Senior Project Oral Presentation

The Oral Presentation is the final component of your Senior Project! You must give a presentation to a

group of adults (usually one teacher and 5-6 community members) that demonstrates what you

accomplished for your Senior Project. The presentation is evaluated on both content and style. You will

have 30 minutes for your presentation: 5 minutes for set-up, 20 minutes for the presentation itself, and 5

minutes for clean-up.

The Senior Project Oral Presentations will be in mid-May. You will receive the specific time and date

for your presentation in early May. The Oral Presentation Student Information Form is required for all

students and is due in early April. On this form you must describe all the technology needs necessary for

your presentation, as well as other needs, for example: a bilingual board, special location (Ag. Farm,

Little Theater, Physics Lab, etc.)

Expectations:

! Dress professionally or thematically, if appropriate.

! Use a visual aid, for example: a sample product you made, the guitar you built, the bike you

welded, the car you changed out the transmission on, or a video/slide show of you completing

some of your mentor-supervised hours or your project’s culminating activity.

! Be organized and prepared. You must go to the classroom in which you are presenting to be sure

your technology works and to make sure you know how to set it up on.

! Be prepared with note cards and any additional materials that will help you and your audience

during your presentation.

Evaluation:

The judges will evaluate your presentation using the Oral Presentation Rubric. Your final score will be

determined by the average of the Judges scores.

If your presentation earns a Below Basic score, you will NOT have an opportunity to present again during

this school year. You will be required to complete your Senior Project during the summer.

Senior Project Oral Presentation Guidelines

Remember, this is only a guideline. Your presentation will vary based on your topic and personality. The

minutes and points to consider are only suggestions to guide in your planning.

Entrance

5 minutes

Set-Up

• You are not being graded during this time.

• This is time allotted for you to set up.

• Be sure any equipment you are using is ready.

• Rehearse set-up of the equipment so it goes smoothly.

• Put up your poster, etc.

• Write your name and your Advisory Teacher’s name on the board.

Introduction

2 minutes

Introduction

• Introduce yourself and say who your Advisory Teacher is.

• Tell about yourself.

• State interests or how you became interested in your topic for your project.

• Remember, the introduction will:

-catch your audience’s attention

-help you introduce your overall project

Body

13 minutes

Topic/Paper

• State your thesis.

• Tell about the facts of your research and give a summary of your findings.

• Make the connection between your research paper and your mentor-supervised activity.

Activity

• Give an overview of your activity.

• Explain how you achieved your 20 hours.

• Explain how your Mentor was involved with your activity.

• Give some highlights of your activity (refer to your log if needed).

Learning Stretch

• THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS!

• What was your overall learning experience from both your research and activity?

• Tell about your learning stretch.

• What did you learn about yourself (time management, organization, flexibility, etc.)?

Conclusion

5 minutes

Conclusion/Question Time

• Bring your speech to closure.

• What are your goals for the future? Plans for next year?

• Final evaluation of the experience.

• Thank the judges for their time and for listening.

• Invite the audience to ask questions. (Your option – you may also let the audience ask

questions during the presentation.)

Exit

5 minutes

Clean-Up

• Collect all of your materials.

• Judges will be filling out the rubrics during this time.

• Your scores will be available by the end of the week. If you do not pass, you will be

notified the next day.

Consider making notecards ahead of time to use if you are nervous, however, try not to read directly from

them. If visual aids are used, make sure they augment your speech—don’t read your whole PowerPoint

and don’t just show your pictures at the end. Use the rubric to guide you.

Oral Presentation Tips for Success

• Review the presentation rubric ahead of time. It will be used to evaluate your Senior Project

presentation by the panel of judges. Use the Advanced column as a guideline when preparing for your

presentation.

• Afraid of pubic speaking? Practice, practice, practice! It helps to recite your speech in front of a

mirror and to others to receive feedback before you present to your audience.

• Attend the Oral Presentation Workshops during A+ with Mrs. Martin for extra practice.

• If using notecards, keep them simple. A chart with an outline is a good alternative.

• DO NOT READ your presentation from cards, a piece of paper or your PowerPoint.

• Arrive in plenty of time to be as relaxed beforehand as possible.

• Look for a friendly face in the audience and start addressing your speech to him or her.

• Greet judges, introduce yourself, shake hands if you wish, then take a deep breath and begin your

rehearsed speech.

• Begin with an attention getting opening. Some suggestions are:

- use of visual aids

- introduce with a startling fact

- tell an anecdote/background story

- ask a rhetorical question

- tell an appropriate joke

• You may choose to present in clothing appropriate to your topic (example: surgical scrubs for

shadowing a surgical nurse)

Use of Visual Aids

• Visual aids such as video clips or PowerPoint need to correspond to your topic. Be sure to edit it and

keep it short and concise. Familiarize yourself with the equipment at least a day ahead of time and

troubleshoot any potential issues. Rehearse using the specific equipment that is in your presentation

room.

• Your speech should be planned around your use of visuals. For example, if you are using slides, you

may show a few between each part of your speech or show them all while talking about your activity.

For video clips, decide where to place them relative to your speech.

• If your props are hard to see, you may need to pass them around. Plan ahead.

• If you are using a poster in your presentation, do not stand in front of it.

• When you write on the board, use large print and move to the side.

• The document camera “Elmo” is an excellent way to share a graphic/visual aid.

Gifts and Samples

It is certainly not required, but if you make something inexpensive in your project that you can give to

judges, it is a popular and fun icebreaker for presentations. Some past examples have been small

blown-glass ornaments, food samples, welded metal paperweights, and photo prints.