Create a multimedia story presentation, choose formal or informal language and pick precise words

Learning goal: This lesson teaches Ohio's 2026 standards SL.3.5, SL.3.6 and L.3.3 for third grade, first implemented in 2027-28. You will create multimedia presentations of stories or poems and add visual displays when appropriate to emphasize the development of main ideas or themes; identify formal language versus informal language used in various speaking or listening situations or contexts; and use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading or listening, by choosing words and phrases that convey specific ideas and identifying the difference between the conventions of spoken and written formal American English.

Original story — The Kite That Would Not Fly

Priya had made the kite herself, with blue paper, two thin sticks and a tail of knotted ribbons. On Saturday she carried it to the hill behind the library while her grandfather followed with a thermos of tea.

The first time she ran, the kite dragged behind her and bumped along the grass. The second time, it rose a little, twisted, and dove into a patch of clover. Priya sat down hard. "It's broken," she muttered. "I built it wrong."

Her grandfather lifted the kite and turned it over slowly. He did not say it was broken. He held it up and let the breeze push against it. "Watch what the wind tells you," he said.

The kite tipped to the left every time. Priya looked closer. The left side of the tail had three ribbons; the right side had only one. She had tied them in a hurry. She untied one ribbon from the left side and tied it on the right, so each side had two.

This time she did not run. She stood facing away from the wind, held the string loosely and let the breeze take the kite from her hands. It climbed, wobbled once, then rose higher and higher until it was a small blue diamond above the library roof.

Priya let out more string. "It wasn't broken," she said. "It just needed balancing."

Her grandfather poured two cups of tea. "Most things that do not work the first time," he said, "are only asking a question."

They sat on the hill until the sun turned orange, and the little blue diamond stayed in the sky the whole time.

What is a multimedia presentation? Multimedia means more than one medium: words plus pictures, sound, music or video. A multimedia presentation of a story might be a set of slides, each with a picture and a short part of the story read aloud in a recording. The goal is not decoration. The visuals and sounds should help the audience understand the story's development and its main idea or theme.

Emphasize the development of the theme. A theme is an idea about life that the story develops. In "The Kite That Would Not Fly," a theme is that a problem can be a clue to fix, not proof of failure. The theme develops in steps: Priya fails and thinks the kite is broken; her grandfather tells her to watch; she discovers the unbalanced tail; she fixes it and the kite flies; she says it "just needed balancing." A visual display is appropriate when it emphasizes one of these steps. A close-up drawing of the tail with three ribbons on one side and one on the other emphasizes the turning point. A drawing of a smiling sun has nothing to do with the theme, so it is not appropriate, even if it is pretty. Add a visual only when it helps.

Formal and informal language. Informal language is the relaxed way we talk with friends and family: "Hey, check this out! The kite totally flopped." Formal language is more careful and complete, used with audiences we do not know well or in serious situations: "Good morning. Today I will present a story about a girl who solves a problem." Neither is wrong. The situation or context decides which fits. Talking with a friend at lunch calls for informal language. Presenting to the class, speaking to the principal, or answering a question in a science talk calls for formal language. When you listen, clues to formal language include complete sentences, polite greetings, precise words and no slang, but weigh the clues together with the audience and purpose: a friend can speak in complete, polite sentences, and a formal speaker can give a short answer such as "Yes, thank you." Informal language uses slang (totally, cool, gonna), short bits and jokes.

Misconception: "Formal means fancy words." Formal does not mean using long or unusual words. It usually shows in complete sentences, clear precise words and a respectful tone suited to the audience and purpose. "Priya fixed the tail so the kite would balance" is formal and uses plain words.

Choose words and phrases that convey specific ideas. Vague words make an audience guess. "The kite did stuff" tells nothing. "The kite twisted and dove into the clover" conveys a specific idea: what it did and where. Replace vague words such as thing, stuff, nice, went with specific ones: ribbon, twisted, climbed, drifted.

Spoken versus written formal English. Formal spoken English and formal written English share rules, but they have different conventions. In speech you greet the audience, use your voice to show where a sentence ends, point to a slide ("As you can see here"), and may repeat a key idea so listeners remember it. In writing you use capital letters and punctuation to show sentence boundaries, you cannot point with your hand, so a word like this or here needs a clear referent: the reader must be able to tell what it means, either from a noun ("This picture of the tail shows…") or from the sentence just before ("The tail was uneven. This caused a problem."), and you use paragraphs instead of pauses.

Worked model inside the lesson. Priya's classmate Leo plans slide 3. His first script says, "So yeah, the kite was all messed up and stuff." That is informal and vague. He revises to formal, specific language: "On the second try, the kite twisted and dove into the clover." For the visual, he chooses a drawing of the uneven tail, because it emphasizes the clue that develops the theme. He writes the slide caption in formal written English, "The tail had three ribbons on the left and one on the right," with a capital and a period. When he speaks, he adds, "Look closely at the tail on this slide," which works aloud while the slide is showing; in a written report with no slide beside it, "this slide" would point at nothing, so he would name the picture instead ("The drawing of the tail shows…").

Worked choosing visuals: Four possible pictures for a slide about the ending: (1) the kite high above the library roof; (2) a hot-dog stand; (3) Priya and her grandfather sharing tea as the sun sets; (4) a random cartoon rocket. Pictures 1 and 3 are appropriate because they emphasize the resolution and the grandfather's words about problems asking a question. Pictures 2 and 4 do not connect to the theme, so they would distract the audience.

Worked identifying formal and informal: Sentence A: "Dude, that kite was epic!" Sentence B: "The kite rose so high that it looked like a small blue diamond." A is informal: slang (dude, epic), exclamation to a friend. B is formal: a complete sentence, precise description, no slang. A fits a playground chat; B fits a class presentation.

Worked specific words: "Priya felt bad and did a thing to the kite." Specific revision: "Priya felt discouraged, so she untied one ribbon and moved it to the right side of the tail." Discouraged names the exact feeling, and untied and moved name the exact actions, so the listener understands the idea without guessing.

Worked spoken to written: Spoken: "Okay, so, see this? This is where she figures it out." Written formal version for the slide notes: "This picture shows the moment Priya notices the uneven tail." The written version drops fillers (okay, so), replaces pointing (see this) with a name for the picture, and uses a capital letter and period.

Record: storyboard planner. Draw six boxes, one per slide. In each box, write the part of the story, a sketch of the visual, and a note saying which step of the theme's development it emphasizes, or "no visual needed." Under each box, write the formal sentence you will say.

Language sort: Your adult reads ten sentences from different situations (a lunch chat, a news report, a thank-you speech, a text to a cousin). Sort them into formal and informal, and name the clue that helped you decide.

Independent performance: Create a multimedia presentation of "The Kite That Would Not Fly" or a poem you choose, using at least four slides with recorded narration or live reading. Success criteria: (1) each visual display emphasizes a step in the development of the main idea or theme, and you can explain how; (2) you leave out any visual that does not help; (3) you speak in formal language to the audience, then name one informal phrase you replaced; (4) your script uses specific words, with at least three vague words replaced by precise ones; (5) your written slide captions follow written conventions (capitals, end punctuation, no pointing words such as this or here unless the reader can tell what they refer to), and you can explain one difference between what you said and what you wrote; (6) you speak at a pace listeners can follow.