© 2008 Gatsby Technical Education Projects. This page may be copied solely for use in the purchaser’s school or college. /
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Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- distinguish between rhetorical statements, subjective statements, statements based on definition, and statements based on observation
- distinguish between primary and secondary information
- assess the reliability of secondary information from different sources.
Time required
20 minutes plus discussion time. The 20 minutes does not have to be during contact time.
Outline of the activity
This activity considers the nature of statements and the grey area between fact and opinion. Students are provided with a table of statements that they categorise between ‘Not true’ and ‘Predictions from this statement are certain’.
Students should be able to recognise:
Rhetorical statements – a statement in the form of a question formulated for effect rather than the expectation of an answer.
Subjective statements – a statement, that is based on a personal opinion.
Statements based on definition – A formal statement based on the meaning of something.
Statements based on observation – A description of what someone has seen.
Statement of persuasion – a statement designed to influence peoples’ opinions.
Primary information and data – from direct observations.
Secondary information and data – data and reported observations from other people.
Students should be provided with an opportunity to discuss their reasoning for their classification of the statements.
1 Use the Powerpoint slides to discuss the ‘Spectrum of truth’ and the background to the activity, including the different types of statements.
2 Issue the briefing sheet, which includes an activity to classify statements. Discuss the different categories into which the statements can be placed.
5 Follow the activities with a discussion, focussing on the reasoning that students apply to their classifications.
Believe it or not: briefing sheet© 2008 Gatsby Technical Education Projects. This page may be copied solely for use in the purchaser’s school or college. /
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Do you believe everything you ever hear? Do you understand everything you ever hear? Do you believe your own eyes? To ensure that you are not fooled by things you read and hear, it helps to understand that there are different kinds of statements.
Tick the columns as appropriate for statements in the table opposite. There are not always ‘right’ answers. Tick the columns that you think best fit the statement.
If you prefer, make your own ‘progressive’ table headings which allow you to make statements from ‘certain to be untrue’ to ‘certain to be true’. Find six statements to rank and discuss in your group.
Statement / Not true / A statement of persuasion which cannot be known to be true or untrue at the time it is made / A subjective statement - may be true for some people but not for others / Must be true and no observation is needed / Believed to be true from observations made by others / Believed to be true fromobservations made by you / Expected outcome of further
observation
Very strongly believed / Not so strongly believed / Very strongly believed / Not so strongly believed / Pre-
dictions are certain / Pre-dictions are not certain
Light obeys a law of reflection
The sun rises every morning
All triangles have three sides
The population of the USA is about 300 000 000
I exist
Other people exist
A universe exists
The moons of Saturn exist
The universe would still exist if there were no people to observe it
Big Brother is a TV show
Big Brother is a good TV show
Titan (a moon of Saturn) has hydrocarbon clouds
A stone released from rest near the Earth falls to the surface
2 + 2 = 4
Elephants are beautiful
Nuclear generation of electricity increases carbon emissions
Nuclear generation of electricity decreases carbon emissions
Neil Armstrong was the first man on the Moon
The Moon landings were staged in an elaborate movie studio on Earth
The solar system is about four-and-a-half billion years old
The solar system was created about 4000 years ago
The new Peugault 27XLi will give you the drive of your life
Oxycare skin cream gets rid of spots
Gravitational field strength at the surface of the Earth is 9.8 N kg-1
The pressure exerted by a gas doubles when its temperature in Kelvin is doubled
When we win the election we will cut taxes
© 2008 Gatsby Technical Education Projects. This page may be copied solely for use in the purchaser’s school or college. /
2 of 2
© 2008 Gatsby Technical Education Projects. This page may be copied solely for use in the purchaser’s school or college. /
2 of 2