Analysing persuasive text

3. Print propaganda

Required Resources

• A3 Plain paper
• Slides 9-12
• Student Worksheet 2

Delivery

• Brainstorm and revise a list of persuasive language devices. Use Slides 9 to aid lower ability students.
• Distribute A3 paper to students. They could work in pairs for this exercise depending on abilities and working space. Instruct students to mount Student Worksheet 2 on the landscape paper and allow enough room for an additional sheet of A4 to be added later. Students or the teacher should pick one emotion from either the 'ally' or 'enemy' section.
• Present Slide 10 to pose the question: What language techniques could be used to evoke this? Students should annotate the paper with examples of persuasive devices which could be used to evoke the emotions, imagery and concepts outlined on the Student Worksheet. The end result is an elaborated mind map.
• Distribute Student Worksheet 2 which presents a range of propaganda posters. Slides 11 explain how posters were used in the World Wars for propaganda. Ask students to attach the Student Worksheet onto the A3 paper and to review the image and text. Students should highlight specific details from the text and imagery that they think are relevant to the context and any persuasive techniques that have been employed. Students need to draw out specific details from both imagery and text to demonstrate how the features are being used to persuade the audience and to achieve the purpose of the text.
• On each example, they should annotate the emotions and ideas the reader is intended to think and feel. Feedback as a class and also discuss how the posters make the students feel.
• Slides 12 provide colour versions of the posters so you don't need to print the Student Worksheet in colour.

Differentiation

Lower Ability:

Allow students to refer to Slide 9 when brainstorm persuasive techniques. Mixed ability pairs will assist some students. You could review one poster as a class.