When Hatchlings Take Off!

Learning Intention:

I am learning how to present key details in a logical sequence so that I can deliver clear presentations to my peers.

Success Criteria:

• I can use a rubric to unpack the key features of an information text.
• I can select a specific idea from a text and offer a concise and coherent verbal summary.
• I can support my verbal summary with multimodal features to enhance the clarity of my presentation.

Read the article as a class, or if you have a digital subscription listen to the audio recording.

After reading, explain to students that they will identify the textual features that make this a successful article using the Stage 2 Assessment and Evaluation Rubric: Informative Text. A possible approach to unpacking the rubric is as follows:

• Read the category and the definition / question that sits underneath it. For example: Audience and purpose. Definition: Who reads the text and why did the author write it?
• Answer this question as a class. For example: This text will be read by children in later primary school, such as Year 3 students. It will be read throughout Australia. The purpose is to inform the audience and to persuade them to take care of the environment.
• In small groups, instruct students to locate the features of the text that appear underneath the question. Using highlighters, Post-It notes or a whiteboard marker and overhead projector transparency, students annotate the features listed in the rubric.

After students have annotated the textual features of the written article, explain to students that they will be transforming a selection of information in the article into an oral presentation. Students will summarise the information presented in one section of the article. For example, a student could choose to do their presentation on Mon Repos Beach and Conservation Park, the nesting and hatching process or protecting turtles and the environment. They must sequence this information logically, use a range of technical vocabulary and add interesting facts. Students can enhance their presentation by including multimodal features such as images, maps or a storyboard to sequence events.

Ask students to look at the categories ‘Expression of Ideas’ and ‘Vocabulary’, Use these two categories, along with students’ background knowledge, construct a success criterion of the features of a successful oral presentation. Some criteria could include:

• Talk contains facts rather than opinions
• There is a range of information provided and the information is presented in an order that makes sense
• The talk contains technical and subject specific vocabulary
• The speaker uses appropriate pitch, pace and volume
• The speaker uses appropriate hand gestures
• Multimodal features make the information easier to understand.

Assessment as/of learning:

The class generated success criteria can be reworded and used as a peer assessment rubric. Alternatively, the Stage 2 Assessment and Evaluation Rubric: Informative Text can be used for summative teacher assessment of the oral presentation.