Tamra Huffman, 8th Grade American History Teacher, is a National Oratory Fellow through Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC. Ford's Fellows are a network of 50 national teachers who develop student voices in Grades 5-8 by making public speaking a part of the everyday classroom experience. Ms. Huffman implements theater, speech, and writing into her history curriculum with guidance from her Ford's Theatre teaching artist, who is a professional actress based out of Washington, DC. Huffman Zooms in monthly with Ford's Theatre and she and her teaching artist lead different classroom activities on the importance of oratory.
North Middle School will have an Oratory Festival on Thursday, January 30 from 8 - 8:30 am in their Performing Arts Center. Five 8th grade students, whom have been working all semester with Ms. Huffman, will be performing original and historical speeches to an audience of their peers, teachers, and families.
The top two candidates will move onto the National Oratory Festival held this May in Washington, DC at Ford's Theatre. These two students will have the opportunity to perform their speeches with other middle school students from around the country. They not only will perform on the stage of the historic Ford's Theatre, but also on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther King, Jr gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. This is a once in a lifetime experience for these students!