"If This Goes On..." Technology, Truth, and Happiness in Fahrenheit 451

Lesson 7
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ELA

Unit 1

10th Grade

Lesson 7 of 21

Objective


Analyze how Vonnegut uses rhetorical appeals to advance his central argument on censorship.

Readings and Materials


  • Letter: “I Am Very Real” by Kurt Vonnegut 

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Target Task


Discussion & Writing Prompt

How does Vonnegut use ethos, pathos, and logos to convey his message on censorship? Provide examples from the text and carefully explain your thinking.

Sample Response

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Key Thinking


Close Read Questions

Reread the first three paragraphs of Vonnegut's letter. What is the tone, and how does the diction contribute to that tone? Provide specific examples and carefully explain your thinking.

What does Vonnegut mean when he says he is "very real"? Why does he work so hard to establish this point? Provide specific examples and carefully explain your thinking.

According to Vonnegut, what does being American mean, and how does that relate to his argument about book burning? Provide specific examples and carefully explain your thinking.

Vocabulary


Literary Terms

rhetoric

the art of persuasion, including the study of techniques a writer or speaker uses to inform, motivate, or persuade a specific audience in a specific situation

rhetorical appeals

the three primary modes of argument that make it persuasive

ethos

a speaker/writer's appeal to their own credibility

logos

a speaker/writer's appeal to logic, used to convince an audience with reason

pathos

a speaker/writer's appeal to emotions to persuade an audience

Text-based

exploit

v.

make full use of and derive benefit from (a resource)  (par. 3)

consign

v.

to send or give (par. 4)

coarsely

adv.

in a crude or offensive manner (par. 6)

Homework


Prepare for a Socratic Seminar on "Part I: The Hearth and the Salamander."

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Standards


  • RI.9-10.2 — Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
  • RI.9-10.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper).
  • RI.9-10.6 — Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.

Supporting Standards

L.9-10.6
RI.9-10.1
RI.9-10.3
RI.9-10.10
SL.9-10.1
SL.9-10.6
W.9-10.9
W.9-10.10

Next

Engage in a Socratic seminar on Part 1 considering the larger themes and symbols in Fahrenheit 451 and supporting arguments with strong textual evidence.

Lesson 8
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Lesson Map

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