Persuasive Change
By:  Cathy Engel

Project at a Glance :

This project is for Honors English 2 students (9th&10th grade) reading the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. It will allow students to learn about modern advertising and connect it to the rhetoric in the play. The focus will be on helping a community non-profit advertise their services and/or a campaign to raise money and/or awareness. The unit will integrate multimedia presentation skills along with ELA CCSS standards of speaking and listening along with writing and persuasion. The project will run for 4 weeks.

Driving Question:

What is the most effective way to spread the word about a West Michigan non-profit organization?          

Standards:

• CCSS 9-10.W.1 a-e (write arguments that support a claim)
• CCSS 9-10.W. 4 (clear and coherent writing)
• CCSS 9-10.W. 5 (revise and edit writing)
• CCSS 9-10.W. 7 (Sustained research)
• CCSS 9-10.W. 10 (write over a sustained period of time)
• CCSS 9-10. SL. 1 a-e (collaborate discussions and working with peers)
• CCSS 9-10.SL. 4 (present information clearly and concisely) 
• CCSS 9-10.SL. 5 (strategic use of digital media)

Entry Event:

• Over the course of the unit (Julius Caesar), students complete a series of tasks t "Convince Engel" At first- it was simple: What dish should Miss Engel order at a restaurant?
• The next task was to take the first one and add rhetorical devices to their persuasion.
• Lastly, they had to create an elevator pitch to get me to choose their dish.
• On launch day, students  teams, pitched their ideas to one another and chose the BEST one to present to the class and teacher. The winning team got a small prize. 
• After students convinced me to order food, students then got to explore the small ways they can already make a difference for a non-profit. Which included decorating bags for Kids Food Basket!

Stakeholders:

• Local Organizations such as: Kids Food Basket, Boys and Girls Club, WinWO, Panther Fund, Harbor Humane, Hope Pkgs Inc, Outdoor Discovery Center, Community Action House, Resilience, Foster the Family, Habitat for Humanity, Caroline's PEACH, and Gateway Mission

Empathy Building:

• Stakeholder Map​​

• Empathy Map​

Inquiry / Need to Knows:

•  Allow students time to work with their organizations on the issues their groups are working on. 
• Have students identify the gaps that may exist with information available to people. 
• Touchstone Tour
• Innovators Compass
• Speedboat - what is holding the organization back?

Incubation:

• Use the 100 ideas protocol along with the Rule of Thirds to get out as many solution ideas as possible.
• After investigation, students worked through brainstorming by using 3-12-3. They created lists of what they would like to see as a solution, then learned about it, did a bit more investigation, and created a short pitch for their team. Lastly, they pitched their ideas to their teams.  Once all team members pitched, they discussed each idea's pros and cons. Then chose 2 advertisements to perfect to later pitch to the teacher.​
  

Checking in:

• Students will complete multiple reflections as they work through the unit. These will include topics that show the teacher what they are learning, while also reflecting on how they work as a team. 
• Utilize two formal reflections and one informal reflection each week of the project.
• Pluses and Deltas

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Solution Building: 

• Yes, and Can It  . . . Once students had the basic solution ideas, we wanted to dig deeper into what it could look like. Using Yes, and Can It allowed students to not only use the information from the investigation stage to develop a thoughtful solution, but to add their own personal touch to the advertising. 

Critique and Revision: 

• Elevator Pitch -  Students pitched their ideas to the teacher and with some guidance, narrowed the ideas to fit the time constraints, and they went into creation mode.
• Two Stars and A Wish - students met with other teams to give and receive feedback in the form of two stars and a wish.

Final Presentation:

• On the last day before exams, students presented their solutions. Due to timing, we were unable to get authentic audiences in. Presentations exceeded expectations,  students not only created mock-ups of their ads, but some went as far as filming ads, recording jingles, and printing business cards.  After presentations, students sent their final products to the non-profits. 

Click here for teacher's full plan.

​Reflection and Feedback:
     "The students (and parents) had instant buy-in. They were so excited to work with groups in their community and to have their voices be heard.  Students were apprehensive at first to reach out to the non-profits, but with some coaching and the positive responses, they were excited to share what they created with their contacts.  The projects were creative and insightful. The students put a lot of work in and it showed in their final products. They took the choice part of the unit to heart and created some unique things I would have never thought of."
​    ~ Cathy Engel, Educator

Click here for the teacher's Journey through PBL on Padlet . . .

Meet the Educator:

Cathy Engel teaches AP Lang at West Ottawa High School.

"PBL helps me bridge the gap between curriculum and the real-world."