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Week 4: Pitch Perfect — Sales & Career Presentations

6th Six Weeks | Marketing / Business Management Cluster | 5 class periods (50 min each)

Lesson Objective

Students explore Sales careers through Hats & Ladders, work in teams on the H&L "Pitching Investors" project to develop a business pitch, complete the Powerskills Giving and Receiving Feedback module, prepare and deliver an oral professional presentation on a career of their choice, and identify appropriate professional appearance for an interview setting.

Demonstration of Learning

"I can deliver a 3-minute oral presentation on a career I explored this year, work in a team to pitch a business idea to investors, give and receive constructive feedback, and describe appropriate professional appearance for an interview."

TEKS Alignment

  • d(4)(B): Identify skills that can be transferable among a variety of careers.
  • d(4)(C): Prepare and deliver an oral presentation on a career topic.
  • d(6)(B): Describe appropriate appearance for an interview setting.

Materials Needed

  • Chromebooks with internet access (1 per student)
  • Hats & Ladders student accounts + H&L Workbook (Ch 5: Business, Marketing, and Finance, pp. 81-86 Pitching Investors)
  • H&L Powerskills Workbook (Giving and Receiving Feedback, pp. 22-24; Advocacy, pp. 30-32)
  • CareerOneStop Practice Interview Questions: careeronestop.org/JobSearch/Interview/common-interview-questions.aspx
  • BLS, Sales Managers: bls.gov/ooh/management/sales-managers.htm
  • Printed Career Presentation Rubric (1 per student)
  • Printed Interview Appearance Guide (1 per student)
  • Printed Pitching Investors team planner
  • Timer for presentations
  • Projector for modeling

Career Connection

Students deliver oral presentations on a career they have explored this year (d(4)(C) is the major TEKS standard for the week). The H&L "Pitching Investors" team project (Ch 5, pp. 81-86) teaches business-pitch structure through a team workbook activity, and the Powerskills Giving and Receiving Feedback module prepares students for the peer feedback protocol used on Days 3, 4, and 5.

What is Happening at Irving ISD? Sales and business coursework live at MacArthur High School under the Business, Retail Management and Entrepreneurship school. Business Management and Marketing is also offered at Irving High School and Nimitz High School, and Business Management is at Cardwell Career Preparatory Center.

Vocabulary

  • Oral Presentation: A formal speech delivered to an audience on a specific topic. Students present on a career they have researched.
  • Professional Appearance: The way you dress, groom, and carry yourself in a workplace or interview setting.
  • Sales Management: The process of leading a sales team, setting targets, developing strategies, and building client relationships.
  • Investor: A person or company that puts money into a business with the hope of earning more in return.
  • Value Proposition: The reason a customer would choose YOUR product over a competitor's. The unique benefit you provide.
  • Pitch: A short, focused presentation designed to persuade an audience to take action (invest, buy, hire, sign up).
  • Constructive Feedback: Specific, actionable suggestions that help someone improve, given respectfully.

Bridge to Theory (Hats & Ladders)

H&L Ch 5 (Business, Marketing, and Finance, pp. 81-86) includes the Pitching Investors Career Lab, a multi-step team project where students choose a business idea (sports app, food business, or pet business), develop a business plan, create a slide deck, and pitch to one of three investor profiles (Super Sports Ventures, Eden Culinary Group, or Pawsitive Growth Capital). This activity bridges directly to the individual oral presentations students give later in the week.

The Powerskills modules used this week:

  • Giving and Receiving Feedback (Powerskills, pp. 22-24): Practiced before presentations so students can give peers useful feedback during Two Stars and a Wish
  • Advocacy (Powerskills, pp. 30-32): Connected to standing up for your career idea during the investor pitch

IISD Instructional Strategies

  • Modeling: Teacher delivers a sample 3-minute career presentation as a model. Show the structure: introduction (career name and why chosen), body (3 key facts), conclusion (career plan connection).
  • Two Stars and a Wish: Students give peer feedback using two specific compliments and one constructive suggestion.
  • Worked Example: Teacher works through the Pitching Investors business plan template on the projector with a fictional product before student teams begin.
  • Speed Drill: Practice rounds for presentations are timed at 30 seconds, 1 minute, and 3 minutes to build presentation discipline.

Week at a Glance

Day Focus Key Activities Deliverable
1 Sales Pathway + Pitching Investors Setup H&L Sales Hats + start Pitching Investors team project (Ch 5) Investor profile selection + business plan draft
2 Pitching Investors + Giving/Receiving Feedback Continue Pitching Investors slide deck + Powerskills Feedback module Slide deck draft + feedback practice
3 Investor Pitches + Career Presentation Prep Team investor pitches (Pitching Investors final) + individual career presentation outlining Investor pitch delivered + 3-minute presentation outline
4 Interview Appearance + Practice Presentations Interview Appearance Guide + paired practice presentations Appearance Guide complete + practice run with feedback
5 Career Presentations Day 3-minute individual career presentations + reflection Career presentation delivered with rubric score

Formative Assessment

  • Pitching Investors business plan completeness (Day 1): d(4)(B)
  • Powerskills Giving and Receiving Feedback module completion (Day 2): d(4)(B)
  • Investor pitch quality (Day 3): d(4)(C)
  • Practice presentation feedback (Day 4): d(4)(C)
  • Interview Appearance Guide (Day 4): d(6)(B)

Summative Assessment

Career Oral Presentation (Day 5): 3-minute individual presentation on a career explored this year. Structure: introduction (career name and why chosen), body (education path, DFW salary, daily tasks), conclusion (connection to personal career plan). Scored using the Career Presentation Rubric on content accuracy, organization, delivery (eye contact, volume, pace), and career connection. Primary d(4)(C) artifact for the year.

Differentiation

Scaffolded Learning

  • Provide a presentation outline template with fill-in-the-blank structure
  • Allow note cards during the 3-minute presentation
  • Offer small-group presentation option (present to 4-5 peers instead of full class) for anxious students
  • Pre-built business plan template for the Pitching Investors team activity

Extensions

  • Students create a professional slide deck (Google Slides or Canva) to accompany the 3-minute career presentation
  • Present WITHOUT notes for bonus
  • Record the career presentation and self-evaluate using the rubric
  • Lead the Pitching Investors team as the "CEO"

ELL Language Support

  • Bilingual presentation outline template with Spanish sentence starters
  • Allow ESL students to present to a small group if full-class presentation is too much
  • Pair ESL students with bilingual peers for the Pitching Investors team work
  • Pre-teach: Pitch = Presentación, Investor = Inversor, Audience = Audiencia, Feedback = Retroalimentación