Day 4: Interview Appearance + Practice Presentations

Lesson Overview


Time	50 minutes
Objectives	Identify appropriate professional appearance for an interview; deliver a paired practice run of the Day 5 career presentation; receive and apply Two Stars and a Wish feedback
TEKS	d(6)(B), d(4)(C)
Deliverable	Completed Interview Appearance Guide + practice presentation with peer feedback notes
Materials	Chromebooks, printed Interview Appearance Guide, students' Day 3 presentation outlines, Career Presentation Rubric, timer, projector

Warm-Up (5 min)

WARM-UP: You have a job interview tomorrow. What would you wear? What would you NOT wear? Be specific.

Take 4-5 student responses. Bridge to today: there are real rules for professional appearance and most students don't know them. The H&L workbook (Ch 11) has clear guidelines that work for any first interview.

Activity 1: Interview Appearance Guide (15 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 11, p. 179, "Dress for Success" (referenced this week, full activity in Wk 5)

Walk through the workbook's "Dress for Success" tips on the projector. The workbook (Ch 11, p. 179) lists six rules:

Dress one level above the job: If the job is casual, wear business-casual (collared shirt + slacks or nice jeans). If the job is more formal, consider a button-down + dress pants or a blazer.
Stick to neutral or classic colors: Navy, gray, black, white, beige look professional.
Wear clean and appropriate shoes: Closed-toe shoes (loafers, dress shoes, clean work boots). Avoid flip-flops, sandals, worn-out sneakers.
Keep grooming in mind: Hair neat, facial hair well-kept.
Limit accessories: A watch or simple jewelry is fine. Avoid flashy or distracting items.
Be comfortable and confident: Choose clothing that fits well and makes you feel professional.

Distribute the Interview Appearance Guide. Students complete:

For a CASUAL interview (food service, retail, summer camp): Describe what you would wear top to bottom
For a BUSINESS-CASUAL interview (office assistant, internship): Describe what you would wear
For a BUSINESS-PROFESSIONAL interview (corporate office, bank): Describe what you would wear
List 5 things to AVOID at any interview

Students complete the guide individually. After 8 minutes, lead a quick discussion: "Most middle schoolers don't own business-casual clothes. What can you do if you don't have these clothes, borrow, buy at thrift stores, ask a teacher for help?" Normalize that this is a real challenge and there are solutions.

Facilitation Tip

Avoid making appearance feel like a class issue. Frame it as "this is the dress code for a specific game called Job Interviews. You don't need expensive clothes. You need clean, fitted, neutral clothes. Goodwill and Plato's Closet have business-casual outfits for under $20."

Activity 2: Paired Practice Presentations (28 min)

Source: Day 3 outline + Career Presentation Rubric

Pair students up. Each pair has 25 minutes across three rounds for practice runs.

Round 1 (12 min total):

Student A presents their 3-minute career presentation to Student B
Student B times it on a phone or Chromebook
After 3 minutes (or when Student A finishes), Student B gives Two Stars and a Wish feedback using the rubric
Switch and repeat

Round 2, Quick fix (3 min):

Each student has 90 seconds to fix the BIGGEST issue from feedback (vague intro, missing salary, weak conclusion)

Round 3, Polish (10 min):

New partners
Each student presents AGAIN, now with the fix applied
New partner gives one star (one strength) and one specific suggestion

By the end of Day 4, every student has presented their full career talk TWICE and received feedback from TWO peers. They know what their weaknesses are and have practiced the fixes.

Facilitation Tip

Walk around with the rubric. Catch students who are talking but not presenting (no eye contact, reading from notes the whole time, not standing). Real-time correction: "Stop. Stand up. Try the intro again with eye contact." This kind of in-the-moment coaching is more useful than written feedback.

Announce Day 5 format before students leave

Tell students directly, out loud, two things today: (1) Friday's presentations are cut at 3:00, the same rule they saw enforced at Day 3 team pitches, now applied to individual students. No surprises. (2) Which Day 5 format you chose (whole-class, split groups, two-day bleed, or 90-second slots, see the Day 5 Activity 1 compression admonition). Students need both rules before they walk out so they can adjust their outline overnight if needed.

DOK 3: What is the difference between READING a presentation and DELIVERING one? Name two specific differences in how the speaker behaves.

DELIVERABLE: Completed Interview Appearance Guide + practice presentation feedback notes.

Exit Ticket (2 min)

EXIT TICKET (Decision Tree) · Printable PDF:

Follow the tree. Circle your path.

Step 1: What TYPE of interview is it?

CASUAL (food service, summer camp, retail) → go to Step 2A
BUSINESS-CASUAL (office assistant, internship) → go to Step 2B
BUSINESS-PROFESSIONAL (corporate office, bank) → go to Step 2C

Step 2A (casual): Top I would wear: ___ | Bottom: ___ | Shoes: _____

Step 2B (business-casual): Top: ___ | Bottom: ___ | Shoes: _____

Step 2C (business-professional): Top: ___ | Bottom: ___ | Shoes: _____

Step 3: ONE thing I would NEVER wear to ANY interview:

Step 4: ONE thing I will FIX in my career presentation before tomorrow (based on partner feedback today):

(d(6)(B), d(4)(C))

Differentiation

Support: Allow nervous presenters to do their practice run with the teacher one-on-one instead of with a peer. Provide note cards for the practice run. Pre-fill the Interview Appearance Guide with one column completed as an example.
Extension: Students record their practice presentation on a Chromebook and watch it back. They self-evaluate using the rubric and identify two specific improvements.
ELL: Allow practice runs in Spanish or bilingual format. Pre-teach: Eye Contact = Contacto visual, Posture = Postura, Volume = Volumen, Pace = Ritmo. Pair ESL students with bilingual peers for paired practice.