Draft to Delivery

This month, sixth graders have been diving into the art of personal narrative, crafting stories that draw on an aspect of their identity, an experience with community building, one of Fay’s core values, a lesson they’ve learned about leadership, or this year’s school theme of Right Here, Right Now. Over the past several weeks, students have been writing, editing, revising, and shaping these narratives into their sixth grade speeches, which they will be delivering at Lower School Morning Meetings starting next week.

Sixth graders began the year by exploring their passions, values, and life experiences through I Am poems. This activity encouraged students to reflect on the aspects of their identity that have shaped who they are and to consider themes they might later develop in their speeches. Next, students turned their focus to the genre of personal narrative, analyzing sample pieces and identifying the key elements that define this style of writing. Once students had chosen their topics and drafted their personal narratives, Lower School English Teacher Lara Gleason guided them through a series of workshops to strengthen their speeches. Working with peers, students refined the focus of their writing, highlighting clearly expressed ideas and identifying areas that needed more clarity. They then explored different ways to structure a personal narrative, moving beyond a straightforward chronological approach to experiment with formats like weaving mini-lessons around a central theme or opening with a preview and then diving into the action.  A workshop on word choice encouraged students to use more vivid, expressive language. Using the classroom’s Wheel of Emotions, they replaced basic words like happy or sad with more nuanced choices such as courageous or disappointed, enriching their writing with greater depth and meaning.

Lara taught students how to add variety and rhythm to their writing by adjusting sentence structure and using transition words to create smoother flow. The class focused on the writer’s craft of “showing, not telling,” using sensory details and rich imagery to draw the listener in. Together, they brainstormed vivid ways to describe feelings, smells, and sounds, and analyzed how writers use these techniques. “Since these are speeches that the audience will only hear once, these details are how you connect with the audience on a personal level,” says Lara. “The audience needs to feel and see that story unfolding in their minds.” 

In addition to polishing their speeches with lessons on editing and capitalization, students recorded themselves delivering their speeches, discovering that hearing their own speeches helped them identify things that didn’t make sense or where word choice could be improved. Every student also has the opportunity to practice in the theater with Lara before delivering their speech so that they feel confident and ready.

Over the next few months, sixth graders will deliver their speeches in pairs during Lower School Morning Meetings. This allows students who are confident in their public speaking to deliver their speeches earlier, while giving more time to those who would like to practice more. Families will be invited to watch their child’s speech in addition to the Lower School audience. “I think having them present with just one other student in front of this community that loves them is going to feel like a celebration,” says Lara. “I really want them to shine and feel proud of their work.”