[IS.20 - Struggling Learners]

• Observe students while they are writing their responses for “The Times They Are A-Changin’” and help any who may need more practice.
• Circulate among students as they are working on Kelley’s speech to provide help where needed. Interact with the groups as they discuss the texts.
• Provide feedback on each individual’s written responses to help students assess their progress toward the goal of the lesson.

Focus Question: How is persuasion used to raise social and political awareness?

Say, “Political activism and rebellion against established ways are a thread that runs throughout the fabric of American life. In the previous lesson, we saw some examples of social unrest and political activism in the speech of Martin Luther King Jr. and in the words and spirit of ‘We Shall Overcome.’ [IS.12 - Struggling Learners] What are some examples of political activism and rebellions that have occurred throughout American history?” Suggested examples include the following:

• the Boston Tea Party
• the American Revolution
• the Abolitionist movement
• the South’s secession from the Union
• the rise of labor unions
• the woman suffrage movement
• the development of the blues
• the Roaring Twenties
• the beat generation
• rock and roll
• the civil rights movement
• the hippies
• the protests against the Vietnam War

Note: students may mention more recent examples, such as going green, animal rights, Iraq Wars, gay rights, and bullying.

Ask, “In what forms were these examples of political activism or rebellions expressed?” (physical violence; nonviolent protests such as sit-ins and marches; the Underground Railroad; books, editorials and newspaper articles; speeches, poetry, songs, movies, and television shows) Point out that various aspects of persuasion have been used as catalysts for change.

Part 1

Say, “Commentary on society isn’t limited to editorials and speeches. Lyrics, poems, novels, and drama have also played an important role. One of the signature songs of the rebellious 1960s was Bob Dylan’s ‘The Times They Are A-Changin.’” Have students read the lyrics and watch the video clip. Then have students complete the following by annotating a copy of the lyrics: [IS.13 - ELL Students]

• Analyze and interpret at least one verse of the song as it pertains to persuasion. [IS.14 - Struggling Learners]
• Include a concluding comment about what Dylan wants his listeners to believe.

Have volunteers present their responses to the class. Suggested examples include the following:

• He sings “. . . admit that the waters/Around you have grown” and goes on to say that it is a case of sink or swim.
• The changes taking place are all compared to ominous things: flood, a spinning wheel, a raging battle that will “soon shake your windows and rattle your walls.”
• The fading of an old order is occurring as “The line it is drawn/The curse it is cast.”
• A bitter humor is threaded through the lyrics in Dylan’s advice to start swimming.
• He invites writers and critics to “keep your eyes wide” for the changes that are coming.
• He advises politicians to watch their step because of the battle that will soon reach them.
• He warns parents that they can’t command their children any longer because they are walking a new road, one different from their parents’.
• He is saying that one order is fading and another replacing it, but that it will be turbulent and there will be social upheaval.

Part 2

Say, “The next selection is even more direct than Bob Dylan’s lyrics. It is a speech that was delivered in 1905 by Florence Kelley, a lawyer who lived at the Jane Addams Hull House, a settlement house for immigrants in Chicago. She devoted herself to trying to improve labor conditions.” Have students read Kelley’s speech and then complete the following:

• Write a journal entry that includes an example of each of the persuasive appeals: logical, ethical, and emotional. [IS.15 - Struggling Learners] [IS.16 - ELL Students]
• Conclude with a statement that identifies Kelley’s purpose.

Have students work independently, then share their responses in a class discussion. Possible responses include the following:

• logical appeal

o   “two million children under the age of sixteen years who are earning their bread”

• ethical appeal

o   establishes herself as a citizen deeply concerned about the well-being of children, referring to their “pitiful privilege of working all night long”

o   asks questions that indicate she believes children would fare better if women had the vote

o   indicates what women must do to help since they cannot vote

• emotional appeal

o   creates sympathy for the children’s situation by describing their plight, saying “A girl of six or seven years, just tall enough to reach the bobbins, may work eleven hours by day or by night”

o   calls the working children “little beasts of burden,” saying that they have been “robbed of school life that they may work for us”

• author’s purpose

o   to motivate women to appeal to working men voters

o   to free children from their working conditions

o   to support the enfranchisement of women

Collect responses to use as part of the Performance Assessment for the unit.

Part 3

Explain, “Paul Laurence Dunbar was a noted poet of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. One of his best-known poems is ‘We Wear the Mask.’” Read the poem to the class. Then have students complete the following:

• List specific words from the poem that are provocative and appeal to emotion.
• Write a conclusion that includes what they think Dunbar’s purpose was in writing this poem. [IS.17 - Struggling Learners]

Discuss the poem. Suggested answers include the following:

• Dunbar uses the mask as a metaphor for hiding true emotions with a false appearance.
• The phrases “torn and bleeding hearts,” “tears and sighs,” and “tortured souls” appeal to emotion and convey the agony of people who suffer inwardly while presenting a smiling face to the world.
• Dunbar’s purpose may have been to express the struggle of African Americans to survive slavery and oppression. In a broader sense, the poem indicates that appearances may be deceiving; many people hide their true emotions.

Collect students’ written responses and use as part of the Performance Assessment for the unit.

Extension:

• Have students who are ready to go beyond the standard look back through their readings and select two that they think are connected in some way––it might be in subject or tone or any other type of connection they might see. Have students research the authors and write a paragraph explaining how and why each author expressed political activism or rebellion.
• Have students who need additional opportunities for learning examine two speeches about women’s rights (see Related Resources) and identify the persuasive techniques each speaker used to raise social and political awareness.