Using Kenobi's Death Clip to Teach Using Rhetorical Appeals

[Matthew Applebee]

Hello Rogues, 

I just recently came up with a lesson, and I figured I would share it with all of you. 

The lesson is an assignment that is designed to transition the students from identification and analysis of rhetorical appeals and devices to beginning to purposely use them in their own writing. In order to model this concept for them, I am going to show the A New Hope clip of the dual between Vader and Obi-Wan leading all the way up to Ben's death. I will then review the definition of a eulogy with them and go over how they will be writing a eulogy for either Julius Caesar, Brutus, or Cassius from The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. I will then show students an example of a eulogy I wrote for Obi-Wan Kenobi from the perspective of a post-Battle of Yavin Luke. Students would then be given a few days to write their eulogy (using mine as an example) before presenting them as short speeches during class. 

While I have the students writing eulogies for characters from Caesar, you could just as easily have students write a eulogy for a fictional character they love who has passed. I think doing so may actually increase student interest. I will try to report back once I have tried the lesson out with my students. 

If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to contact me. I am always open to revising a lesson, and I would be more than willing to work with any of you. 

Thank you all and have a blessed week!

Matt Applebee

[Matthew Applebee]

Since posting this assignment, my students have turned in the assignment. They greatly enjoyed the assignment, and they produced some pretty good work, too. I did adjust the assignment, so they could write about any fictional character or real life person as long as they had died. Since we are clearly interested in Star Wars, I asked two of my students who eulogized Star Wars characters if I could post their work as examples. With their permission, here is there work. 

I hope you enjoy the assignment. 

Matt Applebee

[Marisa Meeks]

This is fantastic!! What a great way to reach your students!!