Performance Task:
Name: Date:
Goal: In the following performance task you will demonstrate how well you understand the
impact of rhetoric on argumentative texts and how evaluating rhetoric can allow for you to be a
critical consumer of information.
Scenario: You have determined a change that you would like to see happen at your school and to
make this change occur you need the support of your peers. To gain the support of your peers,
you will create an ad (print, audio, or video) applying what you have learned about the
persuasive power of rhetoric to convince your peers to support your proposed school change.
Task: Your task here is: to plan and conduct an investigation to determine which rhetorical
appeals are most persuasive to your peers at school. Then, design an ad informed by knowledge
gained from your investigation to persuade your peers of the school-level change you wish to
see happen that they should support. The challenge in this situation is to accurately determine
which rhetorical appeal(s) are most effective for your proposed change and implement these to
garner the support of your peers. After your ad campaign is complete, you will share your ad
with peers and employ your skills as a critical consumer of information to evaluate the
effectiveness of your peers’ ads (aka, arguments). Then, you will engage in discussion as to which
proposed school changes you will support and which you will not, using descriptions of rhetoric
employed in the various ads to support your reasoning.
Timeline for task:
Class 1 Determine the change you would like to see happen at your school
Investigate rhetorical appeals that are most persuasive to your peers at
school
Class 2-4 Design ad
Class 5 Post ads
Class 6 Class discussion of ad effectiveness
Self-reflection for unit on rhetoric
Resources needed:
 Class notes and other materials on rhetoric and rhetorical appeals
 If creating a print ad: poster board, writing utensils, etc.
 If creating an audio ad: recording device, computer
 If creating a video ad: appropriate technology
Success Criteria: See rubric.
Commented [SO1]: Impact of rhetoric seems confusing to
me. Do you mean the role rhetoric plays in argumentation?
Commented [SO2]: I am thinking that a few examples in
this scenario might help the students. Like just an (i.e.
change in start time, change in dress code…)
Commented [MTR(3R2]: Will they have been exposed to
creating effective “ads”? Also remember that they will need
exposure on how to create audio/video (whether it’s from
this unit or from previous instruction)
Commented [HK4]: I’m thinking about totally deleting this
part and just having students design an ad based on their
knowledge of rhetoric from class. The investigation aspect
of this PT seems to get into other learning objectives that
aren’t really being assessed in this unit. Thoughts on this?
Commented [SO5]: This is confusing and I do not think you
need it because if students can do their ad campaign will
show this. See later notes on rationale.
Commented [MTR(6R5]: I think you should eliminate it
because it is actually a different task.
I also wonder if the “winners” won’t be because of the ad
but rather because of the “proposed change”…particularly
given that there is not a consistent proposal across the
class…given they are HS students the “winners” may be
simply because of the change and have nothing to do with
the ad campaign.
Commented [SO7]: This is confusing to me. I am not sure if
you need this here.
Commented [HK8]: Do you think this section is necessary?
Commented [MTR(9R8]: I would leave it in as it allows a
structure for students planning
Rubric for Performance Task: Commented [SO10]: You do not have to do this, but
providing language for what each number is would be nice
(look at Moon’s example)
1 2 3 4
Commented [MTR(11R10]: Agree with Sarah
Investigation of Investigation Investigation demonstrates a Investigation demonstrates Investigation
impacts of rhetoric on demonstrates a developing understanding of an understanding of demonstrates a thorough Also, reverse the levels. Make 4 the first level that they read
peers limited/minimal rhetorical terms and appeals rhetorical terms and understanding of and 1 the last level.
understanding of and the ways in which appeals and the ways in rhetorical terms and Also what is the evidence that would allow you to say
rhetorical terms and rhetoric can be used as a which rhetoric can be used appeals and the ways in “thorough understanding”? Look for this subjective
appeals and the ways in persuasive tool as a persuasive tool which rhetoric can be instances throughout the rubric (limited/minimal is different
which rhetoric can be used used as a persuasive tool from developing how?)
as a persuasive tool Commented [MTR(13R12]: If you remove this part of the
Advertisement— Advertisement is Advertisement is somewhat Advertisement is aligned to Advertisement is strongly task this domain will also go away. I’m not sure what
evidence will be presented to allow you assess this … there
applies knowledge of misaligned to knowledge aligned to knowledge gained knowledge gained from aligned to knowledge
were no guidelines on amassing evidence and what to do
investigation gained from investigation from investigation investigation gained from investigation with it in the task directions
Commented [SO12]: Maybe instead of using an
Advertisement—final Advertisement is Advertisement is somewhat Advertisement is effective Advertisement is highly investigation, have students create a rationale explaining
product ineffective in using effective in using rhetoric in using rhetoric and effective in using rhetoric why they did what they did in their ad campaign. This way
rhetoric and rhetorical and rhetorical appeals as a rhetorical appeals as a and rhetorical appeals as a you can use a lot of these same criteria and I think students
appeals as a persuasive persuasive tool persuasive tool persuasive tool will be able to more easily provide you with the information
you are looking for. This idea of an investigation may be
tool confusing.
Discussion Seldom used Occasionally used Usually used Consistently used
Commented [SO14]: Is the effectiveness determined by
understanding of rhetoric understanding of rhetoric understanding of rhetoric understanding of rhetoric peers or you? I wonder if you can be more direct about
and rhetorical appeals to and rhetorical appeals to and rhetorical appeals to and rhetorical appeals to what you mean by effective? Compelling and engaging?
support one’s statements support one’s statements support one’s statements support one’s statements Used the rhetorical appeals correctly. Used a variety of
and make decisions as to and make decisions as to and make decisions as to and make decisions as to appeals…
which proposed changes which proposed changes to which proposed changes to which proposed changes Commented [MTR(15R14]: Agreed
to support support support to support Commented [SO16]: Consider adding more about how
they engage with their peers—professionally and
constructively or something.
Commented [MTR(17R16]: Again…look at the use of
words such as “seldom”, “occasionally”….these are really
subjective and add potential error to the
evaluation…instead focus on what is the outcome of
“seldom”, etc.
Unit Grading Plan:

Weight Assessment Assessment Evidence/ Rationale Detail

5% Formative assessments Goal of assessment: These are formative assessments Including:
which will allow the student to demonstrate evidence  Response to rhetoric (lower prep
of learning throughout the course and for the teacher FA2) Commented [SO20]: I don’t think I would include this FA
to accurately assess student learning. Specific details  Soapstone analysis (higher prep FA) stuff.
about the assessments themselves can be found with Commented [SO21]: Formative assessments should not be
the formative assessment section of the portfolio. graded, and Moon is pretty up front about how she does
not think people should get points for merely doing
something because it isn’t assessing learning. I would take
15% Exam Goal of assessment: The exam will be an individual Topics assessed: this out.
assessment which students will take after completion  Rhetorical appeals
Commented [SO18]: You may want to put a rationale for
of Lesson 8. This assessment will allow for the teacher  Rhetorical strategies each (this is what Moon’s example did and so I figure she
to assess student knowledge of key topics for the unit.  Analysis of rhetoric as a tool for wants it done).
persuasion Commented [MTR(19R18]:
Format:
 Matching
 Multiple-choice
 Constructed-response, with focus on
making and explaining informed
choices through an examination of
rhetoric

25% Rhetorical analysis Goal of assessment: Students will compose a rhetorical Frameworks or strategies used may include:
analysis demonstrating their understanding of key  OPTIC
topics through the use of frameworks/strategies for  SOAPSTone
analyzing rhetoric. The analysis will be assigned after  Joliffe’s
the completion of Lesson 10, prior to the performance
task.

40% Performance Task: Goal of assessment: This assessment will allow the Including:
Advertisement student to demonstrate how well they understand the  Investigation of effectiveness of
impact of rhetoric on argumentative texts and how rhetorical appeals
evaluating rhetoric can allow for them to be a critical
 consumer of information. Further, this assessment
builds on the learning objectives that students have
worked toward throughout the unit.
As such, this assessment brings together their
knowledge of rhetoric, rhetorical terms, and rhetorical
appeals and requires students to apply this knowledge
as a persuasive tool and then evaluate the ways in
which rhetoric effectively persuaded them.
 Alignment of advertisement to
investigation findings
 Effective use of rhetoric in
advertisement as persuasion tool
 Discussion to support advertisement
and decisions of which peer ads to
support
Commented [SO22]: You may want to write about their
ability to transfer what they know.
Commented [MTR(23]: Remove?
Commented [SO24]: Again, I think a rationale for why they
did what they did would be helpful.

15% Reflective Essay/ Goal of assessment: The goal of this assessment if for
Action Plan students to consider all that they have learned about
the persuasive power of rhetoric. Students will reflect
upon what they have learned about rhetoric and the
ways in which their performance task could have been
modified to appeal to other aspects of rhetoric. Finally,
the action plan students will create is intended to
support students in considering ways in which they can
be/continue to be critical consumers of information in
the real-world.
Including:
 What has been learned about Commented [SO25]: IF this is the same thing just give it
rhetoric through unit (big take- one name and explain the two parts in the goal section.
aways)
 Reflection on how advertisement
could have appealed to other
aspects of rhetoric
 Action plan of how student intends
to become (or continue being) a
critical consumer of information
Grading Purpose of grading Commented [MTR(26]: Probably want to touch upon
The main purpose of grading students is for a teacher is to be able to communicate what issues of giving zeros, not turning in work, etc in your “How”
section
a student knows, understands, and can do to the appropriate stakeholders (e.g., students and
their parents/guardians). While it is crucial for a teacher to be able to accurately determine what
a student knows, understands, and can do, I argue that this requires assessment, but not Commented [SO27]: Formative? Summative?
necessarily grading. Therefore, it is important that teachers communicate this information in
ways that students and other relevant stakeholders can make sense of.
Roles grades play in learning
As we have read and discussed this semester, earning good grades can be a motivator for
students; however, this may come at the expense of learning as students are more concerned
about the letter grade than the learning associated with said grade. On the other hand, for some Commented [SO28]: Great!
students, grades can be a source of discouragement essentially telling a student that they do not
know something, which can lead to students believing that they are not good at school and
discourage students in future learning opportunities. When I think of the number of times my
students asked if a particular task was for a grade or how many points an assignment was worth,
this suggests the ways in which many students view grades, not as a representation of their
learning but as their status in regard to school. Personally, I do not believe this way of thinking is Commented [SO29]: Great!
the way in which grades should be viewed. However, this is important to acknowledge so that
the ways in which teachers (myself included) use grades to communicate what a student knows,
understands, and can do can be aligned with the purpose of grading, rather than reinforcing
attitudes towards grades that seem to be common in schools today. Commented [SO30]: Throw in growth mindset somewhere.
With this in mind, there is a clear distinction between the roles grades currently play in
learning in many classrooms compared to roles grades should play in learning. Ultimately, grades
should support learning, as that is the ultimate goal of school. For example, formative
assessments should be used to help a teacher determine student mastery of identified learning
goals so that this information can then be used to support future instruction. While I believe that
formative assessments can contribute a small percentage to a grade (See Unit Grading plan), Commented [SO31]: See my notes on this above. You can
graded summative assessments can also be used to support learning. For instance, if students certainly keep it and see what Dr. Moon says.

perform poorly on an exam, this shows the teacher that the students struggled to master the
learning objectives or perhaps the assessment was not well-aligned to the learning goals and
objectives. Regardless, this provides the teacher with an opportunity to re-teach and re-assess,
improving her instruction and supporting student learning and mastery of learning objectives.
How I will grade and why
In my future hopes of being a pre-service teacher (PST) educator, I will be grading future
teachers. As such, I plan to implement good assessment practices that I have learned in this
course to support my students learning, as well as model best assessment practices that my
students will then be able to apply in their own classrooms. Specifically, I will have frequent
Commented [MTR(32R31]: I think at the high school level
a teacher may want to do this just to get the students to
engage. I argue though that there should be efforts to
establish a classroom culture that students see the benefits
of engaging…explicitly talked about. However, if the small
percentage remains I would strongly encourage you to
make sure that it did not lower a student’s grade (from A to
A- as an example) given the nature and purpose of
formative assessments.
Commented [SO33]: Consider adding more about how
your summative is worth more and why.

formative assessments to gauge student learning. However, I will actually grade students based
on summative assessments, such as a performance task, and will use rubrics so that students
have clear expectations set forth prior to the assessment. Using rubrics will support me in being
a more consistent grader as well as clearly demonstrating to students their areas of strength as
well as areas of growth. I will grade this way because this will make it clear to me as the teacher
and to my students what they know, understand, and can do. In turn, I can use this information
to guide future instruction.
Assessment EXEMPLARY (9-11) COMPETENT (6-8) DEVELOPING (3-5) UNACCEPTABLE (0-2)
Knowledge
through  Assessment is aligned  Assessment is mostly  Assessment is somewhat  Assessment is misaligned
Assessment with identified learning aligned with identified assessment items are with identified learning
Design: goals. learning goals. aligned with identified goals.
learning goals.
PERFORMANCE  Assessment measures  Assessment measures  Assessment only measures
TASK
understanding, understanding, knowledge,  Assessment measures knowledge and skill; no
(2x weight) knowledge, and skill, with and skill, with some mostly knowledge and skill, assessment for
a strong emphasis on emphasis on understanding with a little understanding understanding is evident.
understanding
 Assessment demonstrates  Assessment demonstrates  Assessment demonstrates
 Assessment demonstrates all of the most important some important qualities few or no qualities and
all of the qualities and qualities and components and components of the components of the
components of the of the assessment type; assessment type; some assessment type; missing
assessment type some minor components major components may not major components OR
may not be well-executed be well-executed or numerous components are
 If administered, the or obvious obvious. poorly-executed
information obtained
from the assessment  If administered, the  If administered, the  If administered, the Commented [MTR(34]: If address comments in rubric
could be directly information obtained from information obtained from information obtained from
translated into actionable the assessment could be the assessment would take the assessment would not be
instructional plans to translated into actionable effort to make into useful for developing
address learner instructional plans to actionable instructional actionable instructional
differences. address learner plans to address learner plans to address learner
differences. differences. differences.
 Clear evidence of growth
in understanding all of the  Mostly clear evidence of  Somewhat clear evidence  Evidence of growth in
assessment concepts growth in understanding of growth in understanding understanding assessment
throughout the course is some assessment concepts some assessment concepts concepts throughout the
displayed by the throughout the course is throughout the course is course is not demonstrated
assessment drafts. displayed by the displayed by some parts of by the assessment drafts or
assessment drafts. assessment drafts.
 is absent and/or very
unclear.

Assessment EXEMPLARY (9-11) COMPETENT (6-8) DEVELOPING (3-5) UNACCEPTABLE (0-2)

Alignment
 Unit assessments  Unit assessments Unit assessments
(pre/formative/summativ (pre/formative/summative)  Unit assessments (pre/formative/summative)
e) are strongly aligned are mostly aligned with (pre/formative/summative) are not aligned with one
with one another, are an one another, fit together are somewhat aligned with another, do not fit together,
optimal fit, and flow overall, and have only one another, fit together in and overall do not flow
logically from one to the minor lapses in logical flow. only in very general way, logically from one to the
next and have noticeable lapses next.
in logical flow.
Rubric/Evaluation EXEMPLARY (9-11)
Tool
 All criteria derived from
(2x weight) the targeted standard(s)/
learning goals
 Includes all relevant traits 
associated with successful
performance (not just
those that are easiest to
observe, count or score).  The scale is sufficient to
 The scale is sufficient to
accommodate a full range
of levels of proficiency or
degrees of understanding
 Language is specific
enough to provide useful
feedback as well as to
guide reliable scoring
 Written in student-
friendly language to
enable student self-
assessment
COMPETENT (6-8)
 Most criteria derived from
the targeted standard(s)/
learning goals
Includes mostly relevant
traits associated with
successful performance
accommodate most levels
of proficiency or degrees of 
understanding
 Language is mostly specific
and likely to provide useful
feedback as well as to
guide reliable scoring
 Mostly written in student-
friendly language to enable
student self-assessment  Written in a combination of
DEVELOPING (3-5)
 Some criteria derived from
the targeted standard(s)/
learning goals
 Includes only some relevant 
traits associated with
successful performance
and/or missing an obvious
trait
 The scale is altogether
The scale is sufficient to
accommodate some levels
of proficiency or degrees of
understanding
 Language lacks some
specificity that may hinder
providing useful feedback
and guiding reliable scoring
student-friendly & “teacher
talk” language, which may
inhibit student self-
assessment
UNACCEPTABLE (0-2)
 Little to no criteria derived
from the targeted
standard(s)/ learning goals
Missing many relevant traits
associated with successful
performance and/or missing
most obvious traits
insufficient for
accommodating levels of
proficiency or degrees of
understanding
 Language is altogether vague
and unlikely to assist with
feedback and reliable scoring
 Written almost completely
or completely “teacher talk”
rather than in student-
friendly language
Philosophy of EXEMPLARY (9-11)
Grading Statement
& Unit Grading  The philosophy statement
Plan is clearly described and
includes specific and
appropriate assessment
concepts to justify beliefs.
 The Unit Grading plan is
coherent, logical, and
strongly aligned with
recommended
assessment and grading
practices.
COMPETENT (6-8)
 The philosophy statement 
is described and includes
general explanations based
on assessment concepts to
justify beliefs.
 The Unit Grading plan is
mostly coherent, logical,  The Unit Grading plan is
and aligned with
recommended assessment
and grading practices.
DEVELOPING (3-5)
The purpose of the
philosophy statement is
described but there is little
justification based on
assessment concepts for
beliefs.
somewhat coherent,
logical, and aligned with
recommended assessment
and grading practices.
UNACCEPTABLE (0-2)
 The philosophy statement is
unclear and/or
contradictory.
 The Unit Grading plan is
incoherent, illogical, and
misaligned with
recommended assessment
and grading practices.