So much of our current task in teaching writing is to ask students to expand upon their thinking, first outlining their ideas diagrammatically or in bullet-point format, and then expanding upon it in essay form. This is an essential skill irrespective of our future profession. Every person needs to be able to communicate with other people to make their needs and wants known as efficiently and productively as possible. This is essentially achieved through verbal or written communication. There are times, however, when condensing information into an advertisement can be an extremely useful tool to have.
Advertising essentially is an attempt to impart as much instantly recognizable information as possible to the viewer in the shortest amount of time. Instantly recognizable forms of this might be the apple for Apple Computer products, or the Nike symbol. They attempt, successfully, to impart a wide range of ideas to the consumer purely symbolically without recourse to words. The following is an interesting lesson to impart these ideas:
PROJECT – CONDENSING INFORMATION
This unit includes spending time looking at, and discussing, print and television advertisements. Topics covered could include effectiveness of message, how easy it is to remember a message, colors used and their importance, and target audience.
Lesson for children:
Your task is to develop symbols to represent the following concepts:
(1) A shared vehicle concept – similar to renting a car, but people join the
organization, and usually use the vehicles for short periods of time.
(2) A shared pet company – A shop where people go to find a pet to share with
other people with like interests.
(3) Insta-story – a shop where you can go and hear an original story meant to
include you.
(4) Connect – a shop where you can go and play video games with someone else.
(5) Planet Coffee – an evening café where you can watch the stars in the evening
sky, learn more about them, and have a cup of coffee.
(6) A place to book your own space travel ticket.
(7) I.Q. – a shop where you can have your I.Q. tested while you eat lunch.
(8) Mention – a shop where you can get a multi-media presentation made of
yourself for friends, jobs etc.
(9) Chess- a diner catering to lovers of chess
(10) Hamster – a place where you can run on a giant hamster wheel.
Children present their drawings to the class giving supporting detail for their choice of symbols and colors. This can be done in a report to class and/or a group share and respond model.