Celebrating the Season

We started the week out sweetly with our Harvest Crafternoon (or Crafter-morning) as the schedule would have it. Thank you to all who volunteered their time and contributed snacks and beverages. The students loved it! We then headed outside with all of the 3/4 teams to put the school garden down to rest with songs and cider.

This week the students continued to work on their persuasive speeches. The students thought about how to add strong words to their pieces that would convince the "voters" to elect their nominee. Then we learned how to add an image to the speech making sure to be good digital citizens and give credit to where the photo came from.

As the week came to a close the speeches were being edited and students began to think about how to read and present their speeches with fluency and confidence. We watched one of our favorite public speakers, Kid President and created a list of things to remember when public speaking. Here's a few things that they came up with:

• Speak with enthusiasm
• Use body language
• Look at your audience
• Use a loud crowd voice
• When you're nervous...just fake it! 

Students practiced with partners and used a checklist to score each other and give feedback. Next week they will present to other voters in small groups and then rock their own fictional vote on Tuesday.

Ask about....

• Who did you nominate for a fictional president? 
• What character traits does that character have that makes you think they'd be a good president? 
• Talk to your children about how you get informed as a voter and what traits you look for in a leader.