From the early elementary grades through high school, the Common Core State Standards ask students to organize and explain their ideas in oral presentations, use visual aids, and speak appropriately for various contexts and tasks. Although teachers could give assignments that teach some of these skills in isolation, the authors have found that nothing pulls the skills together as effectively as project-based learning. Project-based learning is the ideal way to build the speaking and presentation skills called for in the Common Core State Standards. The standards build presentation skills at a gradual, age-appropriate pace over the grade levels. Teachers can plan projects to match this sequence. It's not hard to see how project-based learning is a key strategy for achieving the goals of the Common Core State Standards. Not only do projects build speaking skills required by the standards, but they also build thinking and application skills in the subject area related to the project.