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Day 2: Slide Deck + Giving and Receiving Feedback

Lesson Overview
Time 50 minutes
Objectives Build a slide deck for the Pitching Investors team project; complete the H&L Powerskills Giving and Receiving Feedback module
TEKS d(4)(B), d(4)(C)
Deliverable Team slide deck draft + Powerskills Feedback module reflection
Materials Chromebooks, H&L Workbook (Ch 5, pp. 84-85 Pitching Investors continued), H&L Powerskills Workbook (Giving and Receiving Feedback, pp. 22-24), Google Slides

Warm-Up (5 min)

WARM-UP: Think of a time someone gave you feedback that helped you improve. What made it useful, was it the words they used, the timing, the way they said it, or what?

Take 3-4 student responses. Bridge to today: feedback is a skill. Bad feedback is vague or hurtful. Good feedback is specific and actionable. Today's Powerskills module trains both halves, giving feedback and receiving it.

Activity 1: Pitching Investors — Marketing Ideas + Slide Deck (25 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 5, pp. 84-85, "Pitching Investors" Steps 3-4

Teams continue their Pitching Investors project from Day 1. Today they complete two workbook steps:

Step 3: Create Your Marketing Ideas (10 min)

Using the workbook space (Ch 5, p. 84) or a digital tool, each team creates:

  • A logo for the business (sketch in Canva or Google Drawings)
  • A slogan: short, catchy phrase
  • A promotion plan: How will you advertise? Social media? Influencer partnerships? Traditional ads? Events? Direct sales?

Each team must pick a real distribution channel that matches their target audience. A pet food brand might use Instagram + dog parks. A sports app might partner with local rec leagues. A food truck might use TikTok and a presence at school events.

Step 4: Create the Slide Deck (15 min)

Using Google Slides, each team builds a 5-7 slide pitch deck. The workbook (Ch 5, p. 85) requires:

  • Slide 1: Title: Business name, team members, the investor you're pitching
  • Slide 2: Business Overview: What it is, what problem it solves
  • Slide 3: Target Audience: Who buys this and why
  • Slide 4: Logo + Slogan + Marketing Strategy: How will you promote it?
  • Slide 5: Why Invest?: Match this slide to your investor's specific requirements (look back at the investor profile from Day 1)
  • Slide 6 (optional): Revenue Model: How you make money
  • Slide 7: Closing: One sentence call to action

The slide deck is a sales tool. Slides should be visual (icons, photos, color), not text-heavy. Each slide should support what the speaker says, not duplicate it.

Facilitation Tip

Show one BAD slide and one GOOD slide on the projector for 30 seconds each. Bad slide = paragraph of text. Good slide = headline + 1 image + 3 bullet points. The contrast is instantly clear.

Activity 2: Powerskills — Giving and Receiving Feedback (15 min)

Source: H&L Powerskills Workbook, pp. 22-24, "Giving and Receiving Feedback"

Transition to the Powerskills module. Today's focus: students are about to give peer feedback during practice presentations (Day 4) and the actual presentations (Day 5). They need to know HOW.

Walk through the module's key principles:

Giving feedback:

  • Be SPECIFIC. "Good job" is useless. "Your slide on target audience was very clear" is helpful.
  • Be KIND. Frame feedback to help, not to hurt.
  • Use the Two Stars and a Wish format: 2 specific strengths + 1 specific improvement.
  • Comment on the WORK, not the PERSON. "The slide was confusing" not "you are confusing."

Receiving feedback:

  • LISTEN. Don't interrupt or defend.
  • Take notes if useful.
  • Say thank you, even if the feedback stings.
  • Decide later what to use.

Quick practice (5 min): Pairs trade slide decks. Each student gives Two Stars and a Wish on their partner's deck. Then they switch.

After the practice, lead a 1-minute debrief: "Was it harder to GIVE feedback or RECEIVE it? Why?"

Connection to the week: Practice and final presentations on Days 4-5 will use Two Stars and a Wish. Today's Powerskills work makes that feedback useful instead of vague.

DOK 2: What is the difference between criticism and constructive feedback? Use one specific example from your slide deck practice.

Exit Ticket (5 min)

EXIT TICKET (Diagnostic MCQ with Misconception Distractors) · Printable PDF:

Circle the BEST answer for each question.

  1. Which is the STRONGEST feedback on a partner's slide?

a) "Good job!"

b) "I didn't really get it."

c) "Your target-audience slide was specific about age, but the slogan is hard to remember. Try a shorter slogan."

d) "You should change everything."

  1. A teammate gives you a "wish" (improvement suggestion). The BEST response is:

a) Defend your original choice out loud

b) Say thank you, take a note, decide later

c) Agree to change it on the spot even if you disagree

d) Ignore it, they don't know your business

  1. A good pitch slide should be:

a) A paragraph explaining the idea

b) Headline + image + 3 bullets

c) Text only, no images

d) 50 words minimum

ONE specific change I made to MY team's slide deck after partner feedback today:

(d(4)(B), d(4)(C))

Differentiation

  • Support: Provide a slide deck template with placeholder slides labeled. Teams replace the placeholders with their content. Provide sentence stems for feedback ("Your slide on _ was strong because " / "I would suggest changing __ because _____").
  • Extension: Teams add an 8th slide showing financial projections, projected first-year revenue, costs, and profit. (Real investors expect this.)
  • ELL: Allow Spanish or bilingual slide decks. Pair ESL students with bilingual peers during the feedback practice. The Powerskills feedback principles work in any language.