:
- using effective reading strategies to match type of text.
- reading self-selected literature and other materials of interest to the individual.
- reading literature and other materials selected by the teacher.
- assuming a leadership role in student-teacher reading conferences.
- leading small group discussions.
- taking an active role in whole class seminars.
- analyzing the effects of elements such as plot, theme, charaterization, style, mood, and tone.
- discussing the effects of such literary devices as figurative language, dialogue, flashback, allusion, irony, and symbolism.
- analyzing and evaluating themes and central ideas in literature and other texts in relation to personal and societal issues.
- extending understanding by creating products for different purposes, different audiences, and within various contexts.
- analyzing and evaluating the relationships between and among characters, ideas, concepts, and/or experiences.
- Objective 5.01: Increase fluency, comprehension, and insight through a meaningful and comprehensive literacy program by:
