CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.5
The Standard
Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Speaking and Listening Standards
What This Standard Means
Students need to use visuals, audio, video, charts, slides, or props in a presentation for a clear purpose. The media should help the audience understand the point, see evidence, or stay engaged. It should not be decoration or a wall of text.
Mastery looks like a student choosing one or two strong visuals, explaining them smoothly, and connecting them to a claim. Students often get stuck by reading slides, using random images, adding too much text, or picking media that distracts from their message.
Ways to Teach It
- Give students a weak slide deck and have them revise three slides with clearer images, shorter text, and speaker notes.
- Ask students to write: Which visual in your presentation best supports your claim, and how will you explain it?
- Use a two-minute presentation check where students show one visual and explain how it proves or clarifies one point.
- Have students compare a news infographic with the article it supports, then identify what the visual makes easier to understand.
Plan a Lesson for CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.5
Generate a complete lesson plan aligned to this standard, with objectives, activities, and materials. Free, no account needed.
Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.5
Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, images, music, sound) and visual displays in presentations to clarify information.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.5.5
Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.5
Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, r...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.5
Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points.