First graders focus on a year-long theme of community, and that starts with the important task of building a classroom community. One of the ways they achieve this is through the “Me I Am” project. For this project, students bravely stood in front of their class to deliver a poster presentation on who they are and what makes them special.
Along with building community, this project also builds students’ presentation and public speaking skills. For some students, this was their very first experience with public speaking. This year had the added bonus of developing virtual presentation skills as the entire homeroom class (including both cohorts and distance learners) participated in each presentation. Each presenter’s parents and caregivers were also invited to view the presentation via Zoom.
First Grade Teacher Kara Pracht said, “The 1st grade Me I Am project is not only giving students the opportunity to learn and practice public speaking skills, give compliments, and ask questions, but it is also building our classroom community. As students and members of this community, we are learning to respect each other’s differences, embrace similarities, and learn to value what we can learn from each other.”
This project is inspired by the children’s book Me I Am! by Jack Prelutsky, which the children read early in the school year. They also completed various creative projects to explore who they are. Students were then tasked with creating a poster presentation sharing photos and details about themselves such as where they’re from, their favorite things, and important people in their lives. Throughout September, students presented their “Me I Am” posters to their audiences both live and virtual. With wands and presentation pointers in hand, students talked about who they are in front of their attentive peers while pointing to the relevant pictures.
Students in the listening role had an important job, too. They learned presentation etiquette, such as listening quietly to respect the person speaking. Once presenters completed their remarks, Beasley friends shared compliments on their presentations, asked follow up questions, and talked about what they have in common and what is different. First Grade Teachers Robin Campbell and Pracht and Teaching Associates Miriam Rotskoff and Mason Hunt helped to facilitate the question-and-answer session to make sure that all students, in the classroom and at home, had a chance to ask a question and offer a compliment to their peers.
First graders are learning an important lesson: friendships transcend differences. They can all be friends with one another even if they have differences, and they can celebrate and appreciate those differences.