High-Quality Oral Presentations: Speaking in Complete Sentences

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

• SL.2.3: Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue.
• SL.2.4: Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences.
• SL.2.6: Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification.

Daily Learning Targets

• I can speak in complete sentences when using my notecards to present to an audience. (SL.2.4, SL.2.6)
• I can show empathy when I give feedback to my peers. (SL.2.3)

Ongoing Assessment

• During Work Time B, circulate and observe as students practice presenting and giving empathic feedback to peers. Consider using the Speaking and Listening Checklist to document progress toward SL.2.3, SL.2.4, and SL.2.6 (see Assessment Overview and Resources).

Agenda

1. Opening

A. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A.Engaging the Speaker: Using Complete Sentences (25 minutes)

B. Oral Presentation Practice: Using Complete Sentences (20 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Pinky Partners Protocol: Reflecting on Empathy (10 minutes)

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards:

• This is the second lesson in a series of three during which students practice their presentations regarding a specific criterion on the Criteria for High-Quality Oral Presentations anchor chart: using complete sentences. Students then practice showing empathy while giving and receiving feedback.
• In Work Time A, students play a sorting game called Complete or Incomplete? as a whole class. This game helps them review the difference between complete and incomplete sentences. Also, this game helps prime them for the presentation practice they participate in later in the lesson. Recall that primary learners thrive when they get to play and find joy and comfort in identifying patterns and relationships.

How this lesson builds on previous work:

• Similar to Lesson 7, this lesson sees students using the Criteria for High-Quality Oral Presentations anchor chart from Lesson 6 and their oral presentation notecards, written in Lessons 1-5, to practice their presentations and give empathic feedback.
• In Lesson 5, students were introduced to the habit of character of empathy. Similar to Lesson 6, this lesson sees students apply and reflect on this habit of character.

Areas in which students may need additional support:

• For students who have trouble differentiating between complete and incomplete sentences in Work Time A, consider partnering with varying levels of confidence and skill using oral language. The students with greater confidence using oral language can serve as models in their partnership, initiating discussion and providing implicit sentence frames. Also, consider working with a smaller, teacher-directed group to support students.

Down the road:

• In Lesson 9, students will continue practicing by layering in additional oral presentation notecards with feedback on each of the criteria for high-quality oral presentations.

In Advance

• Pre-distribute Materials for Work Time B at students? pre-determined workspaces.
• Post: Learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list)

Tech and Multimedia

Consider using an interactive white board or document camera to display lesson Materials.

• Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout Modules 1 and 2 to create anchor charts to share with families; to record students as they participate in discussions and protocols to review with students later and to share with families; and for students to listen to and annotate text, record ideas on note-catchers, and word-process writing.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standard 2.I.C.9

Important points in the lesson itself

• The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs with opportunities to hone their speaking skills with grammatically correct syntax by identifying complete and incomplete sentences.
• ELLs may find it challenging to extrapolate complete sentences from the words and phrases in their notes. During or after Work Time A, provide additional practice with this skill. If necessary, consider helping them transcribe complete sentences based on their notes for them to temporarily use during this lesson.

Levels of support

For lighter support:

• During Work Time A, challenge students to add on to the incomplete sentences to make them complete.
• During Work Time B, consider designating confident speakers as "coaches." Encourage them to circulate and support students who need additional support.

For heavier support:

• During Work Time B, consider allowing students to work in heterogenous triads. Students can observe two models of the presentation feedback before contributing themselves.

Universal Design for Learning

• Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): Continue to support comprehension by activating prior knowledge and scaffold connections for students. Continue to provide visual display of questions and student responses on a chart or a board during discussions.
• Multiple Means of Action & Expression (MMAE): Continue to support students in setting appropriate goals for their effort and the level of difficulty expected.
• Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Continue to support sustained engagement and effort for students who benefit from consistent reminders of learning goals and their value or relevance.

Vocabulary

Key: Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T); Vocabulary Used in Writing (W)

Review

• empathy, feedback, audience (L)

Materials

• Complete or Incomplete sentence strips (one to display)
• Criteria for High-Quality Oral Presentations anchor chart (begun in Lesson 6)
• Oral Presentation Notecards: Bee Model (from Lesson 2; one to display)
• What Does Peer Feedback Look and Sound Like? anchor chart (begun in Lesson 4)
• Peer Feedback Protocol anchor chart (begun in Lesson 4)
• Oral presentation notecards (from Lesson 2; one set per student)
• Specific, Positive Feedback sentence starters (from Lesson 6; one per pair and one to display)
• Speaking and Listening Checklist (for teacher reference; see Assessment Overview and Resources)
• Sandwich bag (from Lesson 2; one per student)
• Pinky Partners Protocol anchor chart (begun in Module 1)

Assessment

Each unit in the K-2 Language Arts Curriculum has one standards-based assessment built in. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

A. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

• Gather whole group.
• Tell students that today, they will practice their oral presentations using the Criteria for High-Quality Oral Presentations anchor chart they created in Lesson 6.
• Remind students that the reason they are practicing their presentations and receiving feedback is to build their confidence in using the criteria for high-quality oral presentations, and to make the best possible presentation at the upcoming Celebration of Learning!
• Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and read the first one aloud:

"I can speak in complete sentences when using my notecards to present to an audience."

• Review the meaning of the underlined words, noting student-friendly words, phrases, or images directly on the displayed learning targets to support understanding of this academic Vocabulary:
  • complete sentences (express a complete idea; have a subject that tells what noun the sentence is about and a predicate that includes a verb that tells what is happening)
  • audience (group of people gathered to see or hear something)

  "I can show empathy when I give feedback to my peers."

  • Review the meaning of empathy (identifying with another person?s feelings).
  • Remind students that they will be practicing empathic feedback to help their classmates give the best possible presentation.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with motivation: (Summarizing the Target) Ask students to summarize and then to personalize the learning targets. (MME)

  Work Time

  A. Engaging the Speaker: Using Complete Sentences (25 minutes)

  • Refocus whole group.
  • Remind students that in the previous lesson, they practiced speaking in an audible voice and using confident eye contact. Tell students that today, they will add on the skill of speaking in complete sentences.
  • Review the meaning of complete and incomplete sentences:
  • Complete sentences: express a complete idea; have a subject (noun) that tells who or what the sentence is about and a predicate (verb) that tells what the person or thing does or gives information about them
  • Incomplete sentences: a group of words that do not express a complete idea; lack either a subject (noun) or predicate (verb)
  • Tell students they will now play a sorting game called Complete or Incomplete.
  • Display the Complete or Incomplete sentence strips and focus students on the headings:
    • "Complete sentences"
    • "Incomplete sentences"
    • Display the first sentence strip. Read it aloud and invite students to respond with a thumbs-up for a complete sentence or thumbs-down for an incomplete sentence.
    • Invite the class to respond with applause or silence as you move the sentence strip back and forth between the two headings. Ask students to justify their choice.
    • Repeat this process as time permits, leaving 10 minutes for the remainder of Work Time A.

    "Why should we present using complete sentences?" (It makes it easy for our audience to understand what we are saying. Incomplete sentences don't express an idea.)

    • If productive, cue students with a challenge:

    "Can you think of time when it might be appropriate not to speak in complete sentences? I'll give you time to think and discuss with a partner." (Responses will vary, but may include: when talking to a friend at lunch; when answering yes or no questions.)

    • Direct students' attention to the posted Criteria for High-Quality Oral Presentations anchor chart and emphasize the importance of speaking in complete sentences. Say:

    "Your presentation notecards are written as notes in words and phrases. They are not complete sentences. We know that one criteria for high-quality oral presentations is that the speaker uses complete sentences to express ideas. We need to think about how to turn our notecards into complete sentences."

    • Invite students to listen in as you think aloud about how to turn the notes on notecards #1-2 of their Oral Presentation Notecards: Bee Model into complete oral sentences. Say:
      • "When I speak using my notes as a guide, they remind me of what I want to say. The notes are written in words and phrases, and the words and phrases become part of a complete sentence that I say out loud. This is a skill that takes practice!"
      • "When I read my first notecard, it says, '_____ are important to me because _____.' And my notes say 'apples' and 'use to make muffins.' Oh! This reminds me that I want to talk about why apples are important to me! My family makes apple muffins. So I can think about the words that will help me make this a complete sentence that my audience will understand. Instead of reading 'apples, use to make muffins' from the card, I can say' Apples are important to me because my family uses them to make yummy muffins.'
      • "When I read my second notecard, it says, 'The secret behind the _____ is _____. This is how _____ help the _____ flower.' My notes say 'apple, bees, bees, apple.' I can use the sentence frames on this notecard to help me make a complete sentence that my audience will understand. I can say 'The secret behind the apple is bees! This is how bees help the apple flower.'

      "What did you notice when I practiced turning my notes into sentences? What do you want to focus on when you practice?" (You used some words from your cards and some words from your head. I want to try to put words I think of with words on the card to make the sentences sound right.)

      • Tell students that it is now their turn to practice turning notes from a notecard into a complete oral sentence.
      • Display and read aloud notecard #3 from the Oral Presentation Notecards: Bee Model: Formatted:EL P Teacher Speak 2
        • "Describe why pollinator goes to plant: attracted to pollen, nectar, white petals."
        • "Describe how the pollinator's body collects pollen at the flower: fuzzy body; pollen on it."
        • "Describe how the pollinator moves pollen to the new flower: flies to new flower; pollen falls from body."

        "Using the notes on this notecard, what complete sentences can we say?" (The pollinator goes to the plant because it is attracted to the white petals.)

        • Listen in for responses to highlight with the whole group.
        • Refocus whole group, inviting two to three pairs to share out.
        • Tell students it will now be their turn to practice speaking in complete sentences using the information on their notecards, and that they will give and receive feedback with their feedback partner!
        • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: (Color Coding: Using Complete Sentences) To provide visual cues, color code the subject (red) and predicate (blue) of each Complete or Incomplete sentence strip. (MMR)
        • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with visual processing: (Reading Aloud: Complete Sentences) Encourage students to read aloud each of the Complete or Incomplete sentence strips to determine whether each sounds like a complete sentence. (MMR)

        B. Oral Presentation Practice: Using Complete Sentences (20 minutes)

        • Direct students' attention to the posted What Does Peer Feedback Look and Sound Like? anchor chart and briefly review it.
        • Display the Specific, Positive Feedback sentence starters and briefly review them.
        • Tell students they will now participate in the Peer Feedback protocol to give and receive feedback about speaking in complete sentences. Remind them that they used this protocol in Lesson 7 and review as necessary using the Peer Feedback Protocol anchor chart. (Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of the protocol.)
        • Distribute oral presentation notecards #1-3 and guide students through the protocol, emphasizing feedback on criterion #2: speaking in complete sentences.
        • Circulate to support students as they work, reminding them to use the Specific, Positive Feedback sentence starters to guide their feedback as needed. Consider using the Speaking and Listening Checklist to assess for progress toward SL.2.3, SL.2.4, and SL.2.6. Listen for examples of empathic feedback to highlight during today's Closing.
        • When 1 minute remains, invite students to organize their Materials and move like their favorite pollinator to the group meeting area with their sandwich bag of notecards.
        • For ELLs: (Errors) As students interact, jot down samples of effective communication. Also, jot down one or two common language errors (pervasive, stigmatizing, critical). Share each of these with the class, allowing students to take pride in the effective communication and correct the errors.
        • For students who may need additional support with self-regulation: As students practice their presentations, support time management strategies by utilizing a visual timer. (MME)

        Closing & Assessments

        A. Pinky Partners Protocol: Reflecting on Empathy (10 minutes)

        • Gather whole group and collect students' oral presentation notecards in their labeled sandwich bag.
        • Offer specific, positive feedback about the empathic feedback students just provided to their partners.
        • Follow the same routine from the Closing of Lesson 7 to guide students through reflecting on showing empathy while giving feedback.
          • Review the first learning target.
          • Think-Pair-Share:

          "What was challenging about using your notes to speak in complete sentences? What was helpful about practicing this skill with a partner?" (Responses will vary.)

          • Circulate and choose two to three responses to share with the whole group.
          • If productive, cue students with a challenge:

          "What if you did the presentation without notes? Would that be more difficult or less difficult? Why? I'll give you time to think and discuss with a partner."(Responses will vary.)

          • Review the second learning target.
          • Review the Pinky Partners Protocol anchor chart as necessary and guide students through the Pinky Partners protocol using the following prompts:

          "How did it feel to receive feedback from your partner? How can the feedback help you improve your work?"
          "How did it feel to give feedback to your partner? What did you have to think about?"

          • Give students specific, positive feedback on their attention to their classmate's feelings and their effort to provide empathic feedback.
          • For students who may need additional support in planning for verbal expression: Invite students to rephrase the questions for the Think-Pair-Share in their own words. (MMR, MMAE)