SL.8.4: Presenting Claims and Findings with Sound Reasoning
In plain English: SL.8.4 is the Common Core grade 8 ELA standard that asks students to present claims and findings so the most important points stand out, in a focused, coherent talk built on relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning and well-chosen details. It also asks for appropriate eye contact, adequate volume and clear pronunciation. It builds on SL.7.4 and leads to SL.9-10.4.
Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy · Domain: Speaking and Listening Standards · Cluster: Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas · Official standard
In grade 7, students learned to make their main points stand out with pertinent facts, descriptions and examples. SL.8.4 raises the bar on the support itself: a presenter's claims and findings must rest on relevant evidence (evidence that bears on the claim), sound valid reasoning (the conclusion really follows from the findings and goes no further) and well-chosen details (the few specifics that help listeners see why the point matters). A claim is what the presenter wants listeners to accept; a finding is something the presenter found out by counting, measuring, surveying or reading. Salient points are the few points listeners must remember, and the talk must stay focused (every part serves the claim) and coherent (each part leads to the next). The standard also asks for appropriate eye contact, adequate volume and clear pronunciation.
Two model presentations written for this page, with invented students and data, carry the lesson. In Model Presentation A, an eighth grader reports her class's counts of idling cars in the school pickup line and asks the site council for permanent signs; it shows strong choices, including a reasoning check, and Table 1 holds the data. In Model Presentation B, an eighth grader reports his class's experiment on two ways to study vocabulary; it mixes strong and weak choices and is the basis of the quiz. Because the page cannot play sound, bracketed notes in each transcript describe the delivery. Students also connect the lesson to SL.8.3: every choice they make as presenters is one a careful listener will test.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
Present a claim and the findings behind it, stating both in the opening and returning to them in the conclusion
Support each salient point with relevant evidence and one or two well-chosen details, and cut details that do not serve the claim
Use sound valid reasoning: check for other explanations and draw a conclusion that goes no further than the findings
Use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume and clear pronunciation, and give a classmate specific feedback on each
Prior Knowledge Required
Students should already be comfortable with:
Presenting claims and findings with salient points and pertinent facts and details SL.7.4
Evaluating a speaker's reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence SL.7.3
Finding a percent of a quantity as a rate per 100 6.RP.A.3
"A classmate says, 'We tried a new warm-up before soccer practice, and we won our next game, so the new warm-up makes us win.' Would you believe the conclusion? What would you ask before you did?"
Take a few answers. Students will ask whether the other team was weak, whether it was one game only, and whether anything else changed. Write sound valid reasoning on the board: a presenter's conclusion must follow from the findings and must not go further than they do. Today students learn to build presentations that pass the tests they learned as listeners in SL.8.3.
Direct Instruction20 minutes
Part 1: The words of the standard. Students keep this table for the activities and the homework.
The words of SL.8.4
Term
What it means
What a presenter does
Claim and findings
What you want listeners to accept, and what you found out that backs it
Say both in the opening, before any story
Salient points
The two or three points listeners must remember
State each one, prove it, and repeat it at the end
Focused and coherent
Every part serves the claim; each part leads to the next
Cut what is off the point; link parts with "Our second finding" or "So"
Relevant evidence
Facts, counts or quotations that bear on this claim
Ask, "If this were false, would my claim be weaker?"
Sound valid reasoning
The conclusion follows from the findings and goes no further
Check other explanations; say what the findings do not show
Well-chosen details
The few specifics that make a point clear or show why it matters
Pick one or two; leave out the rest, even if true
Eye contact, volume, pronunciation
Looking at listeners, reaching the back row, saying every word clearly
Look up for key numbers, speak to the last row, slow down on hard words
Part 2: The data behind a talk. Show Table 1 and Diagram 1. Amara's science class counted idling cars in the pickup line for two weeks (invented data). Ask: "If you had two minutes, which numbers would you tell the council, and which would you leave out?" Take a few answers, then read Model Presentation A aloud, acting out the bracketed notes, while students listen with the text face down. Then they read it.
Table 1: Amara's pickup-line counts, 2:50-3:10 p.m. (invented data; idling means the engine ran more than two minutes while parked)
Day
Week 1: cars in line
Week 1: cars idling
Week 2 (signs and cards): cars in line
Week 2: cars idling
Mon
58
39
60
25
Tue
64
44
63
22
Wed
61
40
59
24
Thu
66
45
65
21
Fri
61
37
63
23
Average
62
41
62
23
1[Amara waits for the room to go quiet, then looks at the council members one at a time.] Good evening. I'm Amara Lindqvist, an eighth grader at Westbrook Middle School. Our science class studied the afternoon pickup line, and we found two things. First, most drivers keep their engines running while they wait. Second, a simple reminder cuts the number of idling cars by almost half. So we're asking the school site council to put up permanent "Engines Off" signs at pickup and to let student volunteers hand out reminder cards every fall.
2Here is how we collected our findings. For two weeks in October, a team of three students stood by the pickup line from 2:50 to 3:10 every school day. One student counted every car in the line. The other two counted the cars that kept the engine running for more than two minutes while parked. That's what we mean by idling.
3Our first finding is that most drivers idle. [Amara points to the chart, then turns back to face the council before she speaks again.] In the first week, an average of 62 cars waited in the line each afternoon, and 41 of them idled. That's about two cars out of every three. Those cars wait right beside the front doors, where about 200 students walk out at 3:05. [She says the next word slowly and clearly: ig-ZAWST.] Every one of those students walks through the exhaust.
4Our second finding is that a reminder works. [Amara slows down and speaks a little louder.] In the second week, we put up four signs that said "Engines Off, Please," and volunteers handed each driver a small card. The line was just as long, 62 cars a day. But only 23 cars idled. That's 18 fewer idling cars every afternoon.
5Could something else explain the drop? We checked. Both weeks had mild weather, with afternoon temperatures in the 60s, so drivers didn't need their engines for heat or air conditioning. The number of cars stayed the same. The one thing that changed was the reminder. We can't promise the signs will work all year, so we plan to count again in March.
6So here is what we found. Two out of three waiting drivers were idling, right where 200 students walk out the door, and a reminder brought the number of idling cars down from 41 to 23. Please make the "Engines Off" signs permanent. [Amara looks around the whole room.] Thank you. We're happy to answer questions.
Written for this page (the student, school, council, pickup line and all counts are invented), Engines Off at Pickup (Model Presentation A: an eighth grader's findings for the school site council). Original passage written for this page.
Presenting the claim and findings (paragraph 1)
What does Amara's opening do before she gives any numbers?
Result: In her opening paragraph she names the study, states both findings ("most drivers keep their engines running" and "a simple reminder cuts the number of idling cars by almost half") and makes her request for permanent signs and reminder cards. Listeners know from the start what the numbers will prove and what she wants done about it.
Relevant evidence and a well-chosen detail (paragraph 3)
Why does Amara mention the 200 students who walk out at 3:05, and why does she leave out that Thursday had the longest line (66 cars)?
Result: The 200 walkers are a well-chosen detail: they show why idling matters at this school, since the cars wait where students breathe the exhaust. Thursday's count is true but adds nothing the averages do not, so leaving it out keeps the talk focused. Her evidence is relevant: counts of idling cars bear directly on the claim that most drivers idle, and 41 of 62 is about two out of three (41 ÷ 62 ≈ 0.66).
Sound valid reasoning (paragraph 5)
Idling fell from 41 to 23 cars a day. How does Amara show that the reminder, and not something else, made the difference?
Result: She asks the listener's question herself: "Could something else explain the drop?" Then she rules out two other causes: the weather was mild in both weeks, so no one needed heat or air conditioning, and the line had the same 62 cars a day. She also limits her conclusion: she cannot promise the signs will work all year, so the class will count again in March. The conclusion follows from the findings and goes no further.
Delivery (bracketed notes in paragraphs 1, 3, 4 and 6)
What does Amara do with her eyes, her voice and a hard word?
Result: Eye contact: she waits for quiet and looks at each council member before she starts, faces the council again after pointing to the chart, and looks around the room at the end. Volume: she slows down and speaks a little louder for her second finding, the one that supports her request. Pronunciation: she says "exhaust" slowly and clearly (ig-ZAWST), because a word listeners mishear can hide the point.
Walk through Diagram 2, the structure of Model Presentation A. Point out that the two salient points each appear three times, in the opening, with their evidence and in the conclusion, and that the reasoning check sits just before the conclusion, where a listener's doubts would arise. Stress that a valid conclusion can be modest: saying what the findings do not show makes the rest more believable.
Guided Practice15 minutes
Pairs do two things with Model Presentation A. First, they use Table 1 to compute the share of waiting cars that idled in each week, as a percent rounded to the nearest whole number, and decide whether Amara should add these percents to her talk. Second, each partner delivers paragraph 4 to the other from across the room: pause before "But only 23 cars idled," look up for that sentence, and speak so the partner can hear without leaning in. The listener gives one piece of feedback for each delivery skill.
Debrief. Week 1: 205 idling cars out of 310, or about 66%. Week 2: 115 out of 310, or about 37%. Because the line had the same 310 cars in both weeks, the percents tell the same story as the averages, 41 and 23 out of 62. Accept either choice with a reason: the counts are easier to picture, while the percents let listeners compare the weeks at a glance. Warn against adding both, since two sets of numbers for one point can blur it. Then ask a few pairs to show paragraph 4 with the pause; the class names what made "only 23" stand out.
Independent Practice15 minutes
Students now work alone on Model Presentation B, a findings talk with strong and weak choices. Read it aloud once, acting out the bracketed notes, while students listen with the text face down. Then they read it and answer the quiz: questions 1-10, 15-17, 19 and 20 are about Model Presentation B, and questions 11-14 and 18 use the standard in new situations.
1[Leo walks to the front while still reading the last line of his notes on his phone.] So, um, last summer my little brother had to learn a list of words for camp, and my mom made him write each one ten times, and he really hated it. Anyway, that's kind of how this started. Our English class did an experiment on studying. We wanted to know which works better for learning vocabulary: making flashcards and quizzing yourself, or rereading the word list.
2Here's what we did. Ms. Achebe gave us 20 new vocabulary words from our next novel. We drew names from a hat to split our 24 students into two groups of 12. Both groups studied the same 20 words for the same 15 minutes. One group made flashcards and quizzed each other. The other group read the word list and the definitions over and over. The next day, everyone took the same quiz.
3[Leo looks down at his phone for this whole paragraph.] Our main finding is that the flashcard group did better. Their average was 16.5 words out of 20. [He says "sixteen point five" so quickly that it sounds like "sixty-five."] The rereading group's average was 12. So the flashcard group remembered about four and a half more words. One student in the flashcard group said, "The cards showed me which words I didn't know yet, so I spent more time on those."
4We used white index cards, but the store also had them in blue, green, pink and yellow. The pink ones were on sale. [Leo laughs, and a few people laugh with him.]
5So flashcards are the best way to study anything. Our school should tell every teacher to stop letting students reread their notes, because rereading doesn't work at all. [Leo's voice gets quieter, and people in the back row lean forward.]
6That's it, I guess. Thanks.
Written for this page (the student, teacher, class, experiment and all scores are invented), Flashcards or Rereading? (Model Presentation B: an eighth grader reports his class's experiment). Original passage written for this page.
Closure5 minutes
Exit ticket: "Write the one finding you would want listeners to remember from your next presentation. Then write one sentence that says what your findings do NOT show." Keep the tickets for the homework conference.
Teacher note. Both model presentations, their speakers and all data are invented for teaching, and each transcript says so. Clear pronunciation means that listeners understand every word; it does not mean losing an accent, and students with regional or home-language accents meet the standard when they are understood. Some students find sustained eye contact uncomfortable, including some autistic students and some students from cultures in which looking an adult in the eye can seem disrespectful; looking toward listeners' foreheads or at different parts of the room is appropriate. Students who are anxious about speaking can rehearse with one partner first and present from note cards with key words only.
Homework. Tonight students plan, rehearse and give a two- to three-minute findings talk of their own to a family member or friend. Go over the directions and the rubric before they leave.
Differentiation Strategies
For Struggling Students
Give a talk frame with sentence starters: "We found that...", "Here is how we found out...", "Our first finding is...", "Could something else explain it?", "So here is what we found..."
Let students choose salient points from a findings card by highlighting two facts and crossing out the rest before they write anything
Mark each hard word on the note card with its stressed syllable in capital letters, and practice those words aloud with a partner first
For Advanced Students
Add a short answer to the question a skeptical listener would ask first, and place it where the doubt would arise, as Amara does in paragraph 5
Present the same findings twice, once to adults on a council and once to sixth graders, and explain which details changed and why
Using Table 1, decide whether Amara should mention that week 2's lowest day (21 idling cars) came on the day with the longest line (65 cars), and explain the choice
Assessment Guidance
What to Look For
Strong presenters state the claim and findings early, back each salient point with evidence that bears on it, and draw a conclusion no bigger than their data. Watch for three problems: an opening story that delays the finding, a true but off-the-point detail that pulls attention away, and a conclusion that stretches a small study into a rule for everyone. For delivery, give feedback that names a moment ("look up for the key number in your second finding") rather than a general rating.
02
Classroom Activities
3 Activities
1
What Makes the Cut?
12 minPairs
Pairs get a findings card with 9 notes from an invented class study, choose what to present, cut what does not serve the claim and write a focused 30-second opening.
The Findings Card (invented study: Are our classrooms too cold?)
The claim: "On winter school days, the heat should start at 7:15 a.m. instead of 7:45."
The class measured the air temperature in all 30 classrooms at 8:15 a.m. on five January mornings.
On the coldest morning, 11 of the 30 rooms were below 65°F.
The three coldest rooms, all at 62°F, are on the north side of the building.
First period starts at 8:10, only 25 minutes after the heat comes on.
In a survey of 120 students, 78 said they keep their coats on in first period.
The furnace was painted blue last summer.
One student said, "In Room 22 my fingers are too stiff to take notes until second period."
The school mascot is a polar bear.
The building manager says starting the heat 30 minutes earlier would cost about $40 a week.
Procedure
Pairs choose the two notes that make the best salient points and the one note that is the best well-chosen detail
They cross out every note that is irrelevant to the claim and write why in a few words
They write one sentence of reasoning that begins "This shows ... because ..." and one sentence that says what the findings do not show
Each pair writes and rehearses a 30-second opening, then reads it to another pair
Discussion Questions
Note 5 says 78 of 120 students keep their coats on, which is 65%. Is that relevant evidence that the rooms are too cold, or could students keep coats on for another reason?
Note 9 is not about temperature at all. Why might a council still want to hear it?
2
Coach the Delivery
13 minGroups of 3
Students rotate through three roles, speaker, eye-contact and volume coach, and pronunciation coach, while each delivers the 30-second opening from Activity 1.
Procedure
The speaker stands at least 5 meters (about 16 feet) from the coaches and delivers the opening from a note card with key words only
The eye-contact and volume coach tallies each time the speaker looks up for a full sentence and raises a hand whenever a word is too quiet to hear
The pronunciation coach holds the hard-words card (temperature, February, particularly, thermometer, specifically) and marks any word that is rushed or unclear
Each coach gives one specific compliment and one specific fix; the speaker repeats the opening once with the fix, then roles rotate
Discussion Questions
Which fix made the biggest difference on the second try, and why?
Where in the opening is eye contact most important: the claim, the key number or the request?
Variation for Online Classes
Speakers present on camera. The eye-contact coach watches whether the speaker looks into the camera for the claim and the key number, and the volume coach listens with the computer speaker set low.
3
Two-Minute Findings Talk
15 minGroups of 4
Each group turns a set of research notes into a focused, coherent two-minute talk with a reasoning check, and the class tests whether the conclusion goes further than the findings.
The Research Notes (invented study: The Lights-Off Check)
For 10 school days, the student council checked all 38 classrooms at 5:00 p.m. and counted the rooms with lights still on
Average: 14 of the 38 rooms had lights on at 5:00 p.m.
The custodians clean from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. and turn lights on in the rooms they are cleaning
A second check at 7:30 p.m., after cleaning ends, found lights on in an average of 9 rooms
The school's energy manager estimates that the lights in one classroom cost about 12 cents an hour to run
Lights left on from 7:30 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. burn for 11.5 hours a night
The student council has 16 members and meets on Tuesdays
A custodian said, "Most nights I find the same rooms lit, the ones at the end of the hall."
Procedure
Write a claim and choose two salient points; compute the nightly cost of the lights left on after 7:30 p.m.
Decide which count, 14 or 9, is the fair one to present and write one sentence explaining why
Plan the talk in five parts: claim and findings, method, finding 1, finding 2, conclusion; assign each part to one member
Present; listeners hold up a card if the conclusion claims more than the findings show
Discussion Questions
Why would presenting the 5:00 p.m. count of 14 rooms be unsound reasoning?
At 9 rooms, 11.5 hours and 12 cents an hour, what do the lights cost each night? Is that a well-chosen detail for the talk?
Modification for Large Classes
Give half the groups the classroom-temperature card from Activity 1 instead, and pair each lights group with a temperature group so each hears a talk it did not plan.
03
Diagrams & Visual Aids
2 diagrams
Diagram 1: The Findings Behind Model Presentation A
Cars idling in the pickup line on each day of the two weeks in Table 1 (invented data), drawn to scale. Dark bars are week 1, with no reminder; blue bars are week 2, with signs and cards. The dashed lines mark the week averages, 41 and 23. The drop shows up on every day, not just on average, which is one reason Amara's reasoning holds.
Diagram 2: How Model Presentation A Is Built
Left: the six paragraphs of Model Presentation A in order. The green box is the reasoning check, the step that makes the conclusion valid by ruling out other explanations. Right: the delivery moves in the bracketed notes, and the two salient points, each stated in the opening, backed by evidence in the middle and repeated at the end.
04
Homework Assignment
~30 min
SL.8.4 Homework: Give a Findings Talk That Holds Up
Directions: Choose a question you can answer with a small investigation this week: a count, a measurement, a short survey of at least 10 people, or facts from two reliable sources. Plan a two- to three-minute talk that presents your claim and findings, rehearse it twice, and give it to a family member or friend. Answer each problem in complete sentences and hand in your note card with the written answers.
Part 1: Claim and Findings (Problems 1-2)
Write your question, how you gathered your findings and every finding you collected. Then write your claim in one sentence and the two findings that support it.
Write your opening, the first three or four sentences you will say, so that it states the claim and both findings before any story or background.
Part 2: Evidence, Reasoning and Details (Problems 3-4)
For each finding, write the evidence you will give and one well-chosen detail. Then list two true details you decided to leave out and explain why each would pull listeners away from the claim.
Write your reasoning check: name one other explanation for your findings and explain how you ruled it out, or say honestly that you could not. Then write one sentence that says what your findings do not show.
Part 3: Deliver and Reflect (Problems 5-6)
Mark on your note card the two moments where you will look up, the sentence you will say a little louder, and each hard word with its stressed syllable. Give the talk, and ask your listener to repeat your two salient points and rate your eye contact, volume and pronunciation from 1 to 3.
In four or five sentences, reflect: did your listener repeat both salient points? Did anything in your talk claim more than your findings showed? Which delivery skill was weakest, and exactly what will you change next time?
Rubric
Criterion
Full Credit (2 pts)
Partial Credit (1 pt)
No Credit (0 pts)
Claim and findings
Claim and two findings stated in the opening and repeated in the conclusion
Claim or findings stated late, or only once
No clear claim
Relevant evidence and details
Each finding backed by evidence that bears on it and one well-chosen detail; two cut details explained
Evidence given, but a detail is off the point or cuts are not explained
Little or no evidence
Sound valid reasoning
Another explanation checked, and a conclusion that goes no further than the findings
Reasoning check attempted, or conclusion slightly overstated
Conclusion does not follow from the findings
Delivery
Planned eye contact, volume and pronunciation moves carried out, with listener ratings and a specific fix
Some moves planned or carried out, or reflection is general
Missing
05
Quiz: 20 Questions
Interactive, with answers
Instructions
Questions 1-10, 15-17, 19 and 20 are about Model Presentation B, the vocabulary experiment in the Independent Practice phase of the lesson plan; questions 11-14 and 18 use the standard in new situations. All speakers and data are invented. Your score updates as you answer, and Reset quiz clears everything so you or your students can try again.
Multiple choice: pick an option to check it. Short answer: write your answer, then reveal the model answer.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice
What is the main finding that Leo presents in Model Presentation B?
Answer: C
Leo says in paragraph 3, "Our main finding is that the flashcard group did better," and gives the averages, 16.5 against 12. Choice A reverses the result. Choice B turns a step of the method into a finding. Choice D is the request Leo makes in paragraph 5, which is a claim, not a finding, and it goes further than the findings show.
Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Where does Leo first state his main finding?
Answer: B
The finding first appears in paragraph 3 ("Our main finding is that the flashcard group did better"), after a story and the whole method, so listeners wait more than half the talk to learn what it is about. Choice A is wrong: paragraph 1 states only the question. Choice C describes his overstated request. Choice D describes the method without any result.
Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice
The flashcard group's average was 16.5 words out of 20. What percent of the words is that?
Answer: A
16.5 ÷ 20 = 0.825, or 82.5%. Choice B reads the number of words as a percent. Choice C is the number listeners thought they heard when Leo rushed "sixteen point five." Choice D is the rereading group's result: 12 ÷ 20 = 0.6, or 60%.
Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which paragraph is least focused, because none of it serves Leo's finding?
Answer: D
Paragraph 4 is about the colors of index cards and a sale on pink ones. It is true and it gets a laugh, but it does nothing for the finding or the claim, so it should be cut. Choice A is the method, which listeners need in order to trust the result. Choice B holds the finding and its evidence. Choice C overstates the finding, but it is still about the finding.
Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In paragraph 2, Leo's class "drew names from a hat to split our 24 students into two groups of 12." Why does this make his finding more believable?
Answer: B
Drawing names means neither the students nor the teacher picked who used flashcards, so the groups should be about equal to start with; the same words, time and quiz keep everything else equal too. That is sound reasoning behind the finding. Choice A guesses at effort, which the draw does not affect. Choice C stretches one class to every class. Choice D confuses group size with fairness.
Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In paragraph 5, Leo says flashcards are "the best way to study anything" and that "rereading doesn't work at all." What is wrong with this reasoning?
Answer: C
Leo's evidence covers one class, one list of vocabulary words and one quiz the next day, so it cannot show what works for "anything." His own data also contradict "doesn't work at all": the rereading group averaged 12 of 20, or 60%. A valid conclusion would stay inside the findings. Choice A mistakes a real result for a valid conclusion. Choice B is false. Choice D is wrong arithmetic too, since 16.5 is not double 12.
Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Leo says the flashcard group "remembered about four and a half more words." Which statement of the difference is accurate?
Answer: A
16.5 - 12 = 4.5 words, and 4.5 ÷ 20 = 0.225, so the gap is 22.5% of the 20-word quiz (82.5% - 60% = 22.5 percentage points). Choice B divides by 10 instead of 20. Choice C treats 4.5 words as 4.5 percent. Choice D adds the two averages (16.5 + 12 = 28.5) instead of subtracting.
Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In paragraph 3, Leo "looks down at his phone for this whole paragraph." Why does this hurt his presentation most?
Answer: D
Eye contact matters most at the moment listeners must remember something, and paragraph 3 holds the main finding and both averages. Looking down there cuts him off from the audience exactly when he needs them. Choice A is not a rule; notes on a phone or card are fine if the speaker looks up for key sentences. Choice B is wrong, since looking down usually makes a voice quieter. Choice C confuses notes with slides.
Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In paragraph 5, Leo's "voice gets quieter, and people in the back row lean forward." What is the best advice?
Answer: B
Adequate volume means the farthest listener hears every word, including the end, where speakers often fade. Aiming the voice at the back row is a simple check. Choice A makes the problem worse. Choice C drops volume where the conclusion needs it. Choice D moves the audience instead of fixing the delivery.
Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Leo says "sixteen point five" so quickly that it sounds like "sixty-five." Which advice would best fix this?
Answer: C
Clear pronunciation means listeners hear the word as meant. "Sixteen" and "sixty" differ mainly in the stressed "teen," so slowing down and stressing it, and adding "out of 20," makes the number clear. Choice A throws away his key evidence. Choice B keeps the rushed speed that caused the problem. Choice D would take away eye contact again without fixing the speed.
Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A student will present findings from a survey about which world language students would take if the school added one. Which opening is most focused?
Answer: A
Choice A gives the finding with its evidence and the claim in one sentence, so listeners know at once what the talk will prove. Choice B opens with a general fact that does not lead to the claim. Choice C spends the opening on thanks. Choice D starts with the method and filler words and never reaches a finding.
Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A student found that 8 classrooms with plants had a higher average test score than 8 classrooms without plants. Which conclusion is sound and valid?
Answer: D
Choice D reports what the findings show and names the next step, a fair test, without claiming a cause the data cannot prove. Choice A leaps from a difference to a cause and a rule for every room. Choice B draws the opposite conclusion from the same data. Choice C invents a cause the study never measured.
Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A student will present at a city council meeting, speaking into a microphone on a stand. What is adequate volume here?
Answer: C
With a microphone, adequate volume is a normal, steady voice at a steady distance, so the system carries every word without distorting it. Choice A can make the sound harsh and hard to follow. Choice B can drop below what the microphone picks up. Choice D makes the volume jump around, and the facts get lost.
Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A student claims, "The science lab needs new safety goggles." Which detail is the best-chosen one to include?
Answer: B
Choice B is specific and bears directly on the claim: it counts the damaged goggles and shows why they are a problem in a real lab task. Choice A is a general fact about goggles, not about these goggles. Choice C is a personal preference. Choice D is a detail about the packaging, not the need.
Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer
Rewrite Leo's opening (paragraph 1) so it is focused: in three or four sentences, state his question, his main finding with its numbers, and a claim that his findings can support.
Model answer: "Our English class tested two ways to learn vocabulary: making flashcards and quizzing yourself, or rereading the word list. Our main finding is that the flashcard group did better: on the next day's quiz, they averaged 16.5 of 20 words, and the rereading group averaged 12. So we suggest that students try flashcards when they study vocabulary." Rubric: 1 point for cutting the brother story; 1 point for the question; 1 point for the finding with both numbers; 1 point for a claim that stays within the findings.
Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer
Rewrite paragraph 5 of Model Presentation B so that its reasoning is sound and valid. Your conclusion should stay within Leo's findings and say what they do not show.
Model answer: "So in our class, quizzing yourself with flashcards worked better than rereading for learning 20 vocabulary words for a quiz the next day. Rereading helped too, since that group still got 60% right. We tested only one class, one word list and one quiz, so we can't say flashcards are best for every subject. We'd like to repeat the test with more classes and with a quiz a week later." Rubric: 2 points for a conclusion limited to the findings; 1 point for noting that rereading still worked; 1 point for naming a limit or a next test.
Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer
Give Leo one specific delivery tip for each skill: eye contact, volume and pronunciation. For each, quote the bracketed note that shows the problem.
Model answer: Eye contact: "Leo looks down at his phone for this whole paragraph." He should put key words on a card and look up for the main finding and both averages. Volume: "Leo's voice gets quieter, and people in the back row lean forward." He should keep his voice aimed at the back row through the last sentence. Pronunciation: he says "sixteen point five" so quickly "that it sounds like 'sixty-five.'" He should slow down and stress six-TEEN, and add "out of 20." Rubric: 1 point per skill for a quoted note and a specific tip, 1 point for placing the tips at the right moments.
Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer
A student's notes for a talk claiming "Our school should add a second water refill station in the gym" include: (1) the one station in the gym had a line of 15 or more students after 6 of the last 10 PE classes; (2) the current station was installed in 2019; (3) PE classes have 5 minutes to change and get water; (4) the student's favorite water bottle is green; (5) the PE teacher said, "Students come back to class thirsty because they gave up waiting." Choose two salient points and one well-chosen detail, and explain what you would cut and why.
Model answer: Salient points: note 1 (a long line after 6 of 10 classes, 60%) and note 3 (only 5 minutes to get water), because together they show that one station is not enough for the time students have. Well-chosen detail: note 5, the PE teacher's quotation, because it shows the effect on students. Cut note 4, which is a personal preference, and note 2, which is true but says nothing about whether one station is enough. Rubric: 2 points for the two salient points with a reason; 1 point for the detail; 1 point for cutting notes 2 and 4 with reasons.
Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer
In paragraph 3, Leo quotes a student: "The cards showed me which words I didn't know yet, so I spent more time on those." Explain why this is a well-chosen detail, and write one more well-chosen detail Leo could add from his method in paragraph 2.
Model answer: The quotation is well chosen because it gives a reason for the finding: flashcards showed students which words they had not learned, so they spent their time where it counted. It makes the result easy to understand, not just to hear. Leo could add that "both groups studied the same 20 words for the same 15 minutes and took the same quiz," because that detail shows the comparison was fair. Rubric: 2 points for explaining how the quotation helps the finding; 2 points for a detail from paragraph 2 that bears on fairness or the result.
Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer
After the talk, a listener says, "With only 12 students in each group, the difference could just be luck." Write Leo's honest answer, and name one change to the experiment that would make his finding stronger.
Model answer: "That's fair. Twelve students per group is small, so one or two strong students could change an average. We did draw names from a hat, so the groups weren't picked to favor flashcards, and both groups had the same words, time and quiz. To be more sure, we'd repeat the test with all four eighth-grade English classes, about 100 students, and give a second quiz a week later." Rubric: 1 point for admitting the limit; 1 point for naming what made the test fair; 2 points for a specific change such as more students, more classes or a later quiz.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
06
Frequently Asked Questions
10 Questions
What does SL.8.4 mean?
SL.8.4 means that eighth graders can present their claims and findings so the most important points stand out, with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning and well-chosen details, and deliver them with appropriate eye contact, adequate volume and clear pronunciation. "SL" stands for Speaking and Listening; the standard is about giving a presentation, not writing one.
How is SL.8.4 different from SL.7.4?
SL.8.4 asks for a stronger kind of support. In grade 7, presenters back their points with pertinent descriptions, facts, details and examples. In grade 8, the evidence must be relevant, the reasoning must be sound and valid, and the details must be well chosen, so students must also check their own logic before they present. The delivery skills are the same in both grades.
What does "sound valid reasoning" mean in a presentation?
It means the conclusion follows from the findings and goes no further than they do. A class that counted idling cars for two weeks in October can say that a reminder cut idling in those weeks, not that it will work all year. Presenters show sound reasoning by checking other explanations out loud and by saying what their findings do not show.
What are "well-chosen details" in SL.8.4?
They are the few specifics that make a point clear or show why it matters, chosen on purpose from everything the presenter knows. A count of 200 students walking past idling cars shows why idling matters at one school; the colors of those cars do not. Choosing details also means leaving true ones out.
What are salient points, and how many should a talk have?
Salient points are the few points listeners must remember, usually two or three in a short talk. A presenter makes them stand out by stating them early, backing each with evidence and repeating them in the conclusion, and by using delivery, such as a pause or a slightly louder voice, at those moments.
Does clear pronunciation mean speaking without an accent?
No. Clear pronunciation means listeners understand every word. Students with any accent meet the standard when they are understood; the usual fixes are slowing down, finishing word endings and practicing hard words and names ahead of time.
Can students use notes or read from a script for SL.8.4?
Yes, but notes should support eye contact, not replace it. Note cards with key words only let students look up for the claim, the key numbers and the request. Reading a full script word for word usually costs eye contact and makes the voice flat, so many teachers allow cards but not scripts.
How long should a grade 8 findings presentation be?
Two to five minutes is a common range for a grade 8 findings talk. The standard sets no length; what matters is that the talk states the claim early, supports two or three salient points and ends on them. A shorter talk that is focused meets the standard better than a longer one that wanders.
How do teachers grade SL.8.4 presentations?
A rubric with separate rows for claim and findings, evidence and details, reasoning, and delivery works well, because a student can be strong in one and weak in another. The homework rubric on this page uses those four rows. Specific feedback tied to a moment in the talk helps students improve more than a single overall score.
How is SL.8.4 related to SL.8.3?
They are two sides of the same skill: SL.8.3 asks students to evaluate a speaker's argument, and SL.8.4 asks them to build one that holds up when a listener evaluates it. A useful habit is to test your own talk with the SL.8.3 questions: is every piece of evidence relevant, is it enough, and does the conclusion follow?
07
Related Standards
5 standards
These standards connect to SL.8.4: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.
Before this lesson
SL.7.4Prerequisite
Present claims and findings with salient points and pertinent facts and details
