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.