Presentations
March 26-29
The Basics
Purpose
Details
- Take a clear and reflective position on the question.
- Reference TKAM, GSAW, or KR to help clarify your point.
- Reference an historical document to support your point.
Venues
- Auditorium Stage and Video-recorded
- Roost Stage and Video-recorded
- [Classroom and video-recorded]
- [Recorded]
The Details
Possible Categories of Equality include:
- Race, gender, social status, justice, employment, economic status, religion, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental limitations, etc.
- What specific stories can you tell?
- What complications are there to solving it?
- Why do people have the attitudes that they do about it?
- What facts and statistics will support your thinking?
- What interviews or surveys might support your ideas?
- What kind of visuals will you need to complement your ideas?
What do you need to include for a solid score?
Whether you argue that _____________________ equality is or isn’t possible or somewhere in between, you must build your position based on the following:
- Your own knowledge of the United States today. This could include your knowledge of the United States since and before the 1930s
- Your knowledge of the United States in the 1930s (as studied in U.S. history class)
- Your knowledge of the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird (as studied in ELA 9) or your alternative novel (GSAW, KR)
In your talk, you might:
- Describe exactly what issue you will be discussing (related to equality)
- Identify and describe the causes of ________________________ inequality
- Discuss how people develop positive and negative points of view about your topic
- Directly answer why _______________________ equality is or is not achievable in the United States. Answering why _____________________ equality is or is not achievable will likely require that you discuss what will need to change to create equality or what will never change that is preventing equality.
The TED Commandments
1. Thou shalt not be boring or formulaic.
Read: “5 great ways to open a speech” and “5 signs your speech will bore your audience“
2. Thou shalt share something thou hast never shared before.
Read: “‘I Have a Dream’ holds 5 lessons for speechwriters“
3. Thou shalt be curious and passionate.
Read: “3 public speaking lessons from Julia Child“
4. Thou shalt tell a story.
Read: “Compelling stories make memorable speeches“
5. Thou shalt freely comment on other speakers for connections and controversy.
Read: “The smartest insights ever about public speaking“
6. Thou shalt be vulnerable; speak of thy failure as well as thy success.
Read: “7 ways to connect with your audience during a speech“
7. Thou shalt not sell things from the stage.
Read: “5 ways to become a better speaker overnight“
8. Thou shalt remember: Laughter is good.
Read: “7 ways to inject humor into your speech” and “How to add humor to your speech—without being a comedian“
9. Thou shalt not read thy speech.
Read: “What standup comics can teach you about public speaking“
10. Thou shalt not steal the time of others.
Our Rubrics
Your Language and Literature teacher and your Individual and Societies teacher will each score you in each of these four areas. Their scores will be combined to create a final score on the 8-pt scale.
Score |
Criterion A – Disciplinary Grounding |
Specifics |
1-2 | The student demonstrates limited relevant disciplinary grounding. | US History – demonstrates limited relevant historical context of the 1930s (socio-economic status, racial barriers, or political programs) ELA 9 – demonstrates limited relevant ideas concerning characters’ points of view (major or minor characters of different races, socio-economic status, or gender) |
3-4 | The student demonstrates some relevant disciplinary grounding. | US History – demonstrates some relevant historical context of the 1930s (socio-economic status, racial barriers, or political programs) ELA 9 – demonstrates some relevant ideas concerning characters’ points of view (major and minor characters of different races, socio-economic status, or gender) |
5-6 | The student demonstrates most necessary disciplinary grounding. | US History – demonstrates most necessary historical context of the 1930s (socio-economic status, racial barriers, and political programs) ELA 9 – demonstrates most necessary ideas concerning characters’ points of view (major and minor characters of different races, socio-economic status, and gender) |
7-8 | The student demonstrates extensive necessary disciplinary grounding | US History – demonstrates extensive historical context of the 1930s (socio-economic status, racial barriers, and political programs) ELA 9 – demonstrates extensive ideas concerning characters’ points of view (major and minor characters of different races, socio-economic status, and gender) |
Score |
Criterion B – Synthesizing |
Specifics |
1-2 | The student establishes few and/or superficial connections between disciplines | Establishes few and/or superficial connections between the 1930s and To Kill a Mockingbird to today to answer the question “Is equality achievable?” |
3-4 | The student connects disciplinary knowledge to achieve adequate understanding. | Makes connections between the 1930s and To Kill a Mockingbird to today to answer the question “Is equality achievable?” Adequately supports ideas. |
5-6 | The student synthesizes disciplinary knowledge to demonstrate consistent, thorough interdisciplinary understanding | Synthesizes (makes connections) between the 1930s and To Kill a Mockingbird to today to answer the question “Is equality achievable?” Consistently and thoroughly supports ideas with interdisciplinary links. |
7-8 | The student synthesizes disciplinary knowledge to demonstrate consistent, thorough and insightful interdisciplinary understanding. | Synthesizes (makes connections) between the 1930s and To Kill a Mockingbird to today to answer the question “Is equality achievable?” Consistently, thoroughly, and insightfully supports ideas with interdisciplinary links. |
Score |
Criterion C – Communicating |
Specifics |
1-2 | The student communicates interdisciplinary understanding with little structure, clarity or coherence | Communicates understanding in presentation with little structure, clarify or coherence. Video or podcast is not effective. Does not use sources. |
3-4 | The student communicates interdisciplinary understanding with some organization and coherence, recognizing appropriate forms or media; lists sources. | Communicates understanding in presentation with some organization and coherence. Recognizes appropriate use of video or podcast. Lists sources through references in speech. |
5-6 | The student communicates interdisciplinary understanding that is generally organized, clear and coherent, beginning to use selected forms or media effectively; documents relevant sources using a recognized convention | Communicates understanding in presentation in a generally organized, clear and coherent manner. Begins to use video or podcast effectively. Documents relevant sources through references in speech. |
7-8 | The student communicates interdisciplinary understanding that is consistently well structured, clear and coherent, using selected forms or media effectively; consistently documents well-chosen sources using a recognized convention. | Communicates understanding in presentation in a consistently well-structured organized, clear and coherent manner. Uses video or podcast effectively and consistently documents well-chosen sources through references in speech. |
Score |
Criterion D – Reflecting |
Specifics |
1-2 | The student:
|
Demonstrates limited reflection of their own process in learning. Describes superficially the limitations or benefits of looking at inequality through either a historical and literary lens. |
3-4 | The student:
|
Demonstrates adequate reflection by addressing their own process in learning and new realizations/connections. Describes some of the limitations and benefits of looking at inequality through both a historical and literary lens. |
5-6 | The student:
|
Demonstrates significant reflection by addressing their own process in learning and new realizations/connections. Explains the limitations and benefits of looking at inequality through both a historical and literary lens. |
7-8 | The student:
|
Demonstrates thorough and nuanced reflection by addressing their own process in learning and new realizations/connections. Evaluates thoroughly and with sophistication the limitations and benefits of looking at inequality through both a historical and literary lens and addresses the ways of knowing (the thinking methods used to make connections) in this presentation. |
Disciplinary Grounding Tips
History
- There is what your history book tells you, what your history teacher offers in notes . . . but then there are also the details about the 1930s which you find on your own! Don’t just mention the WPA, the IAI, etc., but offer us one or two details, too, which you discover that help add a new spin or understanding of your topic!
Literature
- The best applications to literature aren’t in the broad discussions of Atticus or Scout in general. Instead, think about some of those smaller details along the way which reveal the complexity of equality: How do we understand a Mrs. Dubose? The death of Tim Johnson? Mr. Raymond’s behavior? Boo’s gifts? The cause-effect idea of Jem’s broken arm on page 1? Why is it hard to hate Mayella’s ignorance? Who is Calpurnia that speaks a different language with her own friends than she does at the Finch house?
Synthesizing
Communicating
This one is easy, but it’s important that:
- You have a few clearly-defined sections of your presentation and you order them logically, both in your multi-media and your speaking: “Now that we’ve seen (this idea), we can better understand (this new idea).”
- Lead us to a cool point or understanding. Show us a discovery you’ve made!
Research:
- Cite your sources. Cite your sources. Cite your sources!
- Use EasyBib’s MLA format to produce a list of sources on paper or on a final slide of your presentation. (It’s also a cool Chrome extension)
- Yes, cite your novel and your textbook, if you use them!
- Yes, cite any interview or survey you do.
- Yes. cite any additional reading or research you do!
- Cite the sources you actually use in your presentation, not just everything you look up.
- Speak your sources out loud, too: “In fact, as recently as 2015, a USA Today survey showed . . . “. Then we’ll get the full MLA source in your last slide or paper.
- Mark the sources on the slides you use where you use the source: “(the author or title of the source only)”
Reflecting
For example: “One of the most important things I’ve learned as I’ve considered the equality of Americans under 18 is . . . ” or “So what did I really learn from all of this? Well , . . . “
- That learning isn’t just about equality: it’s about how you went about studying this topic.
- Was this chapter of history helpful in any way or limiting?
- Was the novel you read enlightening to your thinking or now irrelevant?
- If there were others ways to study this topic, what might they be?