Using Formative Assessment to Improve Presentation Skills

The art of presenting is a critical skill that must be taught to middle school students. How can teachers make the skills used to give an oral presentation explicit? How can teachers teach students to systematically track progress and strengthen presentation skills? This article describes how one English and humanities teacher used the formative assessment framework to teach students to develop their oral presentation skills. Research on the effectiveness of formative assessment and the importance of teaching presentation skills is highlighted along with a discussion on the instructional process and student growth seen in this unit.