Situation, Purpose, Audience, Mode On-Demand Writing tasks Finding the SPAM Situation, Purpose, Audience, Mode On-Demand Writing tasks
Situation – the event that prompts the need to communicate/write. Read the prompts and locate the SPAM (Situation, Purpose, Audience, Mode) in each prompt. Situation – the event that prompts the need to communicate/write. Purpose – To persuade, to narrate an event, to respond to a text/graphic/chart – Audience – To whom you are writing. Underline it. Mode – letter, feature article, editorial, or speech. (Put parenthesis around it.) Draw a box around it. Circle it.
Situation: Has cursing gone overboard Situation: Has cursing gone overboard? Some signs suggest the answer is yes. States and cities are beginning to enforce anti-obscenity rules that have been ignored for decades. In 1999, for example, a young canoeist in Michigan was given a 90-day jail sentence and a $100 fine for cursing. He had fallen out of his canoe and let out a scream of obscenities within earshot of a family. Task: Write an editorial for the Messenger-Inquirer in which you take a position on the answer to the question: Has cursing gone overboard? Give reasons for your position on this topic, and be sure to include supporting details.
Situation: Public-school students in Maryland are required to do 75 hours of community service during their middle and high school years in order to get their high school diplomas. A growing number of school districts across the country are deciding to require the same thing from their students. Task: Write an editorial for the Messenger-Inquirer in which you respond to the information above. Should community service be a graduation requirement? Give reasons to support your position.
Situation: Each year, students who work hard on their CATS test are rewarded with various special activities, such as an after school dance, a particular field trip, or homework passes. The celebration is planned by a special committee, which is made up of parents, teachers, and students. In order to get as much input from students about what they want the celebration to consist of, Mrs. Rich has asked all students to write a letter to the committee with suggestions. Only the best suggestions will be used. Task: Write a letter to the CATS committee suggesting activities that you would like to see as a part of the day of celebration after the CATS test. Remember that only the best ideas will be considered, so be sure to include why you think your ideas are the best.
Situation: Your school newspaper is seeking student writing addressing immediate issues and current concerns of teens in public schools. Task: Think of a school related issue that you and your peers care about: longer breaks between classes beginning classes later in the day offering an alternative year-round schedule going to a block schedule having a longer lunch break Choose one of the topics above, or one of your own, and write a letter to your site-based council that clearly expresses your topic of concern. Include specific examples of support and offer suggestions. Persuade the council to make any changes you think are necessary.
Situation: Kentucky’s state legislatures are concerned about the issues surrounding the CATS assessment for Kentucky students. The state is proposing new guidelines and revisions to be made to the state’s educational assessment program. Task: Write a letter to the state legislatures voicing your opinions about the CATS assessment. Be sure to offer suggestions for improvement or change to the state’s educational assessment program.
Situation: At lunch each day, students are forced to sit at a table with only children from their homeroom. Many students want to be able to sit at other places with friends. Task: Write a letter to the principal persuading him to allow students to sit with friends at different tables in the cafeteria.
Situation: The principal at your school has been noticing that students have been mean to other students by teasing them or leaving them out. Task: Write an article for the school newspaper narrating a time a classmate teased you or left you out. Identify things you did or could have done to stand up for yourself.
Situation: What do you find yourself doing in your spare time Situation: What do you find yourself doing in your spare time? Do you spend most of your evening playing video games? Students often spend a large portion of their time in front of a television playing video games. Task: Write an editorial for the local newspaper explaining why parents should or should not limit the amount of time spent playing video games.
Situation: There has been a lot of research recently suggesting that when students are separated by gender (all boy or all girl classes) that their test scores and overall achievement goes up. Our school board is reviewing this information and discussing trying same sex classes in our middle school. Task: As a middle school student, write a letter to the school board that discusses what you see as advantages or disadvantages of trying gender-based classes in your school.
Situation: The SBDM council (site-based decision making council) at your high school is considering a policy that would mandate that if a student misses 20 days a semester, that student automatically fails. Task: Write a speech that you would deliver at a SBDM meeting that would support or refute this proposal.