KAKhaemenes AcademyEnglish 9 · Unit 6
High SchoolLanguage Arts

Term II · Weeks 16–18

Unit 06

Rhetoric & Public Voice

Introduce rhetorical situation, ethos, pathos, logos, claims, reasoning, fallacies, style, speech writing, and purposeful delivery.

Begin Week 16Unit OverviewAssessments

Essential Question

How do speakers use language, evidence, structure, and delivery to move an audience?

Text and Source Family

Public-domain speeches and essays by Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and other civic voices.

Learning Priorities

  • Read closely and cite precise textual evidence.
  • Write through planning, drafting, feedback, revision, editing, and reflection.
  • Use language conventions and vocabulary as tools for meaning and style.
  • Discuss, present, listen, question, and respond with intellectual fairness.
  • Preserve major work in the Grade 9 portfolio.

Extended readings · Weeks 16–18

Unit 6 required reading · The Council Poster

Original Khaemenes Academy passage for Grade 9; available offline.

A bright poster announced: 'Everyone supports the new playground.' At the meeting, several residents praised the plan, while others asked about accessibility and maintenance costs.

The committee replaced its slogan with a more careful sentence: 'Many residents support the plan; further questions remain.' The revision made the message less dramatic but more defensible.

Focus: Research. Read twice. Underline two specific details, explain how they support or complicate an interpretation, and write an evidence-based paragraph relevant to this unit's focus. Keep the paragraph in your existing portfolio; revisit it during Weeks 16–18.

Unit reading-response assessment · 100 points

After completing the unit reading, submit a response in the existing portfolio. Your teacher can use this rubric for feedback; this page does not automatically change your grade or mastery status.

Reading response scoring guide
CriterionPointsWhat strong work demonstrates
Comprehension20Accurately explains the text without inventing details.
Textual evidence25Uses specific, accurately contextualized quotations or details.
Interpretation25Explains how evidence supports a nuanced interpretation and acknowledges uncertainty.
Writing clarity15Organizes claims and reasoning in clear, precise language.
Revision15Demonstrates a meaningful change after review and explains why it improves the work.

Process: Read and annotate → draft → check quotations → seek feedback → revise → preserve both drafts. If a reading is a brief instructional microtext, also complete the course's longer assigned literature; the microtext does not replace it.

Three-Week Sequence

Read, analyze, compose, and demonstrate.

Week 16

The Rhetorical Situation

How do audience, purpose, context, and occasion shape a message?

sentence types and emphasis
Open Week
Week 17

Reasoning, Evidence & Fallacies

How can a reader test whether persuasion is responsible and sound?

transitions that signal reasoning
Open Week
Week 18

Speech Writing & Delivery

How does a writer compose language meant to be heard once?

parallelism, repetition, and cadence
Open Week

Performance Evidence

Four-to-six-minute evidence-based speech with rhetorical analysis.

Students submit planning, one meaningful draft, feedback or conference notes, the finished product, and a short reflection explaining the strongest revision.

Add to PortfolioOpen RubricsDraft in PROSE

Standards Emphasis

Measured through authentic work.

  • RI.9-10.4–8
  • W.9-10.1
  • SL.9-10.2–6
  • L.9-10.3–6