One of Claire's last projects as a 4th grader
was the Hall of Fame.
Each student was to choose a famous person who
was influential and important.
Some kids chose athletes, some chose pop stars,
some chose great leaders from history.
I was very proud that Claire chose to study Harriet Tubman.
She has always been fascinated by Tubman and has
read many books about her.
Claire did all the research on her own, no help from me.
Even when I reminded her that I have a masters degree
and have written many, many research papers, some
even 20-30 pages long! She still did it on her own!
After doing her own research, she wrote the speech on
note cards, again, all on her own!
I didn't even get a peek until the first time she
did the speech for me. What a great job!
I had only a few organizational, flow suggestions
but other than that, she did awesome!
The big test for Claire was finding a costume that
represented her character and then getting in front
of her whole class to give her speech.
I still often think of Claire as this shy, quiet girl.
Well, the day came and the room was full.
All the parents of that day's presenters were there,
including Dave and I.
I think I was more nervous than Claire was.
She did great!
She spoke clearly, slowly and with great inflection.
She made eye contact, didn't fidget and looked
strong and confident.
Oh my, I was beaming!!
I enjoy public speaking and I think it is a valuable tool.
I am so glad that Claire is getting the opportunity
to practice these great skills.
Claire bear: you make us proud!
We are proud of your hard work, your desire
to do well, your dedication to school and your
great accomplishments!
We are also proud of your kindness, your
compassion, your humor and the wonderful
friend you are to so many.
We love you Claire!
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| Claire was asked by several of her classmates to participate in their presentations too. Here she is interviewing "Taylor Swift" |
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| Claire started her speech with a "town square speech by Harriet", then went into her formal speech |
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| This is the group that went on this day. You can see; Pocahontas, Taylor, Amelia Earhart, Walt Disney, Mohammad Ali, and Frank Sinatra |
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| Claire, AKA Harriet Tubman |
Here is some video. Not the best quality, but I think you can
see what a great job she did!
