Overview

Lesson Procedure

65-75 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

1. Warm-Up10 minutes
2. Direct Instruction20 minutes
3. Guided Practice15 minutes
4. Independent Practice15-20 minutes
5. Closure5-10 minutes

1. Warm-Up10 minutes

   Students write for three minutes, then share with a partner. Collect five or six answers and sort them on the board into three columns: "didn't know where it was going," "too much at once" and "didn't fit me."

   Warm-Up Prompt

   "Think of a time you listened to someone explain something, such as directions, a video, a class announcement or a coach's plan, and you got lost. What exactly made it hard to follow?"

   The three columns match the three halves of SL.9-10.4. "Didn't know where it was going" is about logic and organization; "too much at once" is about clarity and concision; "didn't fit me" is about style, audience and task. Tell students that today they will present findings, not opinions: what someone studied, what they found and what the evidence shows. Show Diagram 1 as the shape they will use.

2. Direct Instruction20 minutes

   Part 1: The words in the standard. A finding is what an investigation showed, and supporting evidence is the data, observations or sources behind it. The line of reasoning is the path from the question to the conclusion; listeners can follow it when each step connects to the one before. Use the table to unpack the rest.

   The key terms in SL.9-10.4 and the question each one asks of a presentation

   Term	What it means in a presentation	Question to ask
   Clearly	Plain words, one idea per sentence, terms defined	"Could a listener repeat my main finding?"
   Concisely	Every sentence does a job; nothing padded or off topic	"What would be lost if I cut this sentence?"
   Logically	Each step follows from the last, and the conclusion fits the evidence	"Does my conclusion claim more than I found?"
   Organization	The order of the parts and the signposts between them	"Do listeners know where we are?"
   Development	How fully each finding is explained and supported	"Did I give evidence for each finding?"
   Substance	What is included: which facts, numbers and examples	"Is this the evidence this audience needs?"
   Style	Word choice, sentence length and formality	"Does this sound right for this room?"
   Purpose, audience, task	Why you are speaking, to whom, and in what format and time	"What should these listeners know or do when I finish?"

   Part 2: Two versions of the same findings. Read Model Presentation A aloud at speaking pace, the way a nervous student would give it. It is a first draft by an invented student at an invented school, reporting a two-week count of bikes at the school's racks. Students listen once without the text, then write the main finding in one sentence. Many will not be able to. Then read Model Presentation B, the revision Mateo gave to the school site council (a committee of the principal, staff, parents and students that helps set school plans and budgets), and ask for the main finding again.

   1Hi. So, um, I've been riding my bike to school since sixth grade, when I got a blue mountain bike for my birthday, and it has been through a lot, like one time the chain fell off on Oak Avenue in the rain. Anyway, bikes are really important to me, and to a lot of people.

   2So basically our group did a lot of counting. We counted on ten days. The numbers were 58, 63, 55, 67, 61, 49, 60, 64, 57 and 66.

   3Our recommendation is more racks. Also, the rack utilization was 125 percent, which is super high.

   4We also did a survey, and a lot of people said they lock their bikes to the fence. Like, 96 people. Which is a lot. I use a U-lock, by the way, because cable locks are easy to cut.

   5The city is also adding bike lanes on Grant Street next year, which is cool, but that's kind of a different thing.

   6So the school clearly needs a whole new bike parking lot, because the racks are totally full every single day.

   7So, yeah. That's pretty much it. Any questions?

   1Good afternoon. I'm Mateo Ruiz, and I'm speaking for the Bike Club. We studied one question: does our school have enough bike parking? Our finding is that it does not. On every day we counted, more bikes arrived than our racks can hold. I'll share three findings, then one request.

   2First, the racks are over capacity every day. Capacity means the number of spaces, and our two racks have 48. We counted bikes at 8:15 a.m. on ten school days in October. The count never fell below 49, and it reached 67 on the busiest day. On average, 60 bikes arrived, which is 12 more than we have spaces for. The chart on the screen shows all ten days.

   3Second, riders are locking bikes where they should not. In our advisory survey, 96 of the 150 riders who answered, about two out of three, said they had locked a bike to a fence or a railing this year. Those bikes narrow the walkway by the front gate.

   4Third, the problem is small enough to fix. On our busiest day, 19 bikes had no space. Two more 12-space racks would add 24 spaces, for 72 in all. That covers our busiest day with five spaces to spare.

   5So our request is two 12-space racks next to the ones we have. The vendor's quote is $1,100 per rack, or $2,200 for both.

   6To sum up: our racks are full every morning, riders are using fences instead, and two racks would solve it. Thank you. I'm glad to answer questions.

   The Bike Club's count and survey (invented data)

   What was measured	Result
   Bikes at 8:15 a.m., ten school days in October	58, 63, 55, 67, 61, 49, 60, 64, 57, 66
   Spaces on the two existing racks	48
   Riders surveyed in advisory	150
   Riders who had locked a bike to a fence or railing this year	96
   Vendor's quote for one 12-space rack	$1,100

   • Purpose and main finding first (paragraph 1 of each)

     Presentation A opens: "I've been riding my bike to school since sixth grade, when I got a blue mountain bike for my birthday." Presentation B opens: "We studied one question: does our school have enough bike parking? Our finding is that it does not."

     Result: After A's first paragraph, listeners know about a birthday bike and a broken chain but not what was studied or what was found. B states the question, the answer and a preview ("three findings, then one request") in five sentences, so every later sentence has a place to go. Listeners follow a line of reasoning more easily when they know where it ends.

   • Evidence that listeners can hold (paragraph 2 of each)

     A reads out "58, 63, 55, 67, 61, 49, 60, 64, 57 and 66." B says "The count never fell below 49, and it reached 67 on the busiest day. On average, 60 bikes arrived, which is 12 more than we have spaces for."

     Result: A reader can look back at ten numbers; a listener cannot. B keeps the three numbers that carry the finding: the lowest day (49, still over 48 spaces), the busiest day (67) and the average (the ten counts add to 600, and 600 divided by 10 is 60). It says what the average means, 12 over capacity, and puts the full set on a chart (Diagram 2).

   • A conclusion that fits the evidence (A paragraph 6, B paragraph 4)

     A: "So the school clearly needs a whole new bike parking lot." B: "On our busiest day, 19 bikes had no space. Two more 12-space racks would add 24 spaces, for 72 in all."

     Result: A's conclusion is far larger than the problem its data shows. B's reasoning can be followed step by step: 67 bikes minus 48 spaces leaves 19 without a space; 2 racks times 12 spaces is 24; 48 plus 24 is 72, and 72 minus 67 leaves 5 to spare. Logical means each step follows from the one before it, and listeners can check the steps by ear.

   • Concise means every sentence does a job (A paragraphs 1, 4 and 5)

     A includes "I use a U-lock, by the way, because cable locks are easy to cut" and "The city is also adding bike lanes on Grant Street next year, which is cool, but that's kind of a different thing."

     Result: Neither sentence supports the finding, and A even says the second is "a different thing." Concise does not mean short: B is longer than A, but every sentence in B states the question, a finding, evidence for it, the request or the summary. Cutting the tangents makes room for what A leaves out, such as how many riders were surveyed (150).

   • Style for the audience (A paragraphs 3 and 7, B paragraphs 2 and 6)

     A: "the rack utilization was 125 percent, which is super high" and "So, yeah. That's pretty much it." B: "Capacity means the number of spaces, and our two racks have 48" and "To sum up: our racks are full every morning."

     Result: A's figure is correct (60 divided by 48 is 1.25), but "utilization" is never explained, and "super high" tells the council nothing. B defines its one technical word at first use and talks in bikes and spaces. B's register fits a school site council: complete sentences and no filler words, with a close that restates the line of reasoning instead of trailing off.

3. Guided Practice15 minutes

   Groups of three map Model Presentation B onto the six boxes of Diagram 1, writing the paragraph number and the signpost words in each box. Then each group takes one weak paragraph of Model Presentation A (paragraph 3 or 4) and rewrites it in no more than three sentences, using only facts from the data table. One student reads the rewrite aloud; the other two check it against the Direct Instruction table.

   Debrief with three questions. (1) Where do B's signposts appear, and did the preview promise them? Paragraph 1 promises "three findings, then one request," and the speech delivers exactly that: "First," "Second," "Third," "So our request is" and "To sum up." A listener who drifts for a moment can find the place again. (2) Why does B say "about two out of three" after "96 of the 150 riders"? 96 divided by 150 is 0.64, and a listener hears a fraction more easily than a raw count; B gives both, so the number is exact and easy to hold. (3) What did B add that A never had? The time and number of days of the count, the size of the survey, what fence-locking does to the walkway, and the arithmetic that turns 19 bikes without a space into 24 new spaces. Point out that the revision is not shorter; it is fuller where it matters and empty where it does not.

   Show Diagram 2 and ask: if Mateo had only one minute, which one sentence from paragraph 2 would he keep with the chart? Students should choose the sentence with the average and what it means, since the chart shows the rest.

4. Independent Practice15-20 minutes

   Students read Model Presentation C, a Garden Club member's report to the school's garden committee: two teachers, three parents and the facilities manager, who will decide what to buy in the spring. It has a three-minute slot. The presentation is mostly well built, with a few problems left in. Students answer quiz questions 1-10 with the transcript open, then questions 11-20, which apply the standard to new short situations and return to Model Presentation B.

   1Good afternoon. I'm Dana Whitfield from the Garden Club. We tested one question this fall: does covering our garden beds with mulch mean we water them less often? Our short answer is yes, and wood chips worked best. I'll tell you how we tested it, what we found and what we'd like to buy.

   2First, how we tested. Mulch is any layer spread on top of the soil, like straw or wood chips. We used three garden beds, each four feet by four feet, in the same sunny corner. One stayed bare, one got three inches of straw, and one got three inches of wood chips. We soaked all three on the same morning, then checked each bed every afternoon with a moisture meter until it read "dry." We ran the whole test twice, in September and in October.

   3Second, the results. The bare bed went dry in 3 days in September and 4 in October. Straw lasted 6 days both times. Wood chips lasted 7 days and then 8. So on average, bare soil lasted three and a half days, straw six, and wood chips seven and a half.

   4Oh, and one funny thing: a squirrel kept digging in the straw bed, which was kind of annoying, and my little brother thinks squirrels bury acorns there, which could be true, I'm not sure, but anyway.

   5Third, what that means for watering. A bed that stays moist twice as long needs water about half as often. For our eight beds, that means fewer trips with the hose for the volunteers who water on weekends.

   6This proves that wood chips are the best mulch for every garden anywhere.

   7Our request is 16 two-cubic-foot bags of wood chips, two for each of our eight beds, before planting in March. The hardware store's price is $6 per bag, so $96 total.

   8To sum up: mulch kept our soil moist longer, wood chips kept it moist longest, and $96 would cover every bed. Thank you. I'm happy to take questions.

5. Closure5-10 minutes

   Exit ticket: "Write the one sentence you would say first if you had to present a finding from any class this week. Then name the audience it is for and one word you would change for a different audience." Read a few aloud and ask the class to say whether they could follow it.

   Homework. Tonight students turn a committee's research notes into a presentation for the school board and then adapt it for students. The notes are below. They are raw on purpose: some notes are strong evidence, some are weak, and some do not belong. Show students the directions and rubric before they leave.

   1Question: Do enough students stay after school to justify a second late bus at 5:15 p.m.? Right now the only late bus leaves at 4:15.

   2Survey: 180 students answered in advisory, out of 1,240 enrolled.

   363 of the 180 said they stay on campus past 4:15 at least two days a week for clubs, sports, tutoring or theater.

   4Of those 63, 41 said they have no ride after 4:15 and either walk more than two miles home or wait for a parent until after 6:00.

   5Tutoring center sign-in sheets: an average of 22 students were still signed in at 4:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays in September.

   6The district transportation office quoted $95 per trip for a 5:15 p.m. bus. Four days a week for the 36-week school year is 144 trips, or $13,680.

   7My friend Jonah says the late bus driver plays good music.

   8One parent at the September meeting said, "My daughter quit robotics because she had no ride home."

   9The office manager says the first late bus was added about fifteen years ago.

   10The east parking lot is being repaved in the spring.

Differentiation Strategies

Assessment Guidance

1. Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   What does paragraph 1 of Model Presentation C do for the garden committee?

   AIt tells a personal story that makes the committee care about the garden BIt names the question, gives the short answer and previews the parts to come CIt lists every result from both trials so listeners can check the numbers DIt asks the committee to buy wood chips before explaining any of the reasons for buying them

2. Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Why does Dana define mulch in paragraph 2?

   ABecause the standard requires every presentation to define at least one term BBecause the definition is the main finding that the trial was designed to test CBecause a definition makes any presentation sound longer and more formal DBecause some listeners may not know the word, and every finding depends on it

3. Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which paragraph of Model Presentation C could be cut to make it more concise without losing any finding or evidence?

   AParagraph 4, about the squirrel and the acorns BParagraph 2, about how the three beds were set up CParagraph 7, about the bags and their price DParagraph 8, the summary before the thank-you

4. Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In paragraph 3, Dana reports two trials and then gives averages. Which statement about her averages is accurate?

   AThey are wrong: bare soil should average 7 days, since it lasted 3 days and then 4 BThey are correct: 3 and 4 average 3.5, 6 and 6 average 6, and 7 and 8 average 7.5 CThey are wrong: wood chips should average 8 days, since 8 is the better of the two DThey are wrong: straw should average 12 days, since it lasted 6 days in each trial

5. Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   What is the problem with paragraph 6 of Model Presentation C?

   AIt contradicts the results, since straw kept the soil moist longer than wood chips BIt is too short, since every paragraph in a presentation should have several sentences CIt claims far more than two trials in one sunny corner of one garden can show DIt belongs at the very start, since the strongest claim should always come first

6. Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Why does the method in paragraph 2 make the results in paragraph 3 easier to trust?

   AIt shows that Dana worked hard, and effort makes any finding more convincing BIt tells listeners that the moisture meter was the newest and most accurate model the club could buy CIt gives many numbers, and a paragraph full of numbers always sounds scientific DIt shows the beds were alike except for the covering, so the covering explains the difference

7. Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which words in Model Presentation C act as signposts that help listeners keep their place?

   A"First," "Second," "Third" and "To sum up" B"Good afternoon" and "Thank you" C"straw," "wood chips" and "moisture meter" D"three inches," "every afternoon" and "$6 per bag"

8. Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which description fits the organization of Model Presentation C, not counting paragraphs 4 and 6?

   AThe story of the garden from its first planting to today, in time order BQuestion and answer, method, results, meaning, request, then a summary CA comparison of two schools' gardens, one feature at a time DThe request first, then the reasons, from most important to least

9. Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Dana asks for 16 two-cubic-foot bags at $6 each. The beds are 4 feet by 4 feet and the mulch is 3 inches deep. Does the request add up?

   ANo: 4 × 4 × 3 is 48 cubic feet a bed, so the eight beds need 192 bags BNo: 16 bags at $6 a bag comes to $106, so the $96 total given in paragraph 7 is wrong CYes: each bed needs 4 cubic feet, which is 2 bags, so 8 beds need 16 bags for $96 DNo: each bed needs only one bag, so the club should ask for 8 bags and $48

10. Question 10 of 20 · Short Answer

    Paragraph 5 of Model Presentation C says, "A bed that stays moist twice as long needs water about half as often." Using the averages in paragraph 3, explain in two or three sentences whether this reasoning is supported. Then write one sentence Dana could add to make the step easier for listeners to follow.

    Show model answer

11. Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    A student studied whether opening a quiet study room at lunch would be worth it. Which opening would let the school board follow the rest of the presentation most easily?

    A"Tonight I'll talk about the study room, a place many of us have enjoyed, and some things about it." B"We asked whether students would use a lunch study room. They would: in a two-week trial, 38 came each day on average." C"There are a lot of numbers in this study, so I'll just read all of them to you tonight and you can decide what they mean." D"Our study was really interesting and we learned a lot, so I hope you enjoy hearing about it tonight."

12. Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    A presenter has just said that the gym's two water fountains have a line of six or more students after every PE class. Which sentence best leads listeners from this finding to the request?

    A"Anyway, moving on now to a completely different part of our presentation." B"Some students like their water cold, and other students do not really care what temperature it is at all." C"In conclusion, thank you all very much for listening to us this afternoon." D"Because the line forms after every class, we are asking for a bottle-filling station beside them."

13. Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    A student's survey found that 212 of the 400 students who answered ride a school bus. Which way of saying this at a parent meeting is clearest for listeners and still accurate?

    A"Of the 400 students who answered, 212 ride a bus. That's 53 percent, a little more than half." B"About three out of four students who answered ride a bus, which means most of the school rides one." C"The ratio of bus riders to the total sample population was 0.53 in our findings." D"Riders were 212, non-riders were 188, the total was 400, the difference was 24."

14. Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    A student will report the same finding, that the school garden grew 140 pounds of vegetables for the cafeteria this year, to the school board and then to visiting fifth graders. Which sentence best fits the fifth graders?

    A"The garden produced a total yield of 140 pounds, which was transferred to food services." B"Pursuant to the committee's harvest report, a quantity of 140 pounds was recorded." C"Our garden grew 140 pounds of vegetables, about as much as two of you weigh, and we ate it all at lunch." D"The garden was fine, I guess, with lots of vegetables and stuff like that, and we sort of ate it or whatever."

15. Question 15 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    A presenter says, "Students want a longer passing period." Which sentence best develops this finding?

    A"I really, truly believe that this is exactly what students want." B"In our survey of 240 students, 180 said four minutes is not enough to cross campus." C"Passing periods have been a normal part of school life at almost every school for a very long time." D"All of my friends agree with me about this, and they are students too."

16. Question 16 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Which revision of this spoken sentence keeps all of its information in the fewest words? "What we found out, after doing our counting over the whole two weeks that we counted, was that on average the number of students who rode the activity bus each day was about 27 students."

    A"We counted, and the bus has students." B"Over the whole two weeks we counted, what we found was that on average it was 27 a day, which is the average." C"About 35 students rode the activity bus each day." D"Over two weeks, an average of about 27 students rode the activity bus each day."

17. Question 17 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    A presenter has four parts: (1) the request, (2) evidence that the problem exists, (3) how big the problem is, and (4) the question the group studied. In which order can listeners follow the line of reasoning most easily?

    A4, 2, 3, 1 B1, 4, 3, 2 C3, 1, 4, 2 D2, 1, 4, 3

18. Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer

    In paragraph 5 of Model Presentation B, Mateo tells the council, "The vendor's quote is $1,100 per rack, or $2,200 for both." Explain in two or three sentences why this detail fits his purpose, audience and task. Then name one question the council might still ask.

    Show model answer

19. Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer

    Rewrite this spoken sentence so listeners can follow it, using two or three shorter sentences with the main finding first: "The survey, which we gave to 120 students in the lunch line on three different days, one of which was a rainy day when the line was shorter, showed, and this surprised us, that 84 of them think lunch is too short."

    Show model answer

20. Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer

    A class tested whether a ten-minute review game before quizzes raises scores. Over four weeks, the class averaged 78 on the two quizzes without the game and 84 on the two quizzes with it. Write a three-sentence opening for a two-minute presentation of these findings to the math department at its monthly meeting.

    Show model answer

These standards connect to SL.9-10.4: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.

Standard text: Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy. © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.