English Teacher Fun Box
A carefully curated collection of resources that promise to surprise, delight, and engage.
What’s In This Month’s English Teacher Fun Box?
English Teacher Fun Box is a carefully curated collection of timely lessons and resources, designed to engage your students based on what's relevant and trending during any given month. You’ll have everything you need to make teaching exciting, impactful, and deeply connected to the world your students live in.
- Teach Argument With Holiday Songs — Holiday music is practically synonymous with wintertime, along with hot chocolate, snowmen, and sledding. But knowing what we know about arguments and rhetoric, these seemingly harmless holiday jingles are often packed with manipulative rhetorical devices, purposeful twists in language to pull at our heart strings, and subtle messages that are replayed for us again, and again, and again. This lesson bundle kicks off with a guided rhetorical analysis of “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” before prompting students to select, analyze, and synthesize their own holiday songs. This is the perfect student-centered way to teach argument and rhetorical analysis during the holiday season!
- Teach Argument With "Baby It's Cold Outside" — The song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” is incredibly popular every year, and it seems that each winter, a new rendition is released. (Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé? Yep. Lady Gaga and Joseph Gordon-Levitt? Sure. Brett Eldridge and Meghan Trainor? Why not.) Fortunately for us, the song is essentially comprised of two competing arguments — crafted by two speakers that either aren’t attuned to their target audiences, or are attuned and are simply tangled up in their flirtation. This lesson prompts students to analyze each of these arguments (e.g., Does she really want to leave? What case is he making for her to stay? Is it effective? How might it be strengthened?), to compare both arguments with one another, to engage in an intertextual analysis with other pop songs with similar rhetorical approaches, and more.
- Teach Argument With Starbucks' "Red Holiday Cup" — While the evolution of the Starbucks “holiday” cup is [arguably] a bit mundane for all of the media attention it gets, it certainly provides a rich context for rhetorical analysis. This lesson is absolutely brimming with engagement and rigor. In this lesson pack, you can expect four scaffolded handouts for conducting an analysis of visual rhetoric — each handout containing a different cup (designed for ‘jigsaws’ / diversified small-group work), a graphic organizer scaffolding the process of comparing and contrasting Starbucks’ visual argument with those made by a rival coffee company, and even a writing exercise that targets rhetorical analysis and synthesis across multiple articles written regarding the “red cup controversy."
- Teach Argument With Ariana Grande's "Seven Rings" — Ariana Grande’s hit song, "7 Rings," is ripe with rhetorical devices for our students to unpack. The song itself mirrors the melody of the classic hit, “A Few of My Favorite Things,” so we have Ariana Grande to think for the great opportunity to conduct a compelling intertextual analysis with popular music. Whether you’re looking to dive into specific rhetorical devices or close reading and word choice in general, this lesson bundle promises to deliver. You'll find a guided rhetorical analysis that includes excerpted lyrics with side-by-side questions for consideration (spanning six pages), guiding questions that hone in on examples of synecdoche, rhetorical questions, polysyndeton, asyndeton, aphorism, and more, a graphic organizer to scaffold students’ consideration of Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings” through the rhetorical triangle (speaker, audience, message, purpose), and a graphic organizer that prompts students to analyze Julie Andrews’ “My Favorite Things,” and to synthesize their analysis with “7 Rings"...!
- Teach Argument With Taylor Swift's "Lover" — Taylor Swift’s hit song, “Lover,” provides us with a great opportunity to engage in close reading and rhetorical analysis. What’s more, in this bundle, you’ll find resources for teaching rhetorical analysis using the SPACECAT acronym, understanding exigence, and identifying line of reasoning. This is a flexible lesson that can be adapted across grade levels; it contains a guided close reading that pairs excerpted lyrics from “Lover” with guiding questions for rhetorical analysis (spanning five pages!), a “SPACE CAT” exercise that prompts students to utilize the SPACE CAT (speaker, purpose, audience, context, exigence, choices, appeals, tone) acronym to unpack the lyrics. This exercise also includes guiding questions to scaffold students’ use of the SPACE CAT acronym, an exercise designed to assist students in understanding the differences between exigence, kairos, constraints, and purpose, a graphic organizer to scaffold students’ thinking as they identify the line of reasoning in the lyrics, a compare and contrast essay prompt that prompts students to analyze and compare two similar texts, and a second essay prompt that asks students to utilize the same texts to compose a synthesis essay (synthesizing the ideas and composing their own argument). Wow. So. Much. Good. Stuff.
What Was In Last Month’s English Teacher Fun Box?
English Teacher Fun Box is a carefully curated collection of timely lessons and resources, designed to engage your students based on what's relevant and trending during any given month. You’ll have everything you need to make teaching exciting, impactful, and deeply connected to the world your students live in.
- Teach Argument With KPop Demon Hunters' "Golden" — “Golden” has been at the top of the charts around the world, and has even set a record as the longest-running number-one song on the Billboard Hot 100 for an animated act. More importantly, the song’s popularity makes it a compelling text to closely read and rhetorically analyze with our students! This lesson bundle offers a line-by-line guided close reading, activities for intertextual rhetorical analysis, and a writing prompt to tie everything together!
- Teach Logical Fallacies With "The Logical Fallacy Playbook!" — We’re deep in the heart of football season, so what better way to teach logical fallacies than with the Logical Fallacy Playbook? The Logical Fallacy Playbook uses a structured inquiry approach to help students construct their own understandings of logical fallacies through examples prior to formally naming and defining the strategies. This bundle also includes playbook frameworks for rhetorical devices and literary terms — because once you experience the power of the “playbook” model, you’ll never go back!
- Transform Your Class Discussions With "Fantasy Talkball" — “Fantasy Talkball” is an AWESOME class discussion structure that combines the critical thinking power of Socratic circles with the perks of engagement offered by principles of gamification. The rules are loosely based on those utilized in “Fantasy Sports” (e.g. Fantasy Football), and provide a flexible framework for gamified discussion that is applicable to any content area or grade level. (Get ready to change the way you facilitate class discussions forever…)
- Teach Argument With Thanksgiving Inspired Texts — This lesson bundle was thematically designed to engage students with rigorous and relevant texts to analyze, compare, and contrast — awesome for the Thanksgiving season! This bundle focuses on three texts — the Mayflower Compact, Chief Powhatan’s Speech to John Smith, and Disney’s Pocahontas’s “Colors of the Wind.” Perfect to deliver in a three day series leading up to Thanksgiving, as a thematic assignment to tackle over Thanksgiving break, or as a compelling text-set for any time of year.
- Teach Argument With Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" — Teach Argument With “The Raven” — Whether you’re looking for a literary way to transition out of spooky season into November, you’re having a difficult time resisting the urge to Poe into your AP Lang class, or you’re simply looking for a new take on teaching “The Raven,” look no further. This lesson provides students a structured framework for closely reading and explicating “The Raven” with elements of rhetoric at the forefront of their analysis. Yes, the entire poem is embedded in the materials themselves! Yes, an analytical writing prompt is included! And yes, we’ve included a synthesis essay prompt for good measure!
Wondering What Was October's English Teacher Fun Box?
- Teach Argument With Taylor Swift's "Ruin the Friendship" — Taylor Swift dropped her newest album just days ago, and while some of her latest songs have stirred some controversy, the album is not without rhetorically complex arguments that promise to engage our students in close reading and rhetorical analysis at a high level. This lesson bundle uses "Ruin the Friendship" as a central text for analysis; it includes a comprehensive, line-by-line close reading activity, exercises for unpacking the rhetorical situation, a lovely activity for argument mapping (that can be easily extended to any other text your students may be reading), and an essay to tie it all together!
- Teach Argument With Pumpkin Spice Lattes! — Pumpkin Spice Rhetoric is Back (For a Limited Time!) ...Sound familiar? Of course it does. This lesson bundle prompts students to unpack, analyze, and compare a series of pumpkin spice latte advertisements before synthesizing their analyses in essay form. And, if you’re looking to make this engaging lesson even more memorable, brew a pot of pumpkin spice coffee and distribute “samples” to your students at the start of class. A little whipped cream goes a long way. (Who said rhetorical analysis can’t be absolutely delicious?)
- Teach Argument With Billie Eilish — Billie Eilish's songs, their themes, and even the image with which she brands herself are all “darker” than what we might typically expect in popland... but they're an optimal fit for October, and provide a wealth of compelling language for our students to unpack! This lesson bundle provides in-depth guided rhetorical analyses for students to engage with across two of Eilish’s biggest hits: “Bad Guy” and “Bury a Friend.”
- Teach Argument With Serial Killers — This is, in all likelihood, the creepiest lesson on TeachArgument. If you’re looking to engage and spook your students by prompting them to apply their analytical skills to the language of serial killers, look no further. If you teach younger kiddos and/or have a particularly sensitive bunch, you may want to peruse some of our less-creepy materials. But, if you’re still reading, you’ll be happy to know that this lesson bundle, albeit hair-raising, is incredibly engaging and promotes deeper reading. Students will analyze authentic excerpts from the likes of H. H. Holmes, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and David Berkowitz for rhetorical situation, purpose, and more.
- Teach Argument Trick or Treat: Horror Films & Candy Commercials — This awesome lesson uses a trick-or-treat-like structure for providing students a bit of choice (and a bit of fun) in determining which video clips they’ll be analyzing. In the spirit of Halloween, students will be shown a combination of trailers for horror films and candy commercials — to be analyzed and synthesized throughout the course of the lesson.
- The core of the lesson revolves around a corresponding PowerPoint Presentation (included). Students will have the option of selecting one of two doors, as shown in the graphic above. Once clicked, one of those doors will lead to a “trick” (i.e. a horror movie trailer deliberately chosen for what it offers in the way of rhetorical analysis), or a “treat” (i.e. a candy advertisement, also carefully selected with rhetorical analysis in mind). In this manner, your students will have the opportunity to “choose their own adventure” — and the journey will be different for every class!As students watch each short video clip, they are to conduct a rhetorical analysis on the corresponding handout (with graphic organizer). Then, at the teacher’s discretion, students will share their answers and/or discuss – either in pairs, small groups, or as a whole class. This process of “trick or treating” can be repeated up to five times (there are five sets of doors, and ten possible video clips for analysis).
- The lesson culminates with a reflective analysis. Students will be prompted to (#1) compose a paragraph that compares and contrasts the strategies employed across all horror film trailers and/or candy commercials, and (#2) compose a paragraph in which they reflect on their personal learning. Either of these paragraphs can be composed at the lesson’s end to provide closure, or can be assigned for homework. (Homework on Halloween? Booooo!)
Wondering What Was In September's English Teacher Fun Box?
- Teach Argument With The Comprehensive "Introducing Argument" Lesson Series — If you're looking for the best way to introduce argument, close reading, rhetorical devices, and synthesis to your students this school year, THIS IS IT! This comprehensive resource includes a four-pack of introductory lessons designed to ease students into some of the most complex and rigorous skills in ELA, in the fun and accessible manner that TeachArgument is known for. (Disney examples abound!!)
- Teach Argument With Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club" — Chappell Roan’s "Pink Pony Club" is a wildly popular anthem that's just begging to be closely read, analyzed, and deconstructed in our classes. The song offers a layered argument that explores of identity, freedom, and belonging, and this comprehensive lesson bundle invites students to engage in close reading and rhetorical analysis of Roan's vibrant lyrics and narrative voice. Students will unpack the argument embedded in the song’s celebration of self-expression and individuality, while also synthesizing it with broader popular texts that touch upon similar themes.
- Teach Argument With Teddy Swims' "Lose Control" — Teddy Swims' "Lose Control" has dominated the music charts for years, likely because of the compelling manner in which the speaker captures the raw intensity of love, vulnerability, and emotional surrender. Best of all, the song provides fertile ground for an engaging rhetorical analysis, offering students the chance examine how the speaker builds his case for the necessity (and danger) of losing oneself in love through close reading, rhetorical analysis, and synthesis.
- Teach Argument With Morgan Wallen's "I'm the Problem" — Morgan Wallen’s "I’m The Problem" offers a strikingly self-reflective narrative about personal flaws, accountability, and struggle. Students will analyze how Wallen crafts an argument that is a bit different than what they might be used to, as the speaker using rhetorical strategies to shift blame from himself to his partner ("If I'm the problem, you might be the reason"). This bundle is packed with exercises for close reading, rhetorical analysis, synthesis, and more.
- Teach Argument With Shaboozey's "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" — Shaboozey’s "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" offers an argument that is dressed up as a fun party anthem, but that ultimately opens up into a deeper exploration of how people seek connection and reprieve. Students will analyze the rhetorical moves within the song, evaluate the strength argument, and synthesize their insights across other related texts. This lesson promises to be a hit, whether you're focusing on close reading, rhetoric, comparative analysis, or synthesis.
- Teach Argument With Benson Boon's "Beautiful Things" — Benson Boon’s "Beautiful Things" is one of the most popular songs of the last year, likely because it profoundly resonates with themes of gratitude, fear of loss, and the importance of cherishing fleeting moments. This lesson bundle helps students to unpack how Boon builds an argument through a comprehensive guided analysis, activities for unpacking the larger argument, and exercises that extend their analysis of Boon's argument across other texts.
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