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Analyze the Communication Situation

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Analyze the Communication Situation

Communication Situation

Whenever you read or write, speak or listen, you are communicating. Every communication situation has five parts:

  • Sender: The person or people who have something to say
  • Message: What the sender wants to say (topic) and why (purpose)
  • Medium: The way the sender communicates (for example, text message, video, story)
  • Receiver: The person or people who receive the message
  • Context: Where and when the message fits (what comes before and after)

For example, imagine that you want to ask a friend about science homework:

  • Sender: You, a seventh grader in seventh-hour Earth & Space Science
  • Message: Science homework (topic); to do the right assignment tonight (purpose)
  • Medium: Text message
  • Receiver: Your friend, Claire, who sits next to you in Earth & Space Science
  • Context: You missed the end of class because of an orthodontist appointment

You can use this technique to analyze any communication situation, from a text message to a billboard to a movie or play.

Your Turn  Think of a recent time that you read, wrote, listened, or spoke. Analyze the communication situation by identifying each part. Use this communication situation template.

Teacher Support:

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Answer Key:

Answers will vary.

Standards Correlations:

The State Standards provide a way to evaluate your students' performance.

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