Know Your Audience

Warm-Up (5 min)

Read the same fact two ways:

"The mean global surface temperature anomaly for 2024 was approximately 1.45 degrees Celsius above the 1850-1900 baseline, exceeding the prior record set in 2023."

"Last year was the hottest year ever recorded. It was not even close."

Ask: "Which one would you share with your friends? Which one would you put in a research paper? Why?"

Direct Instruction (10 min)

Introduce the audience framework:

Who are you talking to? (age, background, what they already know)

What do they care about? (their lives, their concerns, their curiosity)

Where are they? (platform matters — TikTok is not the same as a classroom presentation)

Show examples of the same topic communicated to different audiences. Point out the specific choices each communicator made: vocabulary, tone, visual style, length.

Activity: The Audience Adapter (25 min)

Give students a single scientific concept (teacher's choice — a topic they have recently studied works best).

Students write three versions of a 2-3 sentence explanation:

For a 6-year-old — simple words, relatable comparison, zero jargon

For a classmate who missed the lesson — assumes some background, fills in the gap

For a social media caption — short, hooky, makes someone want to learn more

Students share their favorite version with a partner and discuss what they changed and why.

Gallery Walk + Wrap-Up (10 min)

Post the social media caption versions around the room. Students do a quick gallery walk and vote (sticky dot or check mark) on the one they would actually stop scrolling for.

Debrief: "The science did not change. The audience changed. That is the whole skill."

Assessment