Course Spotlight: Sixth Grade Public Speaking

“I learned how to articulate my thoughts a little bit better without ‘um’ and ‘like,’ which was helpful,” she said. “We did various activities that required different types of thinking.”

The course covers fundamentals such as posture, modulation, and eye contact, but also different types of speeches and the elements that make a great speech. DiPasquale, who delivered her signature eighth grade speech in September, said the course also gave her the confidence to do more public speaking in advance of her culminating moment.

“Learning the fundamentals took away some of the anxiety over the mechanics of delivering the speech and allowed me to focus on being confident,” she said.

And to her surprise, the class didn’t just teach her how to be a good orator, but also a better listener. She has continued to find applications for the course content as she prepares for secondary school interviews.

“Ms. Williams always says the hardest question is ‘tell me about yourself’ because it’s so open-ended,” DiPasquale said. “The public speaking class helped me to take a broad topic and narrow it down, and to be better at expressing myself.”