Or show a video clip of a story or television program and encourage students to offer generalizations about some of the characters. You might give the students a specific data collecting task, like recording what type of footwear students are wearing or listing some observations about the vehicles in the parking lot. Then ask students to construct generalizations based on their data and observations. Discuss whether their generalizations can be reasonably concluded from their information, whether different generalizations could also be supported, and whether they have an adequate sample upon which to base their conclusions. Next, present students with a series of facts from the curriculum that can lead to generalizations.
Tobacco smoke contains toxic compounds such as carbon monoxide, nicotine, tar, and formaldehyde.
Tobacco smoke can induce eye redness, excessive eye blink, coughs, headaches, and itchy nose in non-smokers. Studies show that infants under 2 whose parents smoke have more bronchitis and pneumonia than other infants. Students might generalize that secondhand smoke presents health risks for children or that adults should avoid smoking in the presence of children. Students might conclude that significant health risks exist for both legal and illegal drugs. The data might also lead to generalizations such as cocaine has the most devastating impact on users, but alcohol is the most expensive for our society.