Informational speeches - this week

Tomorrow is the big day!  All classes 2nd - 8th grades will begin giving their informational speeches.  I'm so proud of all of their hard work.  EVERYONE is ready!!

Thanks so much for your patience as I had intentionally not posted to the blog, as the kids and I got to know one another and settled into a routine and learned responsibilities and consequences for class.  I think this approach will serve us well as we move forward, having learned from day one what students are responsible for [as opposed to their parents] and what happens if we don't follow through.  I will strive to keep as much work in class as possible, so you will not be burdened with homework.  My constant encouragement to the kids is to use their class time wisely and follow through on their commitments.

The consequence students face when they fail to bring in research materials of their choosing is that they will be limited to the resources I bring in, possibly resulting a topic they might not prefer.

Those who wanted to - and who remembered to - selected their own topics and brought in their own books, articles, etc. from home.  Those who were interested in one of my topics - or forgot to bring their own material to school - simply chose from a library book that I brought in.  They read through these materials, keeping the key question in mind:  "What is it about this that I find interesting and want to share with my peers?"

By the end of the year, our speeches will be 3-5 minutes in length and will not require the use of lengthy notes; but, for this first speech, my only requirement is that they sincerely research their topic and give it their best effort.  Selecting a topic of interest to the student goes a long way in making this easier and more enjoyable.

In second grade, there is a wide range of reading and writing levels, making the research and writing process more challenging.  For this first speech, we opted to read one book as a class, and took fill-in-the-blank style notes.  Each student then read through their notes and highlighted the parts they found most interesting.  They will use those pieces of information in their speeches tomorrow.  Going forward, if your 2nd grader is not a proficient reader, they will need your assistance at home when research is required.  Unfortunately, there's not enough time at school - and I don't have any parent helpers at this time [anyone want to volunteer for this?]  - for me to read a different book to each student in class.

I have promised students that these first speeches will be in a safe environment, in front of classmates only.  As the year progresses, I look forward to inviting you in for speech days.  They really are so fun to listen to!

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow.  Rest assured, your student is ready and will have a successful experience speaking this week.