Watching my children grow in this skill over the last few years has taught me more than I expected. Growing up with a dad orating before large crowds each week, talking in front of a bunch of people was as natural to me as was eating several large bowls of Frosted Flakes.
Not so for my children, at least some of them. (Neither the naturally wanting to talk to a bunch of people nor the indulgence of Frosted Flakes.)
There's more to say here that I'll save for another post, but one lesson I've learned is that content is critical. If a child is excited about the content of their presentation, they are much more likely to be excited about presenting, even if they feel a bit shaky in the knees. If they're not too thrilled with the topic, well, they'll find a good excuse to stay in their seat, thank you.
As a parent, I try to help my children think through things that they would be excited to share with the class each week. As a tutor, I try to give a suggested schedule to my class each semester that they can use a springboard for new presentation ideas.
Here's my list for the first semester.
Week 1: Tell the class about yourself, your family, and a little about your summer.
Week 2: Tell the class about one of your hobbies, sports, or activities and explain how to do that particular activity. An example would be explaining the game of soccer or telling about how to play the violin.
Week 3: Share a favorite story or book with the class. Students are welcome to dress up as a character in the book, bring props or do anything creative that would help the child explain the story. Please have the child summarize the story rather than read it in its entirety.
Week 4: Tell us how something works. Bring in something from the home and tell us how it works. This could be something as simple as a spatula or a Lego block to something more complicated like a circuit board, a light bulb or a can opener.
Week 5: Interview with the Tutor. No preparation necessary. I will interview each student and we'll practice interview skills.
Week 6: Bring something that you've found in your yard. Do a bit of research on it and tell us more about it.
BREAK
Week 7: Tell the class a little more about anything you've learned in CC thus far. An example would be giving more information about Columbus, explaining skip counting four's with car wheels, or showing a body diagram to tell more about a body system we've studied.
Week 8: This is laughing day. Tell the class a joke, a list of jokes or a funny story that will give us a chance to giggle.
Week 9: Grab bag with the Tutor. No preparation necessary. I will allow each student to pull an item out of a grab bag and I'll ask questions of the student regarding the item. These will be everyday items and the questions will be simple and easy to answer.
Week 10: As we are in the middle of the Tin Whistle unit, students are invited to bring a musical instrument (if portable) to share with the class or just tell the class about something related to music. The student is welcome to share a favorite song, composer, or musician if they are not interested in a particular instrument.
Week 11: Show us what you've learned thus far. Pick one or more subject matters in CC and share what you have memorized in 3 minutes.
Week 12: Thankful day! Tell the class about some things for which you are thankful. Students are welcome to bring a well loved object to class or any other props that would help them share about their gratitude.
However and wherever your children are learning to present to their peers this year, help them enjoy it more by finding ways to endear them more to their subject matter. It's so much easier to talk about something you love to talk about. Don't you think?
I'd love to hear ways you motivate your children in their public presentations in the comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment