This is a textbook for an Argument and Rhetorical Modes composition class at the community college level.

Students use the 5 Ws (who, what, when, where, why, and how) to evaluate an information source and determine if they would cite it in a paper. This assignment is used as an information literacy exercise at the University of Tennessee Libraries, where students are given a New York Times column to read before completing the assignment in groups.

For a copy of this resource as it was originally given to students, go to: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0vtrPDaeiV6VFJUYUNzRGlfb00/view?usp=sharing. Results of the use of this activity were shared in an article published in the journal Reference & User Services Quarterly 53, no. 4 (Summer 2014): 334-347.

These lesson plans and materials are designed for high school students, especially 9th and 10th graders. The goals of these lessons are for students to review and learn more about figurative language devices, to compare and contrast poetry from different authors, and understand point of view in order to see that authors have different perspectives in their works. This lesson plan unit covers six different poems from local Emma Bell Miles and famous Henry Thoreau. Each poem has a video, presentation, and handout to accompany it. The lesson plan has been divided into two 50 minute class periods. The first class period is designed to introduce the students to the poems and authors using the various materials. The second class period is designed to cover point of view according to Miles and Thoreau and ask the students to compare and contrast the authors’ perspectives and experiences.

This lesson plan is meant to be a follow up to lesson plan one pertaining to Emma Bell Miles’ and Thoreau’s poetry. This lesson is meant to focus on the authorial Point of View that comes through in these author’s poetry. This lesson also discusses different literary periods from the times of these authors.

This lesson plan is meant to follow the structure of using the author background video, the point of view video, and then the handout. A good follow up would be giving the students a journal prompt to write about and expand on one of the topics from the handout. A longer project could be created where students present on one of the topics from the handout.