CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.5
The Standard
Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Speaking and Listening Standards
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students choose pictures, charts, sound clips, or recordings that make a presentation easier to understand. They connect each choice to the main idea or theme.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students select clear images, charts, or recordings that directly support their main point. They can explain how each media choice helps the audience understand the topic.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may add random music, unrelated pictures, or crowded slides because they seem entertaining. They may also read every word on a slide instead of using media to clarify the message.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Have students make one slide with an image or a 10-second sound clip that supports a given main idea. Add one sentence explaining the choice.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs a tablet and a short animal report, then have them add one labeled image and record a clear 20-second narration.
Show two versions of a slide and ask, “Which image or sound better supports the main idea, and why?”
Play Media Match: teams pair topic cards with image or audio cards, then earn points by explaining each choice.
Students create a school event announcement with a photo, a simple map, and a recorded invitation for families.
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Printable SL.4.5 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.5, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetLearning progression
Where This Standard Sits
See the whole path on the Speaking & Listening progression map.
Before This Standard
If students are struggling here, check these first.
What This Unlocks
Mastery here sets students up for these next.
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Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.5
Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, images, music, sound) and visual displays in presentations to clarify information.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.2.5
Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thou...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.5
Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points.
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