Virginia SOL 11.C.2.A.iii
The Standard
Using a variety of active listening and speaking strategies, with awareness of intent and impact of verbal and nonverbal cues.
Virginia Standards of Learning for English · Speaking and Presentation of Ideas
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students present information or opinions clearly while matching their words, voice, and body language to their purpose. They listen closely, respond to others, and judge how cues affect meaning.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students organize ideas clearly and adjust volume, pace, word choice, posture, gestures, and eye contact for their purpose and audience. They accurately summarize others’ ideas, ask relevant questions, and explain how cues affected the message.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think active listening means staying quiet rather than summarizing, questioning, and responding. They may use constant eye contact, excessive gestures, or loud volume without considering purpose or audience.
How to Assess It
- In pairs, each student gives a 60-second opinion on school phone policies, summarizes the partner’s point, and names one cue that shaped its impact.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs cue cards for pace, volume, posture, and eye contact; students repeat one claim using different cues and compare the effects.
Watch a short speech clip, then discuss: Which verbal and nonverbal cues support the speaker’s purpose, and which distract from it?
Play Speaker, Listener, Observer: one student speaks, one summarizes and questions, and one tracks specific cues before roles rotate.
Students present a two-minute proposal for improving a school policy, using cues suited to a meeting with administrators.
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Printable 11.C.2.A.iii Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 11.C.2.A.iii, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Related Standards
- 11.C.1.A.i
Applying a variety of strategies to listen actively and speak purposefully and respectfully.
- 10.C.1.A.i
Applying a variety of strategies to listen actively and speak purposefully and respectfully.
- 10.C.2.A.ii
Using active listening and speaking strategies effectively with awareness of verbal and nonverbal cues (e.g., appropriate facial expressions and posture).
- 9.C.2.A.ii
Using listening and speaking strategies effectively with awareness of verbal and nonverbal cues (e.g., using body language to indicate attentiveness, and giving...
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