ASSIGNMENTS AND PROJECT

INFORMATIVE OUTLINE for Group—Example on Environmental Topic

Here is the basic format to use to create your Group Paper outline. Other teachers may do this differently but I want to keep this simple and very easy to use.

Basic Information

Title: Save our Oceans! Topic: Pollution in the ocean

Purpose Statement: After experiencing this information, the audience will know more about three specific challenges our oceans face, and what can be done about it.

It’s a secret!

Everything above this line is for YOU and ME to know to stay on track. The reader(s) will figure this out on their own.

Everything under this line is what you will be writing and showing in PowerPoint.

Informative outline for Groups

I. Introduction

A. Attention Getter: (Open right up with it!!)

(Example: The oceans are dying. SHOW : Pictures of ocean wildlife trapped in nets, coral bleaching, etc.)

B. Audience Motivation Statement: (How will this affect the audience?)

(Example: So, did you ever want to go on a beach vacation, or go on a cruise? Have you ever dreamed of seeing the Great Barrier Reef in Australia? Then this speech is for you.)

C. Your Own Credibility Statement: (Why should we listen to your group?)

(Example: We have been researching this topic for the past two months, and several of our members have vacationed by the ocean or on cruises. SHOW: Vacation photos at the beach. What we found near the shore and in the water was shocking, so we thought before any of us take a monumental vacation to the other side of the world, we should try to make sure there will be a healthy and vibrant Great Barrier Reef there when we arrive.

D. Thesis Statement: (Make main body points into one sentence!)

(Example: Today we hope to illuminate the challenges facing our oceans and the solutions we’ve found to help with these challenges. We will first discuss trash in the ocean, how wildlife are dying unnecessarily, and then discuss a topic everyone has heard about recently, coral bleaching. We will then follow up each area with our solutions: cleaning up the trash, protecting our wildlife, and conservation steps we can take around our reef systems.

II. Body

A. Challenges

1. Trash in the ocean (Samantha) SHOW: Floating garbage; SHOW:

map of great ocean garbage patches

2. Wildlife dying (Michael) SHOW: Seal trapped in floating debris

3. Coral bleaching (Shernay) SHOW: Pictures of coral before and after

B. Solutions

1. Cleaning up trash (Zena) SHOW: Picture of activists cleaning up

2. Protecting our wildlife (Tom) SHOW: Pic of activists catching oil-soaked wildlife for cleaning; SHOW: Picture of release of marine mammal from tangle in nets

3. Conserving reef systems (Jedediah) SHOW: Scuba divers out measuring coral; SHOW: Artificial reefs created by sinking old oil derricks or ships

III. Conclusion

A. Closing verbiage (put on the brakes!)

(Example: We hope that, even with some of this grave information, you will still want to go on that vacation or cruise, or even go half way around the world! SHOW: Smiling cruisers or snorkelers

B. Restate thesis (Third time’s the charm--)

(Example: You have learned that we have serious problems existing in and around our oceans today, but there are also solutions. We hope you will join us in participating in environmental conservation wherever you go, and whatever else you may be doing. SHOW: Pic of someone working regular job with posters on cube walls of oceans, or something like that—maybe person in cube like “normal” but then same person with trash bag combing the shore line cleaning up junk?