About This Worksheet
This Grade 7 reading worksheet teaches students how authors use logic, credibility, and emotion to persuade readers. The article argues that local governments should fund public skate parks. Students look for examples of logos, ethos, and pathos and consider how each type of appeal affects the argument. For example, a safety report uses logic, an expert opinion builds credibility, and a personal message to young readers creates emotion.
Learning Goals
The main goal is to help students understand that persuasive arguments often use more than one kind of appeal. Logos relies on facts and reasoning, ethos builds trust through expertise or character, and pathos connects with the reader’s feelings. Students practice identifying these appeals and judging whether they strengthen the author’s claim. This lesson connects with CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.8 and CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.6, which focus on argument quality and the author’s purpose and point of view.
Student Tasks
On this worksheet, students will read an article about using local funding to build public skate parks. They will identify the author’s main claim and highlight examples of logos, ethos, and pathos in the passage. Students then explain how those appeals help persuade the reader. The activity asks them to notice not only what the author says, but also how the message is designed to feel believable and important.
Common Challenges
Students often mix up ethos and logos because both can involve experts or reports. Explain that the expert’s qualifications build ethos, while the facts or numbers supplied by that expert may serve as logos. Pathos can also be confusing because students may think any mention of people counts as emotion. Encourage them to look for wording meant to create concern, hope, pride, or sympathy.
Teaching Suggestions
A teacher can write one example of each appeal on the board before students begin. During review, students can explain why a sentence fits one category better than the others. At home, a parent can use a commercial or short advertisement to practice spotting facts, expert voices, and emotional messages. Connecting the idea to everyday persuasion makes the terms easier to remember.
Worksheet Features
The passage includes clear examples of all three persuasive appeals within one short argument. Important terms are defined in the directions, giving students support before they read. The familiar skate park topic makes the lesson approachable while still allowing for serious analysis. The printable page works well for direct teaching, close reading, partner discussion, or independent review.