To Inform or not to inform; that is the Question.
Topic: General Purpose Statements
Objective: Students will be able to indentify different types of general purpose statements during an identification activity using information from previous class discussion.
Materials: Four different introductions of each of the types of general purpose statements and enough copies for groups of four will be needed for this activity.
Steps:
1. Explain to students the four major types of general purpose statements.
• To Inform
• To Persuade
• To Motivate
• To Entertain
2. Split students into groups of four. Give each group a packet that contains each of the types of general purpose statements.
3. Ask students to decide as a group which excerpt or introduction is which type of general purpose statement.
4. Once the groups are finish gather for group discussion and ask them how they came to the conclusions that they did. Some questions to ask may be:
• Were you able to tell by the title?
• Were there certain words or phrases that gave you a clue as to the type?
• What other ‘red flags’ did you find that helped you draw your conclusions?
Results: Student will decide what the general purpose statement of their next paper/speech will be.
Katelyn Klute
September 23, 2009