Famous American Speech and Project
During the next few weeks, the students will research a famous American to go along with our social studies SOLs. During February and the beginning of March, the students will be required to present a speech, for 3-5 minutes, on their famous person, using note cards prepared after their research has been completed. In addition to the speech, each student will create a timeline that reflects interesting key events and important facts about their famous person. Both the speech and the timeline will be due on their assigned speech day. See the schedule on the reverse side of this sheet. As we get closer to speech week, please make sure your child practices, stays within the guidelines of 3-5 minutes, and is prepared by the assigned date! Students should have note cards to help them organize their facts (just bulleted names, facts, dates, etc.), and should not simply be “reading” the outline or essay that they worked on in class! Finding other resources such as public library books or facts and pictures on the Internet will help them present an interesting speech. While it is not required, visiting the Gum Springs Library for additional resources is highly encouraged. I’ve done this project with eight different classes – I’m challenging students to surprise me with something I don’t already know! This is a large project that we have taken the time to break up into pieces to make it easier for everyone. Thank you for adhering to the assigned dates and modeling appropriate time management for your child. Students will finish their notecards, create their timelines, and practice their speech at home. The research and essay writing will be done in school. Please let me know if you have any questions! Thank you, Laura Fawley [email protected]
Please acknowledge that you have read and understand the assignment by signing below. Please return this sheet on Tuesday, 2/4. This sheet will then be sent home to be put in a safe place.
Name: ______
Famous American: ______
Parent Signature: ______Famous Americans Speech – Assignment Due Dates Week 1 – (2/3-2/7) Students will be assigned a famous person to research. Lessons will take place on note taking and paraphrasing. We will look for resources here at school and on the internet if needed. Students will begin researching their famous American in school. Week 2 – (2/10-2/14) Students will complete their research sheet in school by the end of the week. A copy will be provided for the students to keep at home. Please help them find more resources to use for their speeches. Students should start creating note cards with bulleted facts about their person. This will be started in class, and completed at home. Students will be provided with note cards. Do not let them simply copy their research sheets onto the note cards. We will also discuss this at length in class. This is the time to add some amazing facts that will make their speeches interesting! Note cards will be due for checking next Friday, 2/21. Week 3 – (2/18-2/21) Students draft their essays in school using their research sheet. They will go through of all steps of the writing process to complete a 5-paragraph essay about their famous person. This should take about 3 weeks. All essay writing will be done in school. At home, the students should practice their speech each day and create a timeline of their person on a large piece of construction paper (provided by the teacher). These timelines are due on the day of the speech. See schedule below. The timeline should be include dates in chronological order and include the following: Name of person and a small portrait Date of birth At least 5 important facts/events/contributions Date of death Directions for the timeline as well as examples are discussed in detail in class. Thank you for holding your child responsible for completing the timeline on their own. Week 4 – (2/24-2/28) Practice your speech at home every day. It should be between 3 and 5 minutes! (No less than 3, no more than 5!) Week 5 – (3/3-3/7) – Speech Week ! Speech Schedule: You must be prepared with all of the materials you need for your speech on the day you are scheduled to present. There are no exceptions! Monday, 3/3 – Elena, Sara, Pranavi, Ryan T. Tuesday, 3/4 – Nihaar, Adam, Sara, Darren Wednesday, 3/5 – Olivia, Asnhul, Kaitlinh, Hunter, John Thursday, 3/6 – Alex, Ryan G., Zara, Sydney, Sean Friday, 3/7 – Ben, Carly, Hunter, Eden, Katie