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Since the first atomic bomb was dropped by America on Hiroshima, Japan, nuclear warheads have had a significant impact on humanity. Language associated with nuclear warfare, of course, is incredibly powerful — especially when coming from American presidents.
This lesson bundle asks students to conduct a close reading and rhetorical analysis of several statements and speeches, from Truman to Eisnehower to JFK. Each speech varies with regard to speaker, audience, message, and purpose — with several critical common threads (i.e. a U.S. president publicly discussing nuclear arms). The lesson culminates with an intertextual synthesis exercise that prompts students to bring Trump’s remarks on nuclear war and North Korea into the fold.
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Lesson Description
Wondering what you can expect from this 20+ page lesson bundle? Have no fear — your answers are here:
- A structured framework that prompts students to annotate Truman’s statement, and that requires students to engage with selected excerpts from the text
- A more open-ended framework to place a greater responsibility on students for identifying textual evidence from a second text — speeches by either Eisenhower or JFK
- A prompt for intertextual analysis that asks students to identify and unpack connections between Trump and the other texts they read/analyzed
- All of the speeches and statements, cleanly formatted for easy printing and distribution
Join the TeachArgument Community to gain instant access to ALL of our resources (including this one!) — or — grab this lesson a la carte for only $4.99!
Lesson Features
| Grades | 9 - 12 |
| Focus | Rhetorical Analysis, Compare & Contrast, Close Reading |
