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Student presentations are an important part of education as they help students to communicate what they have learned and they often retain information more completely if they have presented it to someone else. There are some aspects of preparing students for presentations that will make it a better experience for the students and also for the teacher.

Step 1: The requirements

You should be very clear about your expectations for the presentation. Topics should be specific enough and not too broad and it helps to have a list from which students can choose. Within this framework there is still much room for creativity. Often students will procrastinate if the subject is too broad and they may not have experience in choosing topics for reports and presentations.

Step 2: The format

Decide how long the presentation is to be. For any age of student, some presentations are as short as three minutes, or as long as ten or twenty minutes depending on the subject. It will help immensely if you give the students a set time so that they can practice and so on presentation day you don't end up with a few one-minute presentations and one that goes on forever. Students need structure to this type of assignment just like a writing assignment has structure.

Also, decide and be clear about any supporting materials you require or will allow such as Power point presentations, props or other visual aids.

Step 3: The rubric for grading

The rubric for how you are going to evaluate presentations should be available to students and should be open and straightforward. It is unfair not to give students a clear idea of what they should be aiming for. Decide what components you want to be included, and provide the students with a checklist of these. It will help them to learn organizational skills as well. After the first presentation, they may not need as much assistance but the more structure you give them for the first one, the easier it will be on you to evaluate them and there will be fewer misunderstandings about what you expect.

It is often good to let the rest of the class have a "score sheet" to evaluate presenters to allow for more input. When a student is required to evaluate, this is a critical higher level thinking skill and is very beneficial and an important part of the learning process.

Step 4: Speaking tips and how to dress

Emphasizing a few key points about speaking will help students prepare for their big day. Also require them to dress in a more

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