This week, sandy was out sick on monday and tuesday. Last week, Jared was out sick on Thursday and Friday. The week before, Elisa was out sick on Wednesday and Thursday. What generalization can you make about these three students absents? Can you make a second generalization?

A generalization is a broad statement or an idea that is applied to a group of people or things. Most o ften, generalizations are not entirely true, because usually, the pattern they see in the relationship of a certain group of individuals or situations does not apply. In our example, where Elisa, Sandy, and Jared got sick and were absent from school for two days straight, within the 3 week period, we can make the following generalizations patterns:

1) There is an outbreak of sickness in the school for 3 consecutive weeks.

2) The said sickness lasts for two days.