A thousand years ago during my Junior year in high school, my two English teachers put to the test an idea that had been talked about but never really tested. Dr. Devries and Dr. Tovat believed that if you practiced speaking your thoughts and ideas your writing skills would become stronger. This sounds simple enough. Learn to talk and you learn to write.

Let’s add to the writing process the intellectual and social skill development of speaking to an audience. For many students, from K through Higher Ed, the thought of speaking in front of a crowd scares the bejesus out of them. Incorporate into the publishing section of the traditional writing process—prewriting, drafting, revising and editing, rewriting, and publishing—a sub-section that includes an oral presentation. After all, whether we are building literacy skills in math or language communication and thinking form the kernel of our teaching.

Start small. Present the Expanded Sentence example and the Oral Presentation Guide. Use the five “W’s” and “How” as the tool to expand sentences. Pair the students and ask them to talk about, write, and rewrite their sentences. This activity becomes a vaccine to the run-on sentences that plague all students. At the same time, during the writing process, mix the groups up so everyone else has a chance to hear the sentence development. After listening to each other’s sentences, send the pairs back for more rewriting. When finished, ask the students to prepare a PowerPoint presentation showing their process. These two parts, the writing process and the presentation process are where your coaching is needed the most. The pairs should each present their own expanded sentences within the same PowerPoint. Model both parts of the assignment and have the students complete the Oral Presentation Assessment on your presentation. This way you set high expectations for their leaning.

The next step asks the students to present their work without looking at the screen during the presentation; speak with the appropriate volume; enunciate clearly, pronounce the words correctly, and engage the audience through eye contact.  Reading from the screen detracts from connecting with the audience. You can deliver the expert coaching your students need. Use a Presentation Guide that assesses the skills of speaking; writing; visual interest, timeliness, and collaborative teamwork. As each pair presents, complete the assessment rubric (complete with teacher comments that assess—not evaluate). This is a process. Excellence occurs over a period of time.