COMMUNICATING

KPLI SCIENCE MINOR

LESSON NOTES
BY
SYLVESTER SAIMON SIMIN
SMD, KTTC
 WHAT?
• Communicating is a process of receiving,
spreading and sharing of information and
ideas.

Sep 8, 2009 SSS_JSM_MPKS 2

 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
• When describing an object, you can
communicate effectively if you:
– Describing only what is observed rather than what
you infer
– Make description brief by using precise language
– Communicate information accurately
– Consider another’s point of view or position and past
experience
– Get feedback

Sep 8, 2009 SSS_JSM_MPKS 3

 TOOLS OF COMMUNICATION
SYMBOLS MAPS
ORAL
GRAPHS DESCRIPTIONS

BODY
MODELS
LANGUAGE

COMMUNICATING
NUMBERS
CONCEPT
MAPS
WRITTEN
CHARTS LANGUAGE

DRAWINGS MUSIC

DATA TABLES

Sep 8, 2009 SSS_JSM_MPKS 4

 ACTIVITY 1 - DESCRIPTORS
• Do the following activity alone. After that talk to other
students and add to your list of possible descriptors.
• Obtain a set of sensory materials. In this activity you will
explore a wide variety of objects displaying several
different properties. As you observe these objects think
about how you would describe the properties to
someone else.
• Your task is to generate a list of descriptive words
(descriptors) that can be used to effectively
communicate what you observe (smell, feel, taste, hear
and see) to others. Keep in mind you are not attempting
to name the objects or describe how you feel about the
properties, you are just describing properties.

Sep 8, 2009 SSS_JSM_MPKS 5

 DESCRIPTIVE WORDS (EXAMPLES)
• SMELL
– Sweet, rotten, smoky, fresh, spicy, pungent, strong, moderate,
weak, lemony, oily, minty, moldy, woody
• TASTE
– Sweet, sour, bitter, strong, moderate, weak, rich, spicy, syrupy,
acidic
• FEEL
– Rough, smooth, feathery, slick, cold, hot, warm, rubbery, prickly,
sharp, soft, hard, furry, scaly, bumpy, oily, sticky, wet, dry,
moist,slippery, vibrating, jagged
• SOUND
– Loud, moderate, soft, high, low, medium pitch, sharp, dull, rattle,
ringing, muffled, clear, distinct, scraping, tearing, banging,
crashing, dripping, clicking, continuous, sudden, crinkling
• LOOK
– Colors, shapes, designs, shiny, dull, clear, cloudy, sparkles,
bubbly, bright, intense, continuous, interrupted, muted

Sep 8, 2009 SSS_JSM_MPKS 6

 ACTIVITY 2
• Look at the figure. Think about how you might describe
this figure to someone in sufficient detail so that they
could draw it from your description. The artist will need to
know what kind of line to draw, where to place them, and
how long they should be.
• Determine persons to be the artist and do the following:
– Look at the figure until you perceive it in a way that is different
from how you first perceived it. (There are at least 8 different
ways to perceive this figure.) The way you describe something to
someone else depends on how you perceive it.
– Carefully consider how you wil describe the figure to the artist
before you begin speaking.
– Without showing the figure to the artist, effectively communicate
to that person how to make the lines so that their completed
drawing looks as much like the original figure as possible.
– The similarity between the figures is a measure of the
effectiveness of your communication.

Sep 8, 2009 SSS_JSM_MPKS 7

Sep 8, 2009 SSS_JSM_MPKS 8
 ACTIVITY 3
4%
20%
Salt &
Vinegar
Cheese &
Onion
Plain Salted
50%

26% Smoky Corn

50 students were asked: What is your favourite flavour of

potato chips? The results were recorded in a pie chart as
shown. Convert the pie chart to a table, showing the number
of students prefering each flavour.

Sep 8, 2009 SSS_JSM_MPKS 9

 PRACTICE COMMUNICATING
• Talking while doing science activities
• Making entries in journals
• Recording and organizing data
• Comparing results
• Sharing findings using tools of communication

Sep 8, 2009 SSS_JSM_MPKS 10

 IDEAS FOR YOUR CLASSROOM
1. Place three objects somewhere in the classroom and
write description of one of the objects. Construct a map
of the room so that a person can find each of the
objects (you may wish to use a magnetic compass)
2. Students write what they are learning during science
activities.
3. Pick object in the room and describe it to others. Take
turns.
4. Communicate using various tools the questions: where
does it originate? Where does it go?
5. Gossip
6. Kidnap
7. Labels and advertisments.

Sep 8, 2009 SSS_JSM_MPKS 11