CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.4
The Standard
Present claims and findings, sequencing ideas logically and using pertinent descriptions, facts, and details to accentuate main ideas or themes; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.
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 give an organized spoken presentation that makes a claim or explains findings. They arrange ideas logically, support main points with relevant evidence, and speak clearly while looking at listeners.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student opens with a clear focus, presents connected points in order, and chooses details that strengthen each main idea. The student uses steady volume, clear pronunciation, and regular eye contact rather than reading entire notes.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may list facts without connecting them to a claim, or include interesting details that distract from the main idea. Some read slides word for word, speak too softly, or mistake one quick glance for steady eye contact.
How to Assess It
- Give students five minutes to prepare a 60-second response to, “Should sixth graders have ten more minutes for lunch?” Require a clear claim, two relevant details, logical order, clear speech, and eye contact.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs six sentence strips from a mini-report, then have them order the ideas and present the report using only the strips.
Have students write three bullet points for “What school rule should change?” then present and explain why each detail supports their claim.
Run a 45-second speaker relay where partners score logical order, relevant details, eye contact, volume, and pronunciation on a five-item checklist.
Ask students to pitch one cafeteria improvement to the principal, using survey results or lunchroom observations as evidence.
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Printable SL.6.4 Worksheet

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.4, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
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Where This Standard Sits
See the whole path on the Speaking & Listening progression map.
Before This Standard
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What This Unlocks
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Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.4
Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; us...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.4
Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organizati...
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