How to Create a
Senior Exhibition at
La Jolla High School

Three Parts
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• Have 4 copies ready for the judges
• Typed, doublespaced, 12 point font,
2 pages maximum
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Written Paper
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FirstName LastName
La Jolla High School
Senior Exhibition
Date

Written Paper
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Written Paper
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Introduce your topic. You might want to start with a hook or a scenario that illustrates the activity or “ah-ha” moment when you learned something during or doing the activity.

Written Paper
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You must include at least one of these specific outcomes when you describe what you learned:
• I developed interpersonal skills to work collaboratively and effectively with others.
• I used higher order thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, application, and/or evaluation).
• I learned about the various viewpoints, belief systems, and/or cultures in the world.

Written Paper
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• I developed interpersonal skills to work collaboratively and effectively with others.
• I used higher order thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, application, and/or evaluation).
• I learned about the various viewpoints, belief systems, and/or cultures in the world.
When you include one or more of the above SSLOs, make it personal to
YOUR topic and what YOU learned.

Written Paper
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Don’t overlap your oral presentation.
For example, if you are going to explain how to bake a cake in your oral and visual presentations, then don’t give the stepby-step instructions in your written paper.

Written Paper
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• You may want to take a look at your college essays and see if there are any ideas, chunks of text, anecdotes, etc. that are worthy of recycling (if they fit your topic, of course).

Written Paper
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• If you are not an eloquent speaker, then this is your chance to be a more formal, sophisticated, and polished writer. But don’t go overboard; there shouldn’t be a HUGE difference between your written and spoken voice.

Oral Presentation
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This is when you get to explain your topic. It occurs AFTER the judges have read your paper. That means they already know your topic. All you need to do is expand, add, explain– whatever fits with your topic.

Oral Presentation
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It is NOT a re-reading of your written paper. In fact, you shouldn’t read anything at all (don’t read from the paper and don’t read the slides of your PowerPoint if you have one). If you read anything at all, you should only use index cards with short phrases or single words on them to remind you of your speaking points.

Oral Presentation
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• Make eye contact. (There are only 3-4 judges, so you can easily look at each of them at least once.)
• Get rid of the gum, cough drop, etc.

Oral Presentation
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• Practice in front of a mirror.
• Practice with parents or friends.
• Don’t pace or rock or do any repetitive gestures (videotape yourself and play it fast forward to see if you do any of these things).

Oral Presentation
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• Keep an eye on the time: your ENTIRE presentation can be no longer than 15 minutes from the time you step in the room and give the judges your paper until the time you leave… so…
• Keep your oral presentation to 5-10 minutes to allow time for questions.

Visual Presentation
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• If you are performing the activity
(playing the piano, dancing, etc.) then that will be your visual.
• If you are showing what you do (a video of you snowboarding, or dancing, or performing in a play) then that will be your visual.

Visual Presentation
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• You can create a visual to use as a prop while you give your oral presentation.
• The most common is a PowerPoint presentation.
• A presentation board with photographs and captions can also work.

Visual Presentation
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• Create a visual that you can easily use during your exhibition.
• If you have never created a PowerPoint presentation before, this may not be the time to try it for the first time.
• If you do use technology, you MUST check out the room and the equipment available before the day of the presentation.

Visual Presentation
• Always have a Plan B.
• If you have a PowerPoint presentation, consider printing a copy of each slide on paper, just in case….
• If you have a presentation board, wrap it in a trash bag the day you bring it, just in case….
• If your presentation depends on a costume or shoes or a musical instrument, don’t forget to check that you have them the day of your presentation.

Visual Presentation
• Timing…again.
• Your ENTIRE exhibition cannot be longer than
15 minutes.
• So if your video runs for 12 minutes, that gives you only 3 minutes to distribute your paper and let them read it, and to answer any questions…NOT
ENOUGH TIME!
• If your dance number is 7 minutes long, will you have enough time to give your oral, answer questions, and let them read your paper?
• Be aware. Practice your visual, time it, and see if you need to cut anything (or add anything).

Final Items
• Appointment
• Be there ON TIME. (Where? Know your room number.)
• Dress like it’s a job interview. (Exception: if you are wearing a costume that is part of your visual presentation.)
• Be enthusiastic about your topic.
• If it bores you, it will bore them.

That’s It!
• Scoring Rubric
• You were given a copy when you received your senior exhibition packet. Review it.
• Scores
• Your score will be given to your English teacher to give to you within a week or two of your exhibition. If you need to re-do your exhibition, you will be contacted.
• Absence/Missed Appointment
• Contact Mr. Fairley immediately.

PowerPoint by Ms. LeCren
January 2012
The following slide is a true story, written in the style of a possible senior exhibition paper. It only has the first few paragraphs. It will give you a feel for the type of writing you can do for your senior exhibition.

Carole LeCren
La Jolla High School
Senior Exhibition
3 January 2011
It was a cold (very cold!) morning in June at Girl Scout summer camp when I made the decision to join the swim team instead of the cross country team my senior year, which would start that September. I didn’t have enough P.E. credits to graduate, so I had agreed to join a sport to earn my credit. I thought a summer of running at the 4000 foot level would be good prep work for joining cross country, but that first morning it was too cold to get out of my nice warm sleeping bag, so I decided to switch to the swim team.
That’s how I became the only senior on the junior varsity swim team. I learned so much from the experience: that it can be just as cold jumping into a pool on a September afternoon as it can be running at daybreak in June, that a sport that involves individual achievement can still be all about school spirit and bonding with teammates, that analysis is not limited to the classroom and viewpoints are not limited to my own.
My first breakthrough experience was realizing that other people were going to depend on my ability to finish a race. My previous experience with swimming had involved backyard swim and splashing around in the bay. Nothing had prepared me for swimming the 50 meter butterfly in the Bishop’s pool at our first away competition--nor the exhilaration of being the first person to hit the turn (and the embarrassment of being the last person to touch at the end). That’s when I learned to analyze my stroke (and build my stamina) for the next meet. I had to do it for myself, but also for the team.
Earning a last place in a heat wasn’t going to get us anywhere. I did, by the end of the season, finish
3rd in my CIF heat, and win the “Most Spirited” trophy at the team banquet. Perhaps these are not earthshaking accomplishments for most athletes, but for the wimpy senior who hadn’t taken P.E. since freshman year, it was more of an accomplishment than getting a 3.96 GPA. (to be continued)