South Dakota ELA 8.SL.4.b

ELA8th GradeSpeaking & Listening

The Standard

8.SL.4: Present claims and findings appropriate to the purpose and audience.

Use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025)

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students give a short talk that classmates can follow from anywhere in the room. They look up from notes, speak loudly enough for their audience, and make key words easy to understand.
What Mastery Looks Like: During a one-minute talk, a student looks at different listeners instead of staring at notes or one person. Classmates in the back can hear and understand the talk without asking for a repeat.
Common Misconceptions: Some students think eye contact means staring at one person the whole time. Others shout instead of adjusting their voice to the room, or rush through names and numbers that listeners need to catch.
How to Assess It: Give students a card reading, 'Lunch starts at 12:15 today instead of noon.' In groups of four, have each student announce it while peers check for glances at listeners, an audible voice, and a clearly spoken time.

Lesson moves

Seat listeners at three distances; have students announce 'The bus leaves at 3:45' with a glance up, then collect feedback on volume.
Ask, 'When does looking at a speaker help you follow directions?' Have students write two examples and compare answers with a partner.
Play delivery bingo: students give 20-second weather reports while listeners mark glances, an audible voice, and clearly spoken temperatures on bingo cards.
Role-play asking a librarian for a book, stating the title clearly, using a voice the librarian can hear, and looking up from the catalog.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 8.SL.4.b, 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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