Breakfast Cereal Rhetorical Analysis - AP Lang, Rhetoric Intro

This product is a FUN easy-to-understand way to teach students how to rhetorically analyze using breakfast cereals. Students will learn how to closely “read” a breakfast cereal for taste, texture, shape, andcolor, and examine the box artwork in order to discover the audience, tone, and message the cereal is conveying.

This activity introduces students to the idea of close reading and using part-to-whole critical thinking crucial to therhetorical analysis required by the Common Core standards, the College Board SAT Essay question, and the AP English Language and Composition course.

This activity can be presented through a 30-slide Prezi, PowerPoint presentation or student-directed with step-by-step directions. Students will be presented with a small sample of three different breakfast cereals (all three are easily found in the supermarket) and will discover how each cereal communicates its message through the surface features (color, taste, texture, etc.) This is easily equated to the tasks required to analyze a writer’s argument – diction, details, imagery, etc., and how each contributes to the overall message or argument.

This product includes:

•A dynamic 30-slide Prezi, PowerPoint presentation, and pdf stack guiding students through a cereal analysis with two engaging videos about the psychology of cereal in the supermarket and cereals that didn’t quite make the cut (link only works for Chrome - not Safari)

•Two clean, easy-to-follow graphic organizers to help students take analysis notes and plan a mini-rhetorical analysis essay

•Suggested answers organizer

•Optional mini-essay writing assignment

•Proficiency-based rubric for either the mini-essay or discussion

Thanks for taking a peek! And KNOW that your students WILL ask for seconds of the cereal (and thirds and fourths…).