Name ___________________ Date _____ Class ____ _

Physical Geography of Europe

Speaking and Listening Skills Activity

Delivering Informative Presentations

Learning the Skill It takes planning to put together an informative presentation.

If you are called upon to create and deliver a short speech before an audience, use the following techniques:

• Narrow the focus of your topic. Do not try to cover too much material. Ask yourself questions related to your topic, and answer them completely and thoroughly in your presentation.

• Develop the topic with facts, details, examples, and explanations from several sources.

• Prepare an organized outline to help guide you through the presentation.

• Prepare notes, and practice delivering the presentation in front of your family (or even a mirror).

(/ Practicing the Skill Directions: Read the passage below about Venice, Italy. Then answer the questions that follow.

Venice, Italy-a city and seaport on the Adriatic Sea-is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Known as the "Queen of the Adriatic," Venice is built on more than 100 islands connected by about 150 canals and 400 bridges. The bridges are for pedestrian use only, and no motor vehicles are allowed on the city's narrow, ancient streets. For centuries, Venetians used gondolas as their primary means of trans­portation in navigating the canals. Gondolas are long, flat-bottomed boats propelled by one oar. Today, gondolas are used primarily for tourists, with motorboats used to carry freight and passenger traffic.

The Grand Canal, the main waterway winding through Venice, is 80 to 175 feet wide and about 2 miles long. Lining its banks are nearly 200 palaces and other great works of

architecture built between the 1100s and 1700s. The charm of this ancient city inspired artists to create great masterpieces, especially during the Byzantine and Renaissance eras. People travel from all over the world to see the splen­dor of Venice's buildings, churches, and other artworks.

Today, Venice faces enormous challenges to its survival. Although beaches form protective barriers on the outer side of the lagoon, floods are a major threat. A devastating flood in 1966 served as a "wake-up call" to the international community, and efforts to save the Queen of the Adriatic began. Still, Venice's land and buildings continue to sink. The city also strug­gles with damage to structures from air and water pollution, as well as a loss of population to other areas.

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Name ____________ _______ Date ____ Class ____ _

Speaking and Listening Skills Activity continued

1. Formulating Questions Suppose you are to develop a presentation about the canals in Venice, Italy. Based on the information on the previous page, write three questions that you could use as the basis for research for your presentation.

2. Locating Where would you be most likely to find more information about this topic?

A. in a travel book about Italy B. in an encyclopedia entry about Venetian canals C. in a current newspaper article about environmental problems in Italy D. in a Web site about boating in Europe

3. Specifying Some topics are too broad to be covered in short presentations. Defining the focus of your research will help you cover your topic more easily. One way to do this is to narrow your focus to a specific time or place, specific individuals or groups, or one aspect of a topic. For example,

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• explorers • explorers in Africa • explorers in Africa in the 1800s • women explorers in Africa in the 1800s • British women explorers in Africa in the 1800s

Using this technique, define the focus of the topic art as it relates to Venice in four or five steps.

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Name __________________ Date _ _ __ Class ___ _ _

Speaking and Listening Skills Activity

~ Applying the Skill Directions: You are going to prepare a short (two- to three-minute), informative presentation on one aspect of Venice.

1. Specifying On the following lines, write your topic, and then define the focus of your research.

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Yourtopic: _ ____ ______________________ _

Focus on:

2. Formulating Questions Create at least three questions regarding your topic. These will help direct your research.

3. Listing Find at least three resources you will use to develop your topic, and list them below. (You may use more resources if you wish.)

'§ 4. Organizing After completing your research, prepare an outline to ~ help guide your presentation. Use more outline entries if needed. u , ....

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Name _----'-______ ___________ Date ____ Class ____ _

Speaking and Listening Skills Activity continued

5. Expressing Prepare notes for your presentation on the lines below. Practice your speech. Deliver your presentation to the class according to your teacher IS direction.

Assessment Checklist Assess your presentation using the checklist below:

0 Narrowed focus oftopic

0 Asked questions and answered them completely

0 Used facts, details, and examples from several sources

0 Prepared and used an outline as a guide

0 Prepared and used notes, and practiced ahead of time

0 Engaged listeners with a strong opening statement

0 Spoke loudly, clearly, and slowly

0 Stood up straight, and looked at the audience

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