Present findings with a followable line of reasoning, use digital media strategically, and adapt speech to context with command of formal English

Learning goal: Present information, findings and supporting evidence clearly, concisely and logically so that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, and so that organization, development, substance and style suit purpose, audience and task. Make strategic use of digital media (textual, graphical, audio, visual and interactive elements) to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning and evidence and to add interest. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

The scenario this unit uses. Linden Ridge High School is invented, and so is every number attached to it. The school, which enrolls 1,140 students, is deciding whether to require students to lock their phones in magnetic pouches during class periods, unlocking them at lunch and at the end of the day. The simulated sources are these. Cost sheet: 1,140 pouches at 25 dollars each (28,500 dollars) plus six unlocking stations at 450 dollars each (2,700 dollars), a total of 31,200 dollars, to be paid from a one-time fund of 35,000 dollars. Pilot log: two ninth-grade English sections, 58 students in all, used pouches for six weeks; their two teachers counted phone-related redirections and recorded an average of 9 per 50-minute period in the three weeks before the pilot and 2 per period during it. Pilot quizzes: unit-quiz averages were 74 percent before the pilot and 79 percent during it, on different units. Student survey: 640 of the 1,140 students responded; 384 opposed the policy, 192 supported it and 64 were unsure. Parent letter: 41 families signed a letter asking how they would reach their children in an emergency. Oakmere report: a neighboring district, also invented, replaced 90 of its 750 pouches in the first year because of damage or loss. None of this describes a real school, and the evidence supports more than one reasonable position.

Listening is not reading. A reader can go back; a listener cannot. Everything in this standard follows from that difference. A presentation must make its line of reasoning audible: the listener should always know what the claim is, which reason they are hearing, and how it connects to the last one. Writers can rely on paragraphs and headings. Speakers rely on signposts: spoken statements of structure such as "I have three findings," "The second finding is about cost," and "So what does this mean for the board?"

Clearly, concisely, logically. Clearly means the listener can restate each point. Concisely means every sentence earns its time; a five-minute presentation has room for about 600 to 700 spoken words, so a speaker who spends two minutes on background has used two fifths of the time. Logically means the order of points reflects how they depend on each other: the finding before its limit, the evidence before the recommendation that depends on it.

Organization, development, substance and style fit purpose, audience and task. Organization is the order and grouping of points. Development is how much detail each gets. Substance is the content itself: findings, evidence, reasoning. Style is word choice, sentence length and delivery. For a board presentation whose purpose is to inform a decision, the organization states the findings first, development gives each one its evidence and its limit, the substance is accurate numbers with their sources, and the style is formal. For a talk to ninth graders who were not in the pilot, the same findings need less technical development and a plainer style.

Original model presentation — Pilot Findings for the Board (spoken, about two minutes plus a twenty-second audio clip; about 250 words).

"Good evening. I am presenting the findings of the six-week phone-pouch pilot on behalf of the student research group. I have three findings and one recommendation.

"The first finding is about interruptions. In two ninth-grade English sections, 58 students in all, teachers counted an average of 9 phone-related redirections per 50-minute period in the three weeks before the pilot and 2 per period during it. On the screen you can see both bars on an axis that starts at zero. That is a decrease of 7, or about 78 percent.

"The second finding is about what the pilot cannot show. The next slide lists three limits. The counts were kept by the two teachers who volunteered, the pilot covered about 5 percent of our 1,140 students, and six weeks may reflect a new routine rather than a lasting change. The quiz averages rose from 74 to 79 percent, but those quizzes covered different units, so we did not use them.

"The third finding is about the concerns we heard. Of the 640 students who answered the survey, 384 oppose the policy, and 41 families asked how they would reach their children in an emergency. You will hear a twenty-second clip from our interview with a front-office staff member describing how urgent calls are handled now.

"Our recommendation follows from these findings: adopt the class-period policy for one year, publish an emergency-contact protocol before the first day, and have staff outside the pilot repeat the count. I will take your questions."

Reading the model. The opening names the speaker's role, the structure (three findings, one recommendation) and nothing else. Each finding is signposted ("The first finding..."). The limits follow the evidence they limit. The recommendation is announced as following from the findings. The style is formal: complete sentences, exact figures, no fillers.

Strategic use of digital media. Digital media include textual elements (a slide with a key figure), graphical elements (a chart), audio (a recorded interview clip), visual elements (a photograph of the pouch and unlocking station) and interactive elements (a live poll of the audience, or a clickable map). Strategic means each element is chosen for a job: to enhance understanding of a finding, of the reasoning or of the evidence, or to add interest without distracting. The model uses three: a bar chart with a zero-based axis (evidence), a twenty-second audio clip (evidence in the words of the person who knows), and a single slide listing the three limits (reasoning). A guideline for slides: one idea per slide, few words, large type, and a spoken sentence that tells the audience what to look at. A slide that repeats the script word for word competes with the speaker; an animation that serves no point adds distraction, not interest.

Adapt speech to contexts and tasks. The same speaker speaks differently to a board, to a class, to a younger student and to a friend. Adapting means changing vocabulary, sentence length, formality and delivery to fit. It is not insincere; it is the same respect for the audience that makes writing clear. Some contexts indicate formal English: a board meeting, a job interview, a class presentation, a formal debate. Others make it less suitable: in a relaxed conversation, very formal speech can sound distant, though the topic and the relationship matter too.

Command of formal English. Formal spoken English uses complete sentences; subject-verb agreement ("The data show" or "the count shows", never "the counts shows"); consistent tense; precise vocabulary instead of vague words ("a decrease of 78 percent", not "a lot less"); few or no distracting fillers ("like", "you know", "basically"; an occasional hesitation is normal); no slang; and structures from Language standards 1 and 3, such as parallel structure in lists ("adopt the policy, publish a protocol and repeat the count", three parallel verbs) and phrases and clauses chosen for precise meaning. Command means using these deliberately, not only avoiding errors.

The same finding in four contexts.
Board meeting (formal): "Redirections fell from 9 to 2 per period, a decrease of about 78 percent, though the sample was small."
Class presentation (formal but plainer): "Teachers had to stop class for a phone about 9 times a period before the pouches and about 2 times during. That is a big drop, but it was only two classes."
Explaining to a sixth grader (informal, simple): "In two classes, teachers stopped for phones way less once phones were locked up."
Chatting with a friend (informal): "The pilot numbers dropped a lot, but it was just two classes."
Each is appropriate in its context; using the last one at the board meeting would not be.

Worked conciseness edit: Draft opening (52 words): "So, um, hi everyone, thanks for having us. So basically, we did this whole thing where we looked at phones and stuff, and, like, it took a really long time, and we learned a lot, and there's a lot to say, so I'll try to go through all of it pretty quickly." It states no purpose, no structure and no finding. Revision (26 words): "Good evening. I am presenting the findings of the six-week phone-pouch pilot on behalf of the student research group. I have three findings and one recommendation." It removes fillers, states role and purpose, and gives the listener the structure to follow.

Worked media decision: Option A: a slide with the full 140-word paragraph on limits. Option B: a slide reading "Limits: volunteer counters; about 5 percent of students; six weeks" while the speaker explains each. Option B is strategic: the listener reads three short items and hears the development, so the slide enhances understanding of the reasoning rather than competing with the speaker. The 5 percent is checked: 58 divided by 1,140 is about 0.051.

Worked formal-English correction: Spoken draft: "The data from the pilot shows that redirections was way down, and the teachers they said it worked good." Corrections: "The data from the pilot show" (in formal usage, data is often treated as plural; "shows" is also widely accepted, so the key is consistency); "redirections were" (plural subject); "much lower" or "a decrease of about 78 percent" for "way down"; remove the doubled subject "the teachers they"; "it worked well" (adverb modifies the verb). Revised: "The pilot data show that redirections decreased by about 78 percent, and the teachers reported that the routine worked well."

Worked adaptation: Task: answer a board member who asks, "Would you vote for this yourselves?" A formal, concise answer that follows the reasoning: "Yes, with the condition in our recommendation: the protocol must be published before the first day. Without it, the families' concern would remain unanswered, and we would not support the policy." The answer is short, restates the condition and connects the vote to the evidence.

Rehearsal record: Prepare a three- to five-minute presentation of findings from a research project you have completed. Write a signpost outline: opening with purpose and structure; each finding with its evidence and limit; the conclusion or recommendation that follows. Plan two or three digital media elements and write, for each, its job (understanding of findings, reasoning or evidence, or interest) and the sentence you will say while it is on screen. Rehearse once with a partner who counts fillers and marks any moment they lost the line of reasoning.

Independent performance: Deliver the presentation to the class as if to a decision-making audience, then give a 60-second version of the same findings to a partner as if explaining them to a younger student. Success criteria: a line of reasoning the audience can restate, with signposts for each part; findings presented clearly, concisely and logically, with evidence and limits; organization, development, substance and style suited to purpose, audience and task; at least two digital media elements used strategically, each explained aloud, with any charts on honest axes; command of formal English in the main presentation (complete sentences, agreement, precise vocabulary, few or no distracting fillers); and a clearly adapted register in the 60-second version. Afterward, write 100 words on what you changed between the two versions and why.