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by Mary Anne Edwards
Topics: Fourth Grade, Writing
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In fourth grade, teachers often start asking kids to give class presentations, often in conjunction with multistage projects, which are also a common part of the curriculum.  This may sound easy--after all, it's just fourth grade, right?  But for most kids, it's anything but.  Stage fright is always an issue; so, too, is the natural tendency of most fourth graders to tell a story pell mell, sideways, and even backward.

Want to help build some presentation confidence without coming on too strong? Here's a "News Broadcast" activity that's tons of fun...and full of valuable learning, too.  Make it for fun...or give it as a gift for a dear friend or relative.  It makes a splendid "multimedia" Valentine, too! 

 What You Need:

  • pencil and markers
  • 5 pieces of blank paper for "cue" cards
  • video camera & blank video tape to record

 

What You Do:
While your fourth grader may think that class presentations are just an invention of his one teacher, this is a good time to point out that they're the beginning of a lifetime skill for lots of working adults.  For a great example, flip on a few minutes of a local news broadcast.  Watch a news anchor deliver a story, and ask your child to look for three things: what the newscaster is saying, what gestures she's making, and whether she refers to anything--a chart, map, cable interview--to make her point.  If your child wishes, you may even want to compare and contrast that newscaster with another one.
Now explain that your fourth grader will be making her own News Broadcast Presentation on any recent piece of family news.  She'll be the anchor, and guess what, parents?  You'll get to be gophers and key grips! 
Of course, any great newscast requires surprising amounts of planning.  For starters, you'll need a topic.  Here are some classic ideas, but don't let them limit you!
  • Our Pet's Latest Wild Deeds
  • Tuesday's Surprise School Lunch: To Eat or Not to Eat?
  • Big Family News
  • Our Family Vacation
  • My Top Three Favorite Things About School This Year

Take out your five pieces of blank paper, and in large block letters, use a marker to write one word on each one: Who, What, Where, When, and Why it's Important.  Use a pencil to brainstorm specific details on the paper, and talk, talk, talk about how a real newscaster would deliver the story so that it really caught the audience's attention.