October 23, 2015

Elevator Pitch

After students have selected a topic for their technical report but before they write the proposal memo, introduce the proposal assignment with an elevator pitch. Students imagine that they have 1-2 minutes to persuade their target audience to approve their research topic. The objective of this activity is to create a concise argument. My students work on the report in teams, so this is a team activity. However, it could be adapted easily for individual students; it would just take more time in class.

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August 18, 2014

Fish Hook

This activity is best when students are developing their first research essay and after audience consideration has been discussed.

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August 18, 2014

The Rhetoric of Infomercials

“This is a in-class activity. I usually use this activity before a rhetorical analysis unit or an oral presentation unit. This is activity is a good way of teaching the different strategies for persuading an audience. The interactive nature of this activity creates a very energetic beginning to any unit.”

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August 18, 2014

Description and Summary Practice

“This is a classroom activity. I usually use this activity before a unit designed to teach either summary or description. This activity is a good way to help students develop vocabulary, a vocabulary that will help them be much more conscientious writers. The interactive nature of this activity creates a very energetic beginning to any written unit.”

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August 18, 2014

I-Search Research and Reading

“This is a computer lab activity. Whenever you have students do any type of research this activity can be useful way of helping them find interesting questions to research. The activity teaches students that to perform research one must have a question in mind, questions that require rigorous pursuit of knowledge. This activity also invites students to share their ideas with each other which can help foster a community within the classroom.”

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