Standard R.L. 6.

2 I can analyze a literary text to determine its theme and explain how it is conveyed through particular
details in the text.

Literature Project on Theme for 2nd & 3rd 6 weeks

Overview: www.mspalof.weebly.com under PROJECTS TAB
As a 6th grader, you should be reading at least 20 minutes every night to grow your vocabulary,
comprehension, and reading ability. If you have not been doing this already, you will start in order to complete
a project. You will pick a novel (chapter book, fiction) that you want to read and that is appropriate for your
Lexile # Level (no baby books!). You can get a novel from home, the school library, the public library, or Ms.
Palofs classroom library. You will want a book you can keep reading or renew for several weeks. You are
encouraged, but not required, to take notes as you read (so your essay is easier to do later). You CANNOT do
your project on the book we read together in class! It must be INDEPENDENT (On your own) reading.

When Its Due:

Literature Project on Theme (Writing Piece + Planned Presentation on Books Theme) is Due on Monday
December 11th. This will count for your 3rd 6 weeks grade, it is being assigned on 0ct.3rd & you will have 7
weeks total to work on it (give or take breaks, its closer to 8 weeks!).

What You Should Do:

1. Pick a novel you want to read that is appropriate for your Lexile level or 6th grade level
2. You will read this novel for the next several weeks. If you read about 20 minutes a night/day you
should be able to finish it in a few weeks and still have a few weeks to work on the essay and
presentation.
a. By October 25 Library Day - Tell Ms. Palof the book name/get it approved (You can do this
before then too)
b. By November 17th (before Thanksgiving break) Tell Ms. Palof your progress/ask questions.
c. By December 4th- (week before its due) be done reading and finishing the writing and
presentation. Ask final questions today, NOT the day before it is due.
d. December 11th- Turn it all in, be ready to present theme/book to the class!
3. Make sure you pay special attention to the books theme. You will NOT be simply telling what
happened you will be telling how what happened shows a THEME in the book. You will need evidence
from the book, so you may want to take notes as you read or when you come across clues to theme
(what are the characters learning or going through?)
4. You will write a 5 paragraph (or more) essay that describes the books theme, using specific examples
from the text that prove you read the book (an example appears later in these directions AND an
outline is provided to assist you). You do not have to follow this exact format, it is there to help you!
5. On December 11th you will hand in your theme essay! You will present to the class a Book Talk in
which you share the theme you learned and make us want to read the book. You will have a planned
presentation of a way to share the theme: A piece of artwork that shows the theme, a creative model
of an important scene that shows theme, a diorama that shows theme, a costume that shows the
theme, a sculpture that shows theme, a video, a performance (song or dance), etc. BE CREATIVE! How
you present should demonstrate the theme, you CANNOT DO A POWERPOINT and it should be obvious
you can show us the theme and explain it
Standard R.L. 6.2 I can analyze a literary text to determine its theme and explain how it is conveyed through particular
details in the text.

Literary Theme Essay Outline

(5 Paragraphs are expected, use the following to guide you!)
Quoting the text and giving evidence for the theme is expected!
Format is up to you (Refer to Moves Writers Make When They Organize Essays)

I. Paragraph #1 includes:
A. Title in italics (or underlined if handwritten)
B. Author
C. A brief summary (a few sentences sentences) of the most important plot line (NO DETAILS, the
overview, a brief statement about what the book is mostly about).
D. Your thesis statement (this is the focus of your paper, you can mention the theme of the novel you will
spend the rest of the paper analyzing. NO NOT SAY My thesis statement isa smart reader knows and
you will sound silly!)

II. Paragraph #2 includes:

A. Transition that introduces first example from the text.
B. Example from the text.
C. Explanation and details about the example.
D. Cited evidence from the text to support your observation.

I will quote from page ________________

III. Paragraph #3 includes:

A. Transition that introduces second example from the text.
B. Example from the text.
C. Explanation and details about the example.
D. Cited evidence from the text to support your observation.

I will quote or reference the section on page _______________

IV. Paragraph #4 includes:

A. Transition that introduces third example from the text.
B. Example from the text.
C. Explanation and details about the example.
D. Cited evidence from the text to support your observation.

I will quote or reference the section on page ________________

V. Paragraph #5, Conclusion:

A. Restate the theme
B. Give a personal connection to the theme.
C. Explain how this book affected you and why it is important.
Standard R.L. 6.2 I can analyze a literary text to determine its theme and explain how it is conveyed through particular
details in the text.
 75 COMMON THEME TOPICS

A theme is a broad idea, message, moral, universal truth or lesson expressed.

1. Confidence vs. insecurities

2. Overcoming fears
3. Appreciation/ gratitude
4. Acceptance/ tolerance
5. Kindness
6. Honesty
7. Teamwork/ goals/ collaboration
8. Overcoming adversities
9. Loss of innocence/ Coming of age (Learning about the harsh realities of the world)
10. Sacrifice (What will you do or say to save/ help someone else?)
11. Nature vs. nurture
12. Fall from grace (i.e., opening Pandoras Box, tasting the forbidden fruit, etc.)
13. Love (platonic - romantic)
14. Friendship (How far will you go? Standing up for friends, etc.)
15. Fate/ destiny (Are you in control of your fate? Is there such a thing?)
16. Revenge (Good vs. bad outcomes, etc.)
17. Taking advantage of
18. The unexplained (mysterious happenings which cannot be reasonably explained)
19. The importance of education/ Intellectual education/ Moral education
20. Bravery vs. cowardice
21. Racism and prejudice
22. Role of women, minorities, etc.
23. Maturity vs. immaturity
24. Social class structure/ inequalities/ poverty
25. Code of conduct
26. Privacy and security
27. Uncertainty (Or, the impossibility of certainty)
28. Life and death (mortality and immortality/ circle of life)
29. The American Dream (Or, the decline of it)
30. Time (the value of it)
31. Social change
32. Civilized vs. uncivilized society
33. Hatred and regret
34. Existence of good and/ or evil
35. The power of one
36. Innocence and experience
37. Choices and possibilities
38. Guilt vs. forgiveness
39. Family bond/ loyalty
40. Religion/ spirituality/ faith
41. Heroism
42. Freedom (Causes of/ consequences of)
43. Individuality vs. group
44. Liberty and authority
45. Fame and fortune
46. Greed and selfishness
47. Personal vs. public property
48. Commitment (marriage, career, family, friends, responsibilities, etc.)
49. Abuse (physically, emotionally, etc.)
50. Life out of balance/ chaos vs. order
51. Personal vs. group identity (how is it defined?)
52. Beauty (is in the eye of the beholder)
53. Life is short
54. Alienation/ shunned from family, friends, life, society, etc.
55. Value of life (in creatures big and small)
56. Attraction
57. Purpose of life
58. War vs. peace
59. Betrayal/ breaking a bond
60. Desire to escape
61. Empowerment
62. Communication: verbal and nonverbal
63. Ignorance vs. knowledge
64. Emptiness/ loneliness
65. Traditions vs. change
66. Government/ capitalism/ socialism/ communism/
67. Responsibilities
68. Crime and the law
69. Peer pressure
70. Human needs
71. Patterns (in human interaction, nature, etc.)
72. Conflict (Interpersonal, intrapersonal, etc.)
73. Exploration
74. Relationships (purpose of, etc.)
75. Force (attracts, repels, influences of, causes of)
 6th Grade Recommended Reading List

Aldabra / Sylvana Gandolfi - In Venice, Italy, ten-year-old Elisa finds she must deal with all the unexpected conse-
quences of her beloved eccentric grandmother's transformation into a giant Aldabra tortoise, native to a small
group of coral islands in the Seychelles.

Alone in the Universe / Lynne Rae Perkins

Debbie is dismayed when her best friend Maureen starts spending time with
ordinary, boring Glenna.

Amelia's War / Ann Rinaldi

When a Confederate general threatens to burn Hagerstown, Maryland, unless it pays an exorbitant ransom, twelve-
year-old Amelia and her friend find a way to save the town.

Amisted: A Long Road to Freedom / Walter Dean Myers

A history of the 1839 uprising of African captives aboard the slave ship Amistad, telling of their three-year
imprisonment in the United States and their eventual acquittal by the Supreme Court.

Angus Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging / Louise Rennison

Presents the humorous journal of a year in the life of a fourteen-year-old British girl who tries to reduce the size of
her nose, stop her mad cat from terrorizing the neighborhood animals, and win the love of handsome hunk Robbie.

Artemis Fowl / Eoin Colfer

Artemis Fowl creates an extraordinarily powerful computer with stolen fairy technology, but his business deal
hopes go sour when a Chicago businessman steals his invention and mortally wounds Artemis's loyal bodyguard.

Because of Winn-Dixie / Kate DiCamillo

Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things
that happen to her because of her big ugly dog Winn-Dixie.

The Big Wander / Will Hobbs.

As he searches for his uncle through the rugged Southwest canyon country, fourteen-year-old Clay becomes in-
volved with a group of Navajo Indians who are trying to save some of the last wild mustangs.

Blue Jasmine / Kashmira Sheth - When twelve-year-old Seema moves to Iowa City with her parents and younger
sister, she leaves friends and family behind in her native India but gradually begins to feel at home in her new
country.

Brian's Winter / Gary Paulsen

Instead of being rescued from a plane crash, as in the author's book Hatchet, this story portrays what would have
happened to Brian had he been forced to survive a winter in the wilderness with only his survival pack and
hatchet.

Bud, Not Buddy / Christopher Paul Curtis

 Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster
home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father--the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of
Grand
Rapids.

Catherine Called Birdy / Karen Cushman

The daughter of an English country knight keeps a journal in which she records the events of her life, particularly
her longing for adventures beyond the usual role of women and her efforts to avoid being married off.

Charlie Bone and the Time Twister / Jenny Nimmo

While at Bloor's Academy, Charlie Bone gets a surprise when Henry Yewbeam arrives from the year 1916 and
needs
Charlie's help to stay alive.

Chasing Vermeer / Blue Balliett Outsiders Petra and Calder become friends as they try to find out what hap-
pened to a missing Vermeer painting

Children of the Wolves / Jane Yolen

In 1920 India two children that have been raised by wolves are discovered and brought to an orphanage to be
taught human
behavior again.

The City of Ember / Jeanne DuPrau

In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in
her
decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.

Clover / Dori Sanders

After her father dies within hours of being married to a white woman, a ten-year-old black girl learns with her
new mother to overcome grief and to adjust to a new place in their rural African-American South Carolina com-
munity

Crispin / Avi
Falsely accused of theft and murder, an orphaned peasant boy in fourteenth-century England flees his village
and meets a larger-than-life juggler who holds a dangerous secret.

The Crow-Girl / Bodil Bredsdorff - After the death of her grandmother, a young orphaned girl leaves her house by
the cove and begins a journey which leads her to people and experiences that exemplify the wisdom her grand-
mother had shared with her.

Ella Enchanted / Gail Carson Levine

In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey
any order given to her.
Esperanza Rising / Pam Munoz Ryan
Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the la-
bor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers
on the eve of the Great Depression.

Fair Weather / Richard Peck

In 1893, thirteen-year-old Rosie and members of her family travel from their Illinois farm to Chicago to visit
Aunt Euterpe and attend the World's Columbian Exposition which, along with an encounter with Buffalo Bill and
Lillian Russell, turns out to be a life-changing experience for everyone.

Far North / Will Hobbs

After the destruction of their floatplane, sixteen-year-old Gabe and his Dene friend, Raymond, struggle to survive
a winter in the wilderness of the Northwest Territories of Canada.

Fever 1793 / Laurie HalseAnderson

In 1793 Philadelphia, sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick mother, learns about perseverance
and
self-reliance when she is forced to cope with the horrors of a yellow fever epidemic.

Fish / L. S. Matthews - As fighting closes in on the village where Tiger's parents have been working, the three of
them and a mysterious guide set out on a difficult journey to safety.

The Folk Keeper / Franny Billingsley

Orphaned Corinna disguises herself as a boy to pose as a Folk Keeper, one who keeps the Evil Folk at bay, and
discovers her heritage as a seal maiden when she is taken to live with a wealthy family in their manor by the sea.

Ghost Canoe / Will Hobbs

Fourteen-year-old Nathan, fishing with the Makah in the Pacific Northwest, finds himself holding a vital clue
when a
mysterious stranger comes to town looking for Spanish treasure.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone / J.K. Rowling

Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth
while attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Hatchet / Gary Paulsen

After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the wilderness, learning to survive initially
with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce.

How Angel Peterson Got His Name: and Other Outrageous Tales about Extreme Sports /
Gary Paulsen
Author Gary Paulsen relates tales from his youth in a small town in northwestern Minnesota in the late 1940s and
early 1950s, such as skiing behind a souped-up car and imitating daredevil Evel Knievel.

Ida B. / Katherine Hannigan - In Wisconsin, fourth-grader Ida B spends happy hours being home-schooled and
playing in her family's apple orchard, until her mother begins treatment for breast cancer and her parents must sell
part of the orchard and send her to public school.

Island of the Blue Dolphins / Scott ODell

Records the courage and self-reliance of an Indian girl who lived alone for eighteen years on an isolated island off
the
California coast when her tribe emigrated and she was left behind.

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key / Jack Gantos - To the constant disappointment of his mother and his teachers, Joey
has trouble paying attention or controlling his mood swings when his prescription meds wear off and he starts get-
ting worked up and acting wired.

The Journal of Biddy Owens: the Negro Leagues / Walter Dean Myers
Teenager Biddy Owens' 1948 journal about working for the Birmingham Black Barons includes the games and
the players, racism the team faces from New Orleans to Chicago, and his family's resistance to his becoming a
professional baseball player. Includes a historical note about the evolution of the Negro Leagues.

Julius Caesar / Samuel Willard Crompton

A biography of the Roman general and statesman whose brilliant military leadership helped make Rome the center
of a vast empire.

Just Ella / Margaret P. Haddix

In this continuation of the Cinderella story, fifteen-year-old Ella finds that accepting Prince Charming's proposal
en snares her in a suffocating tangle of palace rules and royal etiquette, so she plots to escape.

The Kite Rider: A Novel / Geraldine McCaughrean

In thirteenth-century China, after trying to save his widowed mother from a horrendous second marriage, twelve-
year-old Haoyou has life-changing adventures when he takes to the sky as a circus kite rider and ends up meeting
the great Mongol ruler Kublai Khan.

The Legend of Luke / Brian Jacques

When Martin the Warrior leaves Redwall Abbey and embarks upon a journey to the place of his birth, he learns
about the brave and noble deeds of his father Luke, a real Warrior Chieftain.

The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Rick Riordan - Percy, expelled from six schools for be-
ing unable to control his temper, learns the truth from his mother that his father is the Greek god Poseidon, and is
sent to Camp Half Blood where he is befriended by a satyr and the demigod daughter of Athena who join him in a
journey to the Underworld to retrieve Zeus's lightning bolt and prevent a catastrophic war.

Locomotion / Jacqueline Woodson - Inspired by his teacher, eleven-year-old Lonnie begins to write about his life
in a series of poems in which he discusses his feelings about his friends, his foster mom, his little sister Lili, and
the death of his parents.

Love That Dog / Sharon Creech

A young student, who comes to love poetry through a personal understanding of what different famous poems
mean to him, surprises himself by writing his own inspired poem.

Matilda Bone / Karen Cushman

Fourteen-year-old Matilda, an apprentice bonesetter and practitioner of medicine in a medieval English village,
tries to
reconcile the spiritual and practical aspects of her life.

Mick Harte Was Here / Barbara Park

Thirteen-year-old Phoebe recalls the death of her younger brother Mick in a bicycle accident, which might not
have been fatal had he been wearing his helmet, and how she and her family reacted to the tragedy.

Midnight for Charlie Bone / Jenny Nimmo

Seemingly ordinary Charlie Bone suddenly discovers that he can hear the thoughts of people in photographs, a
talent that dour Grandma Bone and her three baleful sisters work to bend to their own ends by sending him to
Bloor's and to its sinister
headmaster. It's not an easy year for Charlie despite the friends he makes. Too many people have it in for him as
he's swept into an age-old battle being waged by descendants of a powerful king of long ago.

The Midwifes Apprentice / Karen Cushman

In medieval England, a nameless, homeless girl is taken in by a sharp-tempered midwife, and in spite of obsta-
cles and
hardship, eventually gains the three things she most wants: a full belly, a contented heart, and a place in
this world.

The Million Dollar Kick / Dan Gutman.

Thirteen-year-old Whisper, who hates sports, is torn when she gets a chance to win a million dollars by kicking
a goal against a local soccer hero.

Miracle Boys / Jacqueline Woodson

Twelve-year-old Lafayette's close relationship with his older brother Charlie changes after Charlie is released
from a detention home and blames Lafayette for the death of their mother.

Mossflower / Brian Jacques

Martin the warrior mouse and Gonff the mousethief set out to find the missing ruler of Mossflower, while the
other animal inhabitants of the woodland prepare to rebel against the evil wildcat who has seized power.

The Other Side: Shorter Poems / A collection of poems reminiscent of growing up as an African-American girl in
Shorter, Alabama.

Parks Quest / Katherine Patterson

Eleven-year-old Park makes some startling discoveries when he travels to his grandfather's farm in Virginia to
learn about his father who died in the Vietnam War.

Pictures of Hollis Woods / Patricia Reilly Giff

 A troublesome twelve-year-old orphan, staying with an elderly artist who needs her, remembers the only other
time she was happy in a foster home, with a family that truly seemed to care about her.

Red Kayak / Priscilla Cummings - Living near the water on Maryland's Eastern Shore, thirteen-year-old Brady and
his best friends J.T. and Digger become entangled in a tragedy which tests their friendship and their ideas about
right and wrong.

Revenge of the Whale: The True Story of the Whaleship Essex / Nathaniel Philbrick
Recounts the 1820 sinking of the whaleship "Essex" by an enraged sperm whale and how the crew of young
men survived against impossible odds. Based on the author's adult book "In the Heart of the Sea."

Rodzina / Karen Cushman

A twelve-year-old Polish American girl is boarded onto an orphan train in Chicago with fears about traveling to
the West and a life of unpaid slavery.

The Roman Army / Dyan Blacklock - Presents an illustrated history of the Roman Army, including information
about its composition, organization, training, methods, weapons, and campaigns.

The Silent Boy / Lois Lowry

Katy, the precocious ten-year-old daughter of the town doctor, befriends a retarded boy.

Silent to the Bone / E.L. Konigsburg

When he is wrongly accused of gravely injuring his baby half-sister, thirteen-year-old Branwell loses his power
of speech and only his friend Connor is able to reach him and uncover the truth about what really happened.
So B. It / Sarah Weeks - After spending her life with her mentally retarded mother and agoraphobic neighbor,
twelve-year-old Heidi sets out from Reno, Nevada, to New York to find out who she is.

Stargirl / Jerry Spinelli

In this story about the perils of popularity, the courage of nonconformity, and the thrill of first love, an eccentric
student named Stargirl changes Mica High School forever.

Tonight, by Sea / Frances Temple

As governmental brutality and poverty become unbearable, Paulie joins with others in her small Haitian village to
help her uncle secretly build a boat they will use to try to escape to the United States.

Under the Same Sky / Cynthia DeFelice.

While trying to earn money for a motor bike, fourteen-year-old Joe Pederson becomes involved with the Mexi-
cans who work on his family's farm and develops a better relationship with his father.

Walk Two Moons / Sharon Creech

After her mother leaves home suddenly, thirteen-year-old Sal and her grandparents take a car trip retracing
her mother's route. Along the way, Sal recounts the story of her friend Phoebe, whose mother also left.
The Wanderer / Sharon Creech
Thirteen-year-old Sophie and her cousin Cody record their transatlantic crossing aboard the Wanderer, a forty-
five foot sailboat, which, along with uncles and another cousin, is en route to visit their grandfather in England.

The Waterstone / Rebecca Rupp

Twelve-year-old Tad, finding that he holds an ancient wisdom and the power to draw beings together, embarks on
a quest to seek a powerful crystal which, when retrieved from the evil Nixie, will restore balance to the world.

A Year Down Yonder / Richard Peck

During the recession of 1937, fifteen-year-old Mary Alice is sent to live with her feisty, larger-than-life grand-
mother in rural Illinois and comes to a better understanding of this fearsome woman.

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town / Kimberly Willis Holt

During the summer of 1971 in a small Texas town, thirteen-year-old Toby and his best friend Cal meet the star of
a sideshow act, 600-pound Zachary, the fattest boy in the world

Witness / Karen Hesse

A history-inspired novel, told in the voices of eleven characters, about two young girls, one Jewish and the other
African-American, who come to the attention of the newly formed Ku Klux Klan in a small Vermont town in
1924.

The Wolves in the Walls / Neil Gaiman - Lucy is sure there are wolves living in the walls of her house, although
others in her family disagree, and when the wolves come out, the adventure begins.
Name: _______________________________________
Literature Project:
Theme Analysis Essay SCORE (out
of 50)
(Literary Essay)
Requirement Distinguished 9-10
Essay presents a clear,
analysis of a theme. Thesis is
Ideas & Content evident and supporting
paragraphs are focused.
Paper flows well and is
easy to follow. Language and
Fluency & Flow word choice is effective and
appropriate.
Essay is organized logically
Organization and effectively
Student uses more than
three excerpts out of the
Evidence book that clearly support
thesis.
Conventions Minimal editing required.
Standards Addressed (Reading Literature= R.L., Writing = W)
R.L. 6.1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
R.L. 6.2 Determine the theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details
R L. 6.3 Describe how a particular storys or dramas plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves
toward a resolution
W 6.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
Ideas & Content
Fluency & Flow
Organization
Evidence
Conventions
Proficient 7-8
Essay presents an analysis of
a theme. Thesis is evident
and supporting paragraphs
are mostly focused.
Paper mostly flows, and is
mostly easy to follow.
Language and word choice is
mostly appropriate.
Essay is mostly organized
logically and effectively
Student uses two or three
excerpts out of the book that
clearly support thesis.
Some editing required.
_____ (10)
_____ (10)
_____ (10)
_____ (10)
_____ (10)
Apprentice 5-6 Novice 0-4
Essay presents a clear,
Essay fails to present an
analysis of a theme. Thesis is
analysis of a theme. Thesis is
mostly evident and
supporting paragraphs are
not evident and supporting
paragraphs are unclear and
sometimes focused and
confusing.
sometimes clear.
Paper has some flow, but Paper has no flow, and a lack
sometimes hard to follow. of fluency makes it difficult to
Language and word choice is follow. Language and word
somewhat appropriate. choice is not appropriate.
Essay shows some Essay shows lack of, or
organization confusing, organization
Student uses one excerpt Student uses no excerpts out
out of the book that clearly of the book that clearly
support thesis. support thesis.
Extensive editing required. Errors impede meaning.
Name: _______________________________________ Explanation of Ideas & Info.
Literature Project: Organization
Eyes & Body
Presentation Voice
Presentation Aids
Requirement Distinguished Proficient 7-8
9-10 At Standard
Above Standard
Uses relevant, well-chosen descriptions,
facts, details, and examples to support
Explanation of Ideas & Information
claims, findings, arguments, or an answer
to a Driving Question (CC 6-8.SL.4)
Includes everything required in the
presentation, states main idea and moves
from one idea to the next in a logical
order, emphasizing main points in a
Organization focused, coherent manner (CC 6-8.SL.4)
has an effective introduction and
conclusion, organizes time well; no part
of the presentation is rushed, too short or
too long.
Keeps eye contact with audience most of
the time; only glances at notes or slides
(CC 6-8.SL.4) uses natural gestures and
Eyes & Body
movements, looks poised and confident,
wears clothing appropriate for the
occasion.
Speaks clearly; not too quickly or slowly
(CC 6-8.SL.4) speaks loudly enough for
everyone to hear; changes tone to
maintain interest (CC 6-8.SL.4), rarely
Voice
uses filler words speaks appropriately for
the context and task, demonstrating
command of formal English when
appropriate (CC 6-8.SL.6)
Uses well-produced audio/visual aids or
media to clarify information, emphasize
Presentation Aids
important points, strengthen arguments,
and add interest (CC 6-8.SL.
_____ (10)
_____ (10)
_____ (10)
_____ (10)
_____ (10)
Apprentice 5-6
Approaching Standard
Uses some descriptions, facts,
details, and examples that support
ideas, but there may not be enough,
or some are irrelevant.
Includes almost everything required
in the presentation, moves from one
idea to the next, but main idea may
not be clear or some ideas may be in
the wrong order, has an introduction
and conclusion, but they are not
effective, generally times
presentation well, but may spend too
much or too little time on a topic, a/v
aid, or idea.
Makes infrequent eye contact; reads
notes or slides most of the time uses
a few gestures or movements but
they do not look natural, shows some
poise and confidence (only a little
fidgeting or nervous movement).
Speaks clearly most of the time;
sometimes too quickly or slowly,
speaks loudly enough for most of the
audience to hear, but may speak in a
monotone, occasionally uses filler
words, tries to speak appropriately
for the context and task.
Uses audio/visual aids or media, but
they sometimes distract from or do
not add to the presentation.
SCORE (out of 50)
Novice 0-4
Below Standard
Uses too few, inappropriate, or
irrelevant descriptions, facts, details,
or examples to support ideas.
Does not include important parts
required in the presentation, does not
have a main idea or presents ideas in
an order that does not make sense,
does not have an introduction and/or
conclusion, uses time poorly; the
whole presentation, or a part of it, is
too short or too long.
Does not look at audience; reads
notes or slides, does not use gestures
or movements, lacks poise and
confidence (fidgets, slouches, appears
nervous).
Mumbles or speaks too quickly or
slowly, speaks too softly to be
understood, frequently uses filler
words (uh, um, so, and, like, etc.),
does not speak appropriately for the
context and task (may be too
informal, use slang).
Does not use audio/visual aids or
media, attempts to use one or a few
audio/visual aids or media but they
distract from or do not add to the
presentation.