Guidelines for Presenting Slides
from the District Art Literacy Team
- Decide on 2 or 3 main points you want to make during the presentation. Focus on the slides that best illustrate these points.
- Be prepared and comfortable with the information. (There is a plug in in the art lit room for the slide projector. You may want to review the slides before the classroom presentation).
- Attend the parent presentation if you intend to be the slide or hands on presenter in the classroom. Remember to let your team leader or someone on your team know if you are unable to attend a monthly meeting. We want to make sure at least one (preferably two) people from each classroom are able to attend. If you want to be a presenter but were unable to attend the parent presentation, make arrangements to view a presentation in another classroom.
- Be enthusiastic about the art. Be knowledgeable of interesting facts and points about some of the slides. Don't worry about getting in all the facts and let the children be the guides. If they are all intrigued with a certain slide, spend more time on it.
- Try not to read from the notes. Know the main points of each slide you are presenting.
- Keep eye contact with the children and over time, try to learn their names - it really helps keep the interest level up. (See also "Tips From a Teacher").
- Ask Questions to keep students involved and allow plenty of opportunity for the students to use the "magic paintbrush" and point things out on the screen. The students can learn so much from each other's observations and interaction and being able to point things out on the screen keeps them alert and interested in the art.
- Keep a good pace. If the students are getting bored - move on. Be aware of fidgeting, squirming, children needing to use the restroom, other signs that perhaps you have lost them!
- Respond to their questions and answers in a positive way. Often times a question or comment from a student can remind the presenter of additional information they had to share. Or they may bring up a new point altogether. Acknowledge it and let them know you appreciate their insight.
- Be aware of the time. Decide with your team in advance how long the slide presentation should be. Allow ten or 15 minutes for the younger students and maybe 20 minutes for the older students (depending on their interest and involvement). The time allotted may change from month to month depending on the time needed to do the project and most certainly depending upon the interest level of the students. It often seems the more interaction you allow from the students, the more interest they have and the more time it may take to view the slide show. (Feel free to spend more time on the slides you deem important for the lesson and skip over slides that are not as interesting or fundamental to the lesson. With a lot of student interaction, one slide can get a lot of attention!)
