CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.5
The Standard
Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Speaking and Listening Standards
What This Standard Means
Students need to choose media that helps an audience understand an argument, not just decorate slides. They should match each element to a purpose, such as using a chart to show a trend, audio to add firsthand voice, or an image to clarify context.
Mastery looks like a presentation where every media choice supports a claim, piece of evidence, or line of reasoning. Students often get stuck by using crowded slides, flashy effects, weak images, or videos that repeat instead of deepen what they say.
Ways to Teach It
- Give students a weak slide deck and have them replace three media elements with stronger charts, images, audio clips, or short video excerpts.
- Ask students to write a one-sentence purpose note for each media element: What does this help the audience understand better?
- Use a two-minute slide check: students label each media item as evidence, explanation, context, or interest, then justify one choice.
- Show a campaign speech, TED Talk, or news explainer, and have students identify how media shapes audience understanding and attention.
Before This Standard
If students are struggling here, check these first.
Plan a Lesson for CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.5
Generate a complete lesson plan aligned to this standard, with objectives, activities, and materials. Free, no account needed.
Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.5
Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.5
Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.5
Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points.