Virginia SOL 8.C.3.A.iii
The Standard
Uses two or more communication modes to make meaning (e.g., still or moving images, gestures, spoken language, and written language).
Virginia Standards of Learning for English · Integrating Multimodal Literacies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students plan a message, select a clear sequence, and combine spoken words, visuals, writing, movement, or sound. They choose each mode for a specific purpose and present the result to an audience.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students organize a clear message and choose modes that support one another. They present smoothly, and the audience can explain how the words, visuals, or gestures helped communicate the idea.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may add pictures that repeat the spoken words without adding meaning. They may overload slides with text, use distracting effects, or treat gestures and images as decoration. Some rely on one mode to carry the whole message.
How to Assess It
- Give students 10 minutes to plan and deliver a 45-second presentation about a school rule using an image, spoken explanation, and brief written text. Check whether each mode adds useful meaning.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs a photo, sticky notes, and a tablet to create a 45-second presentation with narration, labels, and one purposeful gesture.
Ask students to explain which mode best communicates emotion, evidence, or instructions, then defend their choices with examples.
Play Mode Match by giving teams message cards and having them choose and justify the best visual, spoken, written, or gesture combination.
Have students create a public service announcement about hallway safety using a poster image, short script, and recorded narration.
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Printable 8.C.3.A.iii Worksheet
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Related Standards
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Strategically use two or more interdependent modes of communication to convey the intended message and enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
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- 7.C.3.A
Use medial and visual literacy skills to select, organize, and create multimodal content that articulates and enhances the purpose of the presentation using two...
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