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This teacher needs your help!

Ms. L. from is requesting supplies through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

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A Podium for Public Speaking: Empowering Students

My students need a podium for our classroom in order to perform their speeches during the public speaking units I run each year.

  • $574 goal

This project expired on December 20, 2008.

This project expired on December 20, 2008.

Classroom photo
Ms. L.
Grades 9-12

I am a tenth and twelfth grade English teacher at a small, public charter high school in Northern California. Our school is situated in a high crime and impoverished community. We have a high number of students who receive free and reduced lunch. Jonathan mumbles his words in front of the class. He barely makes eye contact and is hunched over. He spews out his words like vomit; his presentation lacks any fluency or coherence. This is a snapshot of a typical presentation in my classroom. Although I firmly emphasize the importance of reading and writing in my classroom, I am pushing myself further as a teacher to incorporate public speaking as a skill set to teach my students. Without actual units where we focus explicitly on the art of public speaking, many of my students will walk out of my classroom without having the fundamental skills to be successful in public speaking. I have a pubic speaking unit where I have compiled famous speeches throughout history and current events, from individuals such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and John F. Kennedy to Barack Obama. Students are expected to select a speech and then present it as their final assessment. In an attempt to create an authentic and professional environment and to also suggest to my students that this final assessment should be taken with great seriousness, I am requesting a podium for my classroom. I think having my students stand behind a podium will make them feel as if their presentations matter and this experience will feel authentic to them. I would also suggest that great speeches are made with orators standing behind a podium. The art of how a person stands behind the podium, their posture, and use of the podium matters. Unfortunately, at my school, we have an old, wooden podium that is shared amongst all the teachers. If one teacher plans to use it during Period 4, then that means other teachers at our school cannot use it or incorporate it into their presentations. We also use it each week during our school assemblies. With other expenses that appear more urgent, a podium is not a top priority for purchasing at our school. Ultimately, I hope encouraging more units involving public speaking will provide my students with an important skill in life. Whether they will be expected one day to make a speech at graduation, read a eulogy for a loved one who has passed, or make a toast at their best friend's wedding, I want my students to be prepared to be articulate and empowered public speakers with any event they may encounter in their lives.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

100 students impacted
Ms. L. Grades 9-12

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

100 students impacted

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
ARISTOCRAT FLOOR LECTERN -- Oklahoma Sound Aristocrat Floor Podium/AV Stand; Mahogany • Quill Corporation $377.99 1 $377.99

Materials cost

$377.99

Vendor shipping charges

 $37.80

Sales tax

 $27.40

3rd party payment processing fee

$9.45

Fulfillment labor & materials

$17.00

Total project cost

$470.00

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$103.17

Total project goal

$573.17

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. L. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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