If you’re anything like me, you clicked on this blog and thought how can you prove these guest speaker worksheets will keep my students engaged? My answer is simple, I am a guest speaker and I’ve worked with thousands of kids and adults pre-K – 12 and above as an environmental educator. I’ve given countless guest speaker presentations on anything from an in-class field trip, field trips to my facility, or even presentations on my STEM career path.
This blog post is just what you need to help keep your students engaged during a guest speaker presentation! I’ve even created a 5 pack worksheet bundle with everything you need for your students to pay close attention to their guest presenters.
Here are proven guest speaker worksheets to meet the needs of your students!
How can students prepare for a guest speaker?
Pre-Presentation
It is important to prepare your guest speaker before they arrive. Help students understand the topic the presenter will speak on as well as some of the key points the speaker may touch on. This is important because students will not only know what to expect, but they will also already be a bit more engaged at the start of the presentation.
As a guest speaker, it can be frustrating to walk into a classroom and the students have no idea what I’m there to talk about. Discuss with the students the subject areas that may be covered during the presentation and even ask them to start thinking about potential careers that could relate to those subjects.
Preparing the students for the guest speaker also helps to generate interest in the students! Discover what the students may be curious to learn or what they hope to discover.
These guest speaker worksheets also include space to discuss classroom etiquette during guest presentations. This helps you, as the teacher, set expectations, but also be able to discuss strategies with the students. This includes how to practice active listening, how to take proper notes, how the desk space around them should look, etc.
How to keep students engaged during a guest speaker presentation?
During the Presentation
During the presentation, use the guest speaker worksheets to engage your students! These questions not only facilitate critical thinking but also help to achieve specific learning outcomes.
Students should be able to identify key takeaways from the presentation. The guest speaker worksheets leave space for students to answer questions and list insights and lessons learned.
The students will also be able to relate the guest speaker back to the classroom. They explore the question, how does the guest speaker’s presentation relate back to the current curriculum and class discussions?
Using the guest speaker worksheets, students identify whether the speaker used storytelling skills and how the speaker’s career may have changed their own perspective or surprised them in some way.
Guest Speaker Bio
This is a fun activity for guest visits because it is a great starting point to help set the stage for the presenter. This structured career awareness activity is a great addition to lesson plans for our guest speaker activity.
Students explore the job title of the guest speaker as well as the skills needed for the job and the education required.
Post Presentation
After the presentation, students can do follow-up work on what they have learned from the guest speaker!
Students are instructed to write down something new they learned or to detail one way they can apply the information they learned to their lives.
The guest speaker worksheets also ask the students to evaluate the guest speaker and leave a space for students to provide feedback to the speaker. This is especially helpful to share with the guest speaker.
As a guest speaker, being able to hear feedback is crucial to updating the information I share and tailoring it to the group I am presenting to.
Worksheets can be found here!
What questions should I ask guest speakers on Career Day?
Also in the guest speaker worksheets, I have included a page with x questions students can ask during career-related programs for guest speaking.
Here are a few questions your students can ask guest speakers about their careers:
- What’s your favorite thing about your job?
- Does your job provide continuing education and help you improve skills for employees?
- Is your job outside or inside? Do you work at a desk or in the field?
- What kind of education or skillset does someone need to do your job?
- What is something you don’t like about your job?
- What were your favorite classes in school?
- Are there social events at your job?
- What subject(s) in school would help me be most successful at your job?
Guest speakers can bring so much fun into the classroom! Guest speakers not only help to give real-world insight and create real-world connections but also help to foster student understanding of classroom concepts.
Guest speaker ideas for your classroom
- Mayor/City Council
- Police Officers
- Firefighters
- EMTs
- City workers in departments that relate back to the curriculum (economics, stormwater, drinking water, wastewater, etc.)
- Scientists and local museum educators
- Engineers
- Information technology specialists
- Lab workers
- Small business owners (women and minority business owners)
- Doctors or nurses
- Healthcare professionals
- Water quality professionals
- marketing professionals
- Nutritionists
- Local artists
- Local universities
- Local professionals who relate back to the curriculum (recycling educators, park rangers, et.)
- Conservationists
- Journalists
- News reporters
- Local athletes
- Nonprofit representatives
I hope you enjoyed this blog post about guest speaker worksheets and find this information helpful as you find guest speakers of your classroom!
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