Veterans Day Performance Day: What I Tell My Students Before We Go On

 This is the fourth and final post in my series about putting together a simple Veterans Day performance with elementary students. We've talked about why I make time for it, how I assign speaking parts, and how we practice without letting rehearsals take over. Now it's almost performance day!

Our Veterans Day program is a school-wide event, so thankfully, I'm don't worry about auditorium chairs, decorations, programs or any of the other logistics. I've chosen to have my class perform, so my job is simply to get them ready to stand in front of the big audience and do their part.

Practice Where You'll Perform

I make sure we get into the actual performance space for a few run-throughs. A line that sounds plenty loud in our classroom can disappear pretty quickly in a gym or auditorium full of people.

We find our spots, practice getting there quickly, and run through the performance a couple of times.

Basically: Make sure the back row can hear you.

We Talk About Performance Manners

Elementary kids need very explicit reminders about what it means to be in front of an audience. My biggest one is when someone else is speaking, you are still performing.

No waving at Mom. No whispering to the person beside you. No fixing your shoe. No making faces at your brother. Stand still, look toward the audience and remember that people are watching the whole group - not just the person speaking.

Basically: Don't be a goofball.

What If Someone Makes a Mistake? (And someone will.) We talk about it so a misstep doesn't become a catastrophe. If you forget your line: stop, look at me, find your place and keep going. If someone else makes a mistake: do absolutely nothing. Don't laugh. Don't correct them. And don't announce, “That's not your line!” Pause. Recover. Keep going.

Basically: Pretend you didn't notice.

What I Don't Bother With

I don't worry about memorization. I don't correct every tiny stumble. I don't rehearse until everyone sounds robotic. I make sure they know where to stand, speak loudly enough for the back of the room to hear them, support each other when something goes wrong, and remember that they're performing even when it isn't their turn to talk.

Basically: They're not the Royal Shakespeare Company.

And Afterward?

I tell them what they did well. Not just, “Great job!” I point out something specific: Everyone remembered where to go. You really projected your voices. Nobody panicked when we lost our place.

And then we move on with our day.

Basically: Take the win and move on.

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The Veterans Day Class Performance Script I use throughout this series includes the student speaking parts, individual practice cards, line-assignment sheet and the large prompting cards I use during rehearsals and the performance.

Veterans Day Script: Class Performance, Assembly & School Program 

Veterans Day Performance Series

Part 1: Why I Make Time for a Veterans Day Class Performance
Part 2: How I Assign Speaking Parts for Our Veterans Day Class Performance
Part 3: How We Practice Our Veterans Day Performance Without Losing Instructional Time
Part 4: Veterans Day Performance Day: What I Tell My Students Before We Go On

How I Assign Speaking Parts for Our Veterans Day Class Performance

 This is the second post in my series about putting together a simple Veterans Day class performance for parents. In the first post, I shared why I think a group presentation is worth making time for. Today, I'm getting into one of the first things I do when preparing our Veterans Day program: assigning speaking parts.

I don't try to make every student's part equal. I try to give every student the right part.

Start With the Child, Not the Line

Before I assign anything, I read through all the speaking parts with my actual class in mind. By November, I have a sense of who is ready for a challenge and who needs a shorter line. Each year presents a unique challenge.

Two years ago, I had a student who was extremely shy. At the beginning of the year, getting her to speak to me could be difficult, so I knew standing in front of a room full of parents was going to be a lot.

I wanted to be empathetic, but the expectation was still that she would participate. Finding the right balance took some finesse, so I collaborated with our school counselor to figure out what successful participation could look like for her.

We showed her several of the shorter lines and let her choose. And she did—not the one I would have expected! When performance day came, she stood with everyone else and said her line. It was a big deal.

Sometimes Differentiation Means More

Last year, I had a completely different kid to think about. He's identified as gifted, wonderfully quirky, and one of those animated kids who can turn a simple answer into a full production - voice, facial expressions, hand gestures and all.

He could easily have memorized any of the longer speaking parts, but giving him more words didn't seem particularly interesting for him, or for me.

So I told him, “You're going to write our introduction.” Oh, his expression immediately told me I'd given him the right job! He figured out how to welcome our parents and veterans and set the tone for the program. I ended up giving him a few parameters, but left plenty of room for him to make it his own. He did his thing. It was definitely not boring!

Those two students are a good example of why I don't assign parts by simply going down my class list.

My Very Low-Tech System for Assigning Parts

I print my line-assignment sheet, grab a pencil, and start adding names. Because the lines vary in length and complexity, I have plenty of room to move kids around until the assignments feel right.

I use pencil for a reason. I move names around. Only when I'm happy with the entire list do I hand out the individual practice cards. It's much easier to erase a name on my sheet than to take away a line a third grader has already decided is their line.

Equal Isn't Really the Goal

For an elementary Veterans Day performance, I'm not counting words to make sure every child says exactly the same amount. I want every student standing up there with a job they can successfully do.

For one child, that might mean being given room to run with an introduction. For another, it might mean saying one carefully chosen line in front of a room full of parents.

The expectations aren't identical, but both students are part of the performance.

These are 24 speaking parts in my Veterans Day Class Performance Script. I've included the line-assignment sheet I use to sort out everyone's parts and the individual practice cards I hand out afterward.

Veterans Day Script: Class Performance, Assembly & School Program → [PRODUCT LINK]

Next in the series: How we practice our Veterans Day performance in just a few minutes at a time—without letting rehearsals take over November.