
Fifth
grade
students
in
Renee
Watson's
class
have
diligently
prepared
for
a
short
oral
presentation
on
famous
African
Americans
for
the
past
few
weeks
in
honor
of
Black
History
Month.
As
a
part
of
the
oral
language
component
in
their
curriculum,
each
student
gave
a
two
to
three-minute
character
talk,
given
in
first-person
point
of
view,
highlighting
major
achievements
in
the
life
of
the
African
Americans
they
researched.
Students
were
encouraged
to
dress
in
character
and
create
props
that
were
indicative
of
the
time
period
their
character
lived,
their
career,
and
accomplishments.
Each
student
began
preparing
for
their
oral
presentation
by
selecting
a
person
to
research.
Watson
provided
students
with
an
outline
to
guide
their
research:
introduction,
early
life,
career
and
accomplishments,
comparison
and
contrast
of
the
life
of
the
person
they
are
researching
with
the
student's
life,
as
well
as
the
researched
person's
current
life
or
legacy.
Students
rehearsed
before
the
day
of
their
speech
using
note
cards
they
had
previously
prepared.
As
part
of
their
writing
and
reading
curriculum,
Watson's
class
wrote
a
paper
on
their
character
and
worked
through
the
different
stages
of
writing
(outline,
rough
draft,
peer
editing,
and
final
draft).
"This
activity
is
one
of
my
favorite
parts
of
the
year.
In
years
past,
we
have
had
a
'wax
museum'
portion
to
the
activity
where
we
invite
other
classes
into
our
classroom
to
learn
more
about
each
African
American,"
shared
Watson.
Even
though
the
"wax
museum"
portion
was
canceled
due
to
COVID-19
constraints,
Watson
praised
her
students
on
their
hard
work
on
researching
their
character
and
providing
quality
background
information
for
Black
History
Month.