As we enter a new school year, each student will be asked to complete a learning styles survey. The purpose of this survey is to reflect upon your own learning and personal development.

Click here to open the survey:

Learning Styles Survey

Welcome back! We are excited to begin a new school year filled with learning, personal development, and critical thinking. Today we spent the first three periods discussing expectations, changes, and other essential information that every middle school student should be aware of. As questions arise, please reach out to your teachers as soon as possible!

Click the link below to access and review our presentation:

OJCS Middle School 2020

Check out some of the summer reading recommendations from Brigitte: Summer Reading Recommendations

In addition, for those who want to practice their writing skills over the summer, check out these writing prompts:

Creative Writing Prompts

Personal Narrative Writing Prompts

Students are encouraged to post their writing pieces on their blogs over the summer.

All parents should find their way to campus at some point on Thursday-Friday, July 2nd-3rd from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM to pick up all your children’s belongings and to drop off anything that belongs to the school (like LIBRARY BOOKS) at curbside in front of the school. 

All desks and lockers will have been emptied, bagged, and labeled and members of the Admin Team will be there to assist.

All of the speeches this year were incredible! Each and every student should be proud of their accomplishments. As a judge it was incredibly hard to choose who would be moving on to the finals.  Remember that these events are opportunities to grow and further your develop your learning skills. Later today I will be sharing individual rubrics with each student.

The 2020 Middle School Public Speaking Finalists are:

Grade 8

• • Ari Kotkowski
  • Talia Cherun
  • Jessica Ages

Grade 7

• • Jenny Peters
  • Maayan Shrem
  • Yamaya Newman

Grade 6

• • Audrey Baker
  • Maya Spanglet
  • Samara Spivock

 

FAQ

1. When are the finals?

The Public Speaking Finals will be held on Friday, June 12, 2020.

The Grade 4 & 5 Public Speaking Finals will be held from 9:00-10:30AM

The Middle School Public Speaking Finals will be held from 11:30 AM-1:00PM

 

2. Can family members, friends, and other loved ones watch the finals this year?

Yes! We will be sharing more information throughout the week as to how we will be broadcasting the 2020 Public Speaking Finals.

 

The end is near! At this point, students should have their rough draft complete. The majority of students have received feedback on their third body paragraph and conclusion this week. The remaining students will be receiving their feedback tonight.

Tomorrow we will decide the order of our public speaking class presentations. Please note that in-class presentations will begin on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2020. If a student is not prepared to go on the date of their presentation they will be docked 10 points. 

Please click the link below to access tips, suggestions, and the public speaking rubric:

Washerstein Public Speaking Google Slides Presentation

 

Public Speaking FAQ’s:

1. 1. When are the finals?

The Public Speaking Finals will be held on Friday, June 12, 2020.

The Grade 4 & 5 Public Speaking Finals will be held from 9:00-10:30AM

The Middle School Public Speaking Finals will be held from 11:30 AM-1:00PM

2. Do I need to sit or stand for the presentation of my speech?

The choice is yours! Students will have the opportunity to either sit or stand. Remember that you want your audience to see any meaningful gestures you incorporate into your speech.

3. How long does my speech need to be?

The speech should fall within the 4-5 minute time frame. There is a 10 second barrier (both over and under) before any points are deducted. Once you have surpassed that barrier, students will lose one mark for every 10 seconds they are short/over.

4. Do I need to make cue cards?

The choice is yours! Students will be able to use cue cards if that method suits them in their presentation style. You could also memorize your speech entirely (for those that are able to). Lastly, since we are presenting in a digital context this year, students can also have their speeches up on their computer. It is important to note that we must be able to see your face/body throughout the entirety of your speech. Remember that eye contact is key!

Grade 8

• • Finalize public speaking topic and email Mr. Washerstein by Friday (4/24)
  • Read and annotate Ch. 1 of The Great Gatsby by Monday (4/27)
    • • • Remember to fill out the characterization chart as you read
  • Public speaking speech planner graphic organizer due Friday (5/1)

 

Grade 7

• • Finalize public speaking topic and email Mr. Washerstein by Friday (4/24)
  • Finish reading The Outsiders (Ch. 11 and Ch. 12) by Monday (4/27)
  • The Outsiders Character Web Assignment due Friday (5/1)
  • Public speaking speech planner graphic organizer due Friday (5/1)
  • The Outsiders Culminating Activity due Monday (5/11)

 

Grade 6

• • Finalize public speaking topic and email Mr. Washerstein by Friday (4/24)
  • Exhilarating Reading Adventure Project (artifact and blog post) due by Friday (5/1)
  • Public speaking speech planner graphic organizer due Friday (5/1)

Yesterday we finished our second set of check-ins. Everyone in the class has finished reading their novels! The next step in the process is creating your artifact. Remember that the presentation of this project will be via blog post. If you created an artifact by hand you will be responsible for posting pictures of the artifact on your blog. Be sure you include all of the necessary pieces of the blog post.

Artifact/Blog Post Due: Friday, May 1st, 2020

Process

1. Create your artifact

• • Use the artifact description as a checklist that describes what you need to do for your artifact to be complete
  • Exhilarating Reading Project Requirements

2. Edit written work

• • Remember you should spend a significant amount of time editing your written work (this includes your blog post).
  • Editing tips
    • Try reading your paper out loud
    • Review your paper with a friend/parent
    • Printing out your paper and making edits with a pen
  • Click here to access a COPS Editing Checklist
  • Track your edits in your planer

3. Look over the rubric and use it to grade your artifact

• • How can you improve your artifact to get a better grade?
  • Grade yourself and make changes to your project

4. Write a blog post to display your artifact and be sure to include the following

  A. Explain why you chose your specific artifact type to connect to your book

  B. Explain why you chose the elements from your book that you included in your artifact

  C. Reflect upon what you would change if you were going through this process again

• • • How could you prepare differently?
    • What did you learn?

 

This post contains all of the essential information for public speaking

Welcome to this year’s public speaking contest for grades 6-8.  Expressing ideas aloud in a clear and effective way is an important life skill! Students will have the opportunity to plan, develop, and deliver a speech to showcase these skills. Students will be spending the upcoming weeks working towards preparing a 4-5 minute speech. Additionally, we will be spending time in class practicing various oral communication skills (eye contact, inflection, effective use of gestures, etc.)

Important Due Dates

• Topic Brainstorming Sheet Due: Monday 4/20
  • Choose topic + fill out topic brainstorming sheet (email your teacher with your choice by the end of the day)
• Speech planner/Graphic Organizer Due: Friday 5/1
• Introduction Paragraph Due: Friday 5/8
  • I will be providing students with feedback on each paragraph throughout the speech writing process
  • If students complete paragraphs early they can always move ahead and work on the next step in the process
• Body Paragraph 1 Due: Wednesday 5/13
• Body Paragraph 2 Due: Tuesday 5/19
• Body Paragraph 3 Due: Friday 5/22
• Conclusion Due: Wednesday 5/27
• Class Presentations Begin: Tuesday 6/2
• Self-Assessment/Reflection Due: 6/12
• The date of the Public Speaking Finals has yet to be determined (TBD)

Click the links below to access important public speaking documents: 

2020 Public Speaking Student Package

• • • This contains the public speaking writing process, tips, and requirements

2020 Public Speaking Due Dates Checklist

2020 Public Speaking Speech Planner Graphic Organizer

2020 Public Speaking Rubric

2020 Public Speaking Self-Reflection

 

Beneficial Resources:

 

I hope everyone is having a fantastic Passover break. A few students have reached out and asked for some resources/websites that could provide a spark for a public speaking topic.

Reminder that students have been asked to complete the PS Topic Brainstorming Graphic Organizer by Monday, April 20th, 2020. The students must brainstorm 2-5 topics and decide the purpose of their speech for each topic. Once completed, this graphic organizer should be shared with Mr. Washerstein

Check out these public speaking topic brainstorming resources:

https://www.myspeechclass.com/school-speech-topics.html 

https://blog.prepscholar.com/good-persuasive-speech-topics

https://www.write-out-loud.com/interesting-speech-topics.html

https://www.5staressays.com/blog/impromptu-speech-topics