How do children learn presentation and performance skills at Cascadia?

December 4, 2021

Luckily for our students, presentations are part of the regular classroom routine, so they get lots of practice and there is less anxiety around it! As children finish up big work such as research projects or creative writing, many are naturally motivated to share these with their classmates - they are proud of their work. Sharing can happen in an informal (sharing with small group, to friends) or more formal (sharing with whole class) setting. As children grow older, they take on more responsibility for their work, culminating in events like the Cedar Coffee House, in which students read their written work aloud to the entire Cedar, Willow, and Trillium classrooms, as well as some staff members and some Cedar parents.

At some point in Lower Elementary, most children begin working on research projects - pursuing an interest by finding out information on a topic, writing about it, drawing pictures or diagrams. They may make a 3-D project, such as a model or diorama, or even create a skit, song or performance involving other students.

Upper Elementary students pursue research projects in a more formalized manner - learning note-taking techniques, how to use drafts to improve writing, bibliographies to give credit to their sources, and finalizing a project for Project Showcase in the Spring. Adding a creative aspect to their research projects gives students the opportunity to express themselves in a way they choose - with art, skits, etc.

In addition, children in the past years have gained experience in the performing arts through folk dance classes, music lessons, and taking part in classroom plays and performances for parents at Winterfest or Springfest. There is also day-to-day public speaking practice in the form of announcements to the class, or speaking up at community meetings.

Formalization of presentation skills continues in Middle School, as students learn about Powerpoint and other presentation technology, and do projects in groups in which they need to delegate roles to get the work done.

This year, a special type of performance will be celebrated at our Winterfest Radio Show on December 17th!

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