Never underestimate the wisdom of an Otselic Valley fourth grader. From ideas about perseverance to family to social life to inspiration, we learned our Vikings have a lot to say about topics that matter to them.
They shared their work recently during an early morning assembly for families and others in our school. Using the TED Talks format, each student crafted a mix of writing and digital images and then had a moment under the lights to speak.
TED Talks are short presentations intended to inform and educate audiences, and they require careful development and delivery in a fixed format. Just like a standard TED Talk you can find online and in conferences, our students chose a topic, wrote and edited their presentations, and designed and created visual displays to accompany their words. They’d been working on this intersection of writing/editing, technology, and confidence-building since December, Mrs. Youngs told us, and the results were great.
The audience comprised families, other classes, and staff who listened carefully to students’ thoughts on topics that were big ideas to each of them. The take-aways for the audience? Take your pick: the importance of families, pets, working through hard things, navigating the friend sphere, encouraging others, valuing educators, finding your own talents and interests, the impact of the arts, and more.
Public speaking clearly takes courage, but they did it. Their smiling relief at the conclusion of all the talks showed just what a big deal this was.
As always, a big thank you goes out to all who helped them succeed, and all who were able to come listen. We appreciate you!
[Visit the Otselic Valley Central School District official Facebook page for more photos.]