Objectives:

1. Students will develop an idea for a new cereal.
2. Students will effectively persuade others that their cereal should be made.

Several cereal boxes
Paper
Pencil
Overhead and markers
Computer with word processor and printer

Instructional Input:

1. Ask for student ideas about how cereals were created (ex. Necessity - to fulfill a need, to improve upon a current product, as a promotion for a TV program or movie)
2. Share with students the history of the invention Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. (see attached passage.)
3. Show students examples of cereals from other cultures (ex. Mueslix).
4. Tell students that the decisions about which cereals are produced is made by the cereal companies. They look at many ideas. They must be persuaded that one idea for a cereal is better than another.
5. Give cereals some of the basic characteristics of cereals: made from wheat, rice, corn, or other grains, etc.

Guided Practice:

1. Have students come up with several reasons why a company might choose a cereal idea. How do these ideas appeal to potential buyers? Would your idea change if you wanted to market your cereal to another country or culture?
2. Write these ideas on the overhead.
3. Begin writing a letter on the overhead (greeting, signature, etc.)
4. Review the parts of a letter.

1. Students are to create an idea for a cereal. Have several cereal boxes available for them to look at and get ideas from.
2. Students will write a persuasive letter to the cereal company stating at least three reasons why their cereal should be produced.
3. Have students make the final copy of their letter using the word processor.

Challenge:
Have students do research on the Internet or in the library to discover how different popular cereals were invented.

For those who need help:
Students can give their argument orally or draw a picture of their concept.

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