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Goal

Famous speeches lift the heart in the darkest of times, inspire acts of bravery, and refine the characters of Americans to change the course of history. Our class has been selected by Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. to be the first school in Florida to participate in its "Lincoln Online Oratory Project." Working with a Ford's Teaching Artist, we will bring Lincoln's words to life through the power of public speaking and visual art. We need a podium and a microphone to make our voices heard! 

What will be done with my students

Honesty. Freedom. Determination. The compelling and lyrical power of President Abraham Lincoln's ideals lives on his prose. His speeches are inspirational to all Americans. Our eighth grade history class will draw on this legacy to analyze complex text, learn the fundamentals of public speaking, and develop our performance skills through dramatic renditions, choral readings, found poetry, and readers' theater. Thanks to our selection as a Ford's Theater Oratory Project school, we'll enjoy three virtual video lessons with a professional teaching artist. The project will culminate in a showcase video production that will be shared on Fords' Theater social media.

The overarching method for teaching oratory, which will be embedded in each activity, is the Podium Point strategy. These Podium Points teach diction, emphasis, presence, and other physical and verbal gestures for strong presentation.

Specific lessons include:
1. Introduce the relationship between Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.
2. Annotate Douglass' speech "What to the American Slave is the Fourth of July?"
3. Present a "found speech" of excerpts from Douglass' speech knitted together as a whole.
4. Use "The Gettysburg Address" in a Readers' Theater performance.
5. Remix one of Lincoln's speeches from the Ford's Theater primary documents library.
6. Create text-based visual art using the words and symbols of the remixed speech. 

Benefits to my students

Bringing historic words to life has many benefits in a literacy-based social studies classroom. Students in the "Remembering Lincoln" project will:
* Honor the memory of a historic American hero by reading his landmark speeches
* Analyze complex, rigorous text for meaning and symbolism
* Expand vocabulary with a deep dive into nineteenth century language
* Develop public speaking skills through sequenced teaching of Podium Points
* Build confidence for lifelong learning
 

Budget Narrative

Students need practice with professional materials to develop real-world skills as public speakers. Speaking at a lectern and managing a microphone are both important components of oratory. Both of these products can be ordered through Amazon Prime. 

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